Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, the belief that spiritual entities—particularly,

jinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...

—can possess a person, a thing or location, is widespread; as is the belief that the jinn and devils can be expelled from the possessed person (or thing/location) through

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

. This practice is called ''al-'azm'',Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis. ''ṭard al-shayṭān/al-jinn'' (expulsion of devils/spirits),Szombathy, Z. (2014). Exorcism. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26268 or ''ruqya'' (, spell, charm, magic, incantation), and exorcists are called ''raqi''. Belief in the supernatural creatures such as ''

Jinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...

'' are both an integral part of Islamic belief, and a common explanations in society "for evil, illness, health, wealth, and position in society as well as all mundane and inexplicable phenomena in between". Given the moral ambivalence ascribed to supernatural agents in Islamic tradition, exorcisms can be addressed to both good and evil spirits.Maʻrūf, Muḥammad. Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Modern Moroccan Magical Beliefs and Practices. Vol. 8. Brill, 2007. p. 2 Jinn are thought to be able to enter and physically possess people for various reasons, while devils (''shayāṭīn'') assault the

heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

(''qalb'') and attempt to turn their victims to evil.

Possession in Islam

Most Muslim scholars believe in the possibility that jinn can physically possess people.Dein, Simon, and Abdool Samad Illaiee. "Jinn and mental health: looking at jinn possession in modern psychiatric practice." The Psychiatrist 37.9 (2013): 291. Only a minority denies demonic possession and argues that jinn can merely whisper to a person. The everyday-life concern may vary. Some consider possession to be purely theoretical with no practical application, others consider interference of jinn only under rare circumstances, for example, when summoned by a sorcerer, yet others take it seriously and attribute everyday events to demonic activities. Mental disorders, such as

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

, forgetfulness,

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

, lack of energy, and morbid fears, are often attributed to demonic-possessions and witchcraft. Yet, not all mental-illnesses are attributed to demons, rather demons are believed to cause such symptoms. Belief in Jinn-possession is not only prevalent in Middle-Eastern countries, such as

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

,Obeid, Tahir, et al. "Possession by ‘Jinn’as a cause of epilepsy (Saraa): a study from Saudi Arabia." Seizure 21.4 (2012): 245-249. but also among Muslims in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. Belief in demonic possession also prevails among educated people. Due the ambiguous nature of jinn, some people may volunteer for possession. Possession by spirits are believed to grand beneficent powers, as in the case of

diviners Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

. In that case, the possessed by perform a trance dance (''hadra'') in order to renew their covenant with their personal jinni. In context of

Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of the Swahili people inhabiting the Swahili coast. This littoral area encompasses Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique, as well as the adjacent islands of Zanzibar and Comoros along with some parts of Malawi and the eas ...

, jinn possession may be used for healing purposes. Such possessions are to be distinguished from cultural concepts of possession by demons.

Possessing spirits

According to the Islamic view on possession, a corrupted

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

(''nafs'') increases suspectibility (''dha'iyfah'') to possession by evils spirits. Among them are jinn and devils.Khan, S. (18 Nov. 2024). Spirit of the Mind. Leiden, Niederlande: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004719033 p. 35 The jinn differ from devils, by that the former can be believers (Muslim). However, since both are said to be created from some sort of fire, they are affined in some local Islamic beliefs. The jinn can be good or evil and inflict act autonomously or inflict harm when enslaved through magic.Joseph P. Laycock ''Spirit Possession around the World: Possession, Communion, and Demon Expulsion across Cultures'' ABC-CLIO 2015 page 166 Since jinn share their bodily nature with humans, jinn may also possess people because they fell in love with them, often resulting in alleged intercourse between these two. Jinn may also possess someone to take revenge if angered. In such cases, the jinn are also thought to harm a person by hitting them. Even if a pious jinni befalls a human, there is need for an exorcism as relationships between humans and jinn are socially frowned (''

makruh In Islamic terminology, something which is makruh or makrooh (, transliteration, transliterated: ''makrooh'' or ''makrūh'') is "disliked", literally "detestable" or "abominable". This is one of the Ahkam, five categories (''al-ahkam al-khamsa'') ...

'') upon. Devils ( ) assault their victims by whisperings ( ), which is spiritually, rather than possessing them physically. The devils' sole purpose is to lure both humans and jinn into sinful activities, both minor ones and major ones. Paradoxically, suspectibility to the devils also increase with piety, since the devils are more engaged to corrupt a pure soul than a tainted one.

''Ruqyā'' (exorcism)

( , ) refers to the practise of exorcising spirits, jinn, and demons in Islamic tradition and is part of the wider body of the " prophetic medicine". Exorcisms are performed by qualified a ''Raqi'' or a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

(''darvish'') who has been blessed by God (''barakah''). To qualify as a ''Raqi'', one needs, among other criteria, to believe in God, practise the Five Pillars of Islam, follow the Sunnah as examplified by

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

and the saints, believe that the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

has the power to influence spirits, and knows about the spiritual world. For preparations, distractions, such as pictures, music, and golden jewelry, are removed to enable

angels An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

to enter. During the exorcism the exorcist seeks refuge in God and recites Quranic verses. The process further constitutes questioning the patient about their emotional state and dreams. Next, the excorsist negotiates with the possessing creature. Such negotiation may include to command the spirit to curse Satan. It is believed that a satanic spirit would refuse to curse their father and can be identified as a devil, much tougher to manage. If the jinni is willing to negotiate, some healers make attempts to convince them to convert to Islam. Some traditions request aid from good jinn (''muwakkal'') to negotiate with the possessing spirit.Khan, Sanaullah. Spirit of the Mind: Divine Disclosure, Nafs and the Transcendental Self in Islamic Thought. BRILL, 2024.

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