Author C.L. Riley
Bottle Banished: Dreaming of Genie
Djinns, Genies, and Magic
There is an abundance of fascinating information available about jinns or genies. Many people believe these magical beings indeed exist and play a role in our world, even today. The details and stories below are thought-provoking to say the least. We hope you enjoy!
Origins
According to pre-Islamic lore, the djinn are born of smokeless fire (which in modern terms could be plasma). They live very long lives but they are not immortal. According to some accounts, they live with other supernatural beings in the Kaf, a mythical range of emerald mountains that encircles the Earth. In modern terms, they live in a parallel dimension.
The djinn like to roam the deserts and wilderness and inhabit caves. They are usually invisible, but have the power to shape-shift to any form, be it insect, animal, human, or entity. They have long been regarded as malicious and dangerous, capable of bringing bad luck, illness, disaster and death. Even when granting favors, they have a trickster nature and can twist events for the worse.
Though the djinn can be conjured in magical rites, they are difficult to control. One individual said to have complete power over the djinn was the legendary Biblical King Solomon. God gave Solomon a copper and iron magic ring that enabled him to subdue djinn, and which protected him from their powers. In some accounts, the ring was inscribed with a pentacle, and in other accounts it was set with a gem, probably a diamond, that had a living force of its own. With the ring, Solomon branded the necks of the djinn as his slaves and set them to working building the first Temple of Jerusalem and even the entire city of Jerusalem.
One story tells that a jealous djinni (sometimes identified as Asmodeus) stole Solomon’s ring while he bathed in the river Jordan. The djinni seated himself on the king’s throne at his palace and reigned over his kingdom, forcing Solomon to become a wanderer. God compelled the djinni to throw the ring into the sea. Solomon retrieved it, and punished the djinni by imprisoning him in a bottle.
According to another story, Solomon summoned the djinn to his crystal-paved palace, where they sat at tables made of iron. (In folklore, iron weakens supernatural entities.) The Qur’an tells how the king made them work at building palaces, making carpets, and creating ponds, statues and gardens. Whenever Solomon wanted to travel to faraway places, the djinn carried him on their backs.
Information from www.djinnuniverse.com
Genie's in Popular Culture
This is just a sampling!
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The Caliph's House and In Arabian Nights by Tahir Shah, describes his family's experiences in moving from London to a supposedly jinn-inhabited home in Morocco.
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The X-Files: Season 7, Episode 21, "Je Souhaite" (original title) Two brothers have a less than helpful genie who grants their wishes with disastrous consequences. Mulder comes into possession of the same genie, and his wishes garner similar results.
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In a subplot in Neil Gaiman's novel, American Gods, a salesman discontented with his life has a sexual encounter with a jinni (specifically, an ‘ifrit) who is working as a taxi driver in New York.
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In the Supernatural episode "What Is and What Should Never Be", the protagonist, Dean Winchester, is attacked by a jinni and it grants him his wish. They also make an appearance later in the season 6 episode "Exile on Main St".
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In The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis, the inhabitants of the world of Charn are half-jinn and half giant, as they descended from Lilith.
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In the online MMORPG AdventureQuest Worlds, the Middle Eastern-themed zone the Sandsea Desert features a Djinni Chaos Lord named Tibicenas, as well as a Djinni realm which the player can explore.
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In Clash of the Titans the Djinn are ancient desert sorcerers who extended their longevity by replacing damaged body parts with "charwood and black magic", also rendering them immune to certain other forms of magic. They appear to speak Arabic throughout the film.
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In Wishmaster an evil Djinn is released from a museum exhibit.
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I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s television show starring Larry Hagman & Barbara Eden as a beautiful but incorrigible genie rescued by an Air Force pilot, Major Anthony Nelson (Hagman) who constantly gets him into trouble with her magic.
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In the video game series Golden Sun players use four types of Djinn representing the four traditional elements Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind to battle monsters.
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The main villain of the 2007 video game Sonic and the Secret Rings is a genie by the name of "Erazor Djinn".
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Creatures in the 2012 video game Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception are called the Djinn. They are guardians of The Iram of the Pillars
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Jinn - A 2014 English movie.
Types of Jinn/Genies
Types of Djinn
Adapted from The Vengeful Djinn by Rosemary Ellen Guiley and Philip J. Imbrogno, Llewellyn, 2011 www.djinnuniverse.com
There are different types of djinn; the Qur’an mentions only three: Djinn, ‘ifrit, and marid. Other names include jann, ghul, shaitans, hinn, nasnas, shiqq, si’lat, and a host of others. The names above vary depending on the region in the Middle Eastern country. Some of the best-known Djinn are:
Ghul
The ghul (ghoul) are shape-shifting cannibalistic and blood-drinking creatures that feed on the flesh of human beings, especially travelers, children or corpses stolen out of graves. The oldest references to ghul in Arabian lore are found in The Book of 1001 Nights. There are several types of ghul. The most feared is a female type (ghula) which has the ability to appear as a normal, mortal woman. According to lore, such a creature marries an unsuspecting man, who becomes her prey. The ghul are nocturnal creatures who inhabit graveyards, ruins and other lonely places. Sometimes they are described as dead humans who sleep for long periods in secret graves, then awake, rise and feast on both the living and the dead. Ghul also personify the unknown terrors held by the desert. In Persian lore the ghul has the legs of a donkey and the horns of a goat.
Hinn
The hinn are weak djinn, close to animals, and they especially like to appear as dogs.
‘Ifrit
The ‘ifrit (variation: afrit) is cited only once in the Qur’an, in reference to a djinni who fetched the throne of the Queen of Sheba at the command of King Solomon. In lore, it is evil and powerful, and difficult to control.
Jann
Jann are shape-shifters who lives in the desert, and take the forms of whirlwinds and white camels. They are open-minded about humans, and were among the first djinn encountered by people. They have the power to hide or reveal oases in the desert, depending on whether they like or dislike a party of travelers. They are the enemies of the ghul.
Marid
The marid is unruly and rebellious, and the most powerful of djinn. The marida (plural) possess great knowledge of magic and have assisted kings and priests. They are also known as “blue” djinn and are the ones most often associated with wish-granting genies.
Nasnas
The nasnas is another weak form of djinn, hybrids of human-like and animal-like forms, and may account for some of our encounters with mysterious creatures. It is described in The Book of 1001 Nights as a half- human being, that is, it has half a head, half a body, one arm, one leg. It hops about on its single leg. The nasnas was said to be the offspring of a shiqq (see below) and a human being.
More forms and even colors are listed on the djinn universe website.
Interesting stories and accounts about Genies and jinns in today's world
"A sorcerer notorious for 'making wolves kill jinn' has been arrested in Al-Kara village in Al-Habil, which comes comes under Rijal Alma governorate. Al-Habil Police, together with members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a), made the arrest at 9 a.m. Saturday. The sorcerer was apprehended at his home, where police and Hai'a siezed many copies of a book on witchcraft and sorcery as well as related paraphenelia. Two wild wolves were found in his possession. According to some sources, he used to make the wolves to eat the jinn. Another source said the sorcerer was well known for treating diseases." - Nadia Al-Waz, Saudi Gazette
"Below is a recalling of my conversation I had with an elder through a Pashtun interpreter.
Me: Let's go take a walk up those hills and survey the area.
Elder: We cannot go there.
Me: Why not?
Elder: Because the Djinn live there.
Me: The fire beings?
Elder: Yes! The smokeless fire spirits. You, a Christian, know and believe of the Djinn?
Me: I have read about them. As a Catholic my faith is open to the possibility of other creatures. How do you know the Djinn live there?
Elder: They use to live where our tribe settled (over a hundred years ago) and built the village.
Me: So why did the Djinn move?
Elder: There were too many encounters between people and Djinn.
Me: I thought the Djinn live in another dimension (this took the interpreter a minute or two to convey)
Elder: They do. But our worlds are so close together that it is possible for cross over.
Me: Were there any bad incidents?
Elder: Most Djinn were kind or neutral to us. Some were mean though. Many Djinn left because they were afraid of our ancestors because our ancestors were all warriors. Others left because we would accidently step on their children.
Me: Stepping on smokeless fire babies is not good for Kuchi-Djinn relations.
Elder: Yes, yes. Very true.
Me: So do the Djinn leave you people alone?
Elder: Most do. We consider them our neighbors and friends. Some are mean, just like how some people are mean, but we respect them and they respect us.
Me: So you never go to the Djinn place?
Elder: No. When a baby is born we take some gold, bones, and some of the child's hair if possible and put it in a bag. We take the bag and leave it on the Djinn's hills.
Me: Why?
Elder: So they can celebrate the child's birth with us. The gold is a gift, we give them the child's hair so they can see part of the child, and bones because in the Hadiths the Prophet Mohammad once visited a tribe of Djinn and brought them a bag of bones. When the Prophet's followers asked why he had a bag of bones the Prophet replied, "Because Djinn eat bones."
Me: Sounds like you have some good neighbors. So why can't we go up the hill together? Would not the Djinn think I am your friend because I am with you?
Elder: The Djinn do not travel much. They may think you are Soviet or British. I do not want to put you at risk, my friend.
Me: Thank you. I tend to prefer distance between me and other worldly beings anyways." - from Blog: Geographic Travels