A Qareen ( ''qarīn'', literally meaning: 'constant companion') is a spiritual double of a human, either part of the human himself or a complementary creature in a parallel dimension.Kelly Bulkeley, Kate Adams, Patricia M. Davis ''Dreaming in Christianity and Islam: Culture, Conflict, and Creativity'' Rutgers University Press 2009 page 144 The ''qareen'' belongs to the jinn in regards to its ghostly nature, yet distinct from the genus of jinn.Veena Das, Clara Han ''Living and Dying in the Contemporary World: A Compendium'' Univ of California Press 2015 page 145 Although the ''qareen'' can be either a devil or an angel, they are more often associated with malevolent spirits tempting into sin. The idea of a spiritual double accompany humans might be a remnant of older Semitic beliefs, such as the Egypt ''kꜣ'' which in turn resembles the Babylonian idea of an undefined personal deity accompanying a person. The Qareen as an accompanying spirit should not be confused with the '' Qarinah'', a female "childbed demon" in Middle Eastern traditions.

Qareen in Islam

Quran

In 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 ...

, the concept of a ''Qareen'' is absent. The term, meaning "companion" appears a few times, but without any demonic associations. Hans Alexander Winkler noted that the Quranic reference to a ''Qareen'' refers to an earthly companion like a friend, who influences a Muslim to leave the Islamic community. Even the "satan" mentioned in 43:36 refers to a human tempter (''shaytan al ins''), not a spiritual entity. It is only in the

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

that spiritual company is clearly associated with the term ''Qareen''. Here, it refers to either a demon or angel. Only in later folklore is a ''Qareen'' considered a spiritual doppelganger of an individual human. The term ''Qareen'' is mentioned in the following Quran verses without necessarily referring to any type of spiritual creature: Sūrat az-Zukhruf: "And whosoever turns away from remembering and mentioning the Most Beneficent, we appoint for him a Satan to be a ''Qareen'' to him." Sūrat as-Saffat: "A speaker among them will say, 'Indeed, I had a ''Qareen''.'" Sūrat an-Nisa: "And those who spend of their wealth to be seen by the people and believe not in Allah nor in the Last Day. And he to whom Satan is a ''Qareen'' - then evil is he as a ''Qareen''." Sūrat Qaf: "And his ''Qareen'', will say, 'This is what is with me, prepared.'"

Hadith

Muhammad's (ﷺ)''qarin'' is said to have submitted to ''islam'', which means, that he has trained his lower faculties (''nafs'') and turned his lust, greed, and delusions, into obedecience to God. He achieved ''insan-kamil'', the perfect human-being to whom the ''shaytan'' bows down. A hadith from

Al-Tirmidhi Muhammad ibn Isa al-Tirmidhi (; 824 – 9 October 892 CE / 209–279 AH), often referred to as Imām at-Termezī/Tirmidhī, was an Islamic scholar, and collector of hadith from Termez (early Khorasan and in present-day Uzbekistan). He w ...

which regarded authentic by

al-Albani Muhammad Nasir al-Din (19142 October 1999), commonly known as al-Albani, was an Albanian Islamic scholar. A leading figure of Salafism, he is commemorated for his works on revaluation of hadith studies. Born in Shkodër, Albania, to a family ad ...

has transmitted a chain of narration which ended at ' Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, that he reported Muhammad(ﷺ) has said:

"''Indeed a Shaitan whispers to humans, angels also whisper. Whispers of the shaitan promised evil and denying the truth. Meanwhile, the angel's whisper promises goodness and truth. Whoever gets it, then know that it is from Allah Azza wa Jalla, then let him praise Allah Azza wa Jalla. And whoever gets something else, then he should seek refuge in Allah Azza wa Jalla from the cursed devil''".

Then Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud said in his report that Muhammad (ﷺ)continues by recited the Quran chapter Al-Baqara verse 268. A hadith from

Sahih Muslim () is the second hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj () in the format, the work is valued by Sunnis, alongside , as the most important source for Islamic religion after the Q ...

has transmitted a chain of narration which ended at 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, that he reported Muhammad (ﷺ)has said

"''Each of you has been sent for him a qarin (companion) from the jinn kind.''" The group of
Sahabah The Companions of the Prophet () were the Muslim disciples and followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who saw or met him during his lifetime. The companions played a major role in Muslim battles, society, hadith narration, and governance ...
asked, "''Including you, O Messenger of Allah?''", which replied by Muhammad, "''Including me, only God helped me to subdue him, until he converted to Islam. Therefore, he does not whispered anything to me except goodness.''".

Another Hadith from Sahih Muslim also stated that Muhammad (ﷺ)said “''Every one of you has been sent a companion from among the jinn.''”

Interpretation

Several opinions exist on the exact nature of the ''Qareen''. Generally the term ''Qareen'' refers to any type of spirit accompanying humans. The ''Qareen'' refers to devils (''shaytan''), who give evil suggestions (''waswās'') and angels who counsel towards good deeds. While the ''Qareen'' might be remnicent of spirits inspiring poetry in pre-Islamic Arabia, the ''Qareen'' Islamic monotheism gradually shifted them into a negative role. Ibn Hanbal stated that one has a ''qareen'' from the devils and a ''qareen'' from the angels" (''malak''). Tabari cites a tradition (''hadith'') that every human has a ''qareen'' from the devils advising evil and an angel accompanied advising good.

Suyuti Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (; 1445–1505), or al-Suyuti, was an Egyptian Sunni Muslim polymath of Persian descent. Considered the mujtahid and mujaddid of the Islamic 10th century, he was a leading muhaddith (hadith master), mufassir (Qu'ran e ...

is unsure if the ''qareen'' in Surah 50:23 refers to a devil or angel. He does identify the ''qareen'' in Surah 50:27 with a devil though. Al-Uthaymin has stated that Qareen is an ''evil jinn'' (evil spirit) who is tasked to lead human astray with God's permission to test the faith of humans, as interpretation of al-Baqara chapter in verse 268. Some identify the ''Qareen'' not as a separate being but as the "other self": a spirit integral to the person. A dissent between the inner ''Qareen'' and behavior may cause the same symptoms as Jinn-possession.

Other sources

The concept of a ''Qareen'' appears in pre-Islamic literature as well, and is reminiscent of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

daimones and the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

guardian angel A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary deity, tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played ...

. In Pre-Islamic Arabian myth the Qareen is said to be able to inspire poets for their works. How prevalent it is in folk belief varies by country. For example, it is more popular in Egypt than Sudan. It is possible the concept in Egypt has been influenced by the older concept of the ka. In some cases (such as that of holy men), the qarin or karin persists after a person has died. In Egypt, both

Copts Copts (; ) are a Christians, Christian ethnoreligious group, ethnoreligious group native to Northeast Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are, like the broader Egyptians, Egyptian population, des ...

and Muslims believe in the qarin, and believe it may turn into a cat or dog at night. Amulets are used to guard against the qarin, especially if it is jealous. Pregnant women in Egypt used to visit a ''sheikha'' three months before birth to ask their counsel on ensuring their qarina does not harm their child. The prescribed rituals and amulets usually involve the number seven. Brides in Upper Egypt also wore amulets against their qarin. Many Russian and Turkish Muslims believe the qarin is present in the womb with the person it's attached to. One of the seven

mu'allaqat The Muʻallaqāt (, ) is a compilation of seven long pre-Islamic Arabic poems. The name means The Suspended Odes or The Hanging Poems, they were named so because these poems were hung in the Kaaba in Mecca. Some scholars have also suggested th ...

—Arabic poems recognized as masterpieces during the pre-Islamic period—uses the word as a metaphor. To describe his tribe's excellence in battle, poet Amr bin Kulthum says that "every tribe has taken fear of us as a ''qarin'' (or 'constant companion')," meaning that their fear of Amr's tribe is always present. This goes further to show the origin of the word ''qareen'', as described in the Arabic dictionary as a "companion".

References