A Brief Overview of al Jinn within Islamic Cosmology and Religiosity

For centuries humans have been fascinated and have had a deep attraction for the supernatural, the unknown and the unseen. Whether it is with living creatures from other planets (i.e., visitors to this planet, chance meetings with the extra-terrestrial beings, sightings of unidentified flying objects) or something as seemingly simple as speaking with psychics, reading one’s horoscope, or seeking someone to communicate with the dead. For some there is an unspoken fascination and/or longing for a deeper connection or insight into the cosmological plane within the spirit world. For others, spirits are no more than the souls of dead people, or ghosts, and even some pretend that spirits do not even exist. However, those who believe in a higher power know that spirits are either the forces of good or evil; both battling against each other to gain influence over humanity. Islamic religious beliefs tend to explain a realm of the unknown and unseen within cosmology. It is from this realm that Islam explains the world of al jinn and its connections to Islam. The Encyclopedia of the Qur’an defines cosmology as a “divinely governed order of the universe and the place of humans within it” (Neuwirth 2001:441). This Qur’anic understanding of cosmology is taught within five very diverse sectors. These sectors are: (1) the divine six-day-work of creation of the material world, (2) human kind and its habitat in nature, (3) demons or spirits (jinn), (4) the animal world, and (5) the resolution of created space on the day of doom (judgment). In this article, I will focus on sector three that deals with demons or spirits, more commonly known in the Islamic world as al jinn. When the average person hears the term jinn (genie), one often has a vision of a genie living inside a beautiful vase or bottle with a luxurious plush couch and living area inside of it. Or perhaps even the story of