Everyone loves a good scary story. But when shit gets real, it starts to get a little uncomfortable. And professor Ali A Olomi who teaches history and specializes in the Middle East and Islam decided to make a thread on the various types of Jinns that inhabit the human world with us.
His thread sparked a vigorous debate in our office with a colleague telling me about what she herself knows about Shiqqs which he mentioned within his thread. Upon further investigation, I learned enough about Shiqqs and further Nasnas to know that I would not be sleeping all week.
And those are just two types of Jinns one must be wary of. According to Olomi, the idea of Jinns and their existence even predates Islam. And he breaks down the various sub-categories.
In Middle Eastern and Islamic cosmology, the djinn/jinn are a class of spirits that inhabit a hidden world, al ghayb. Belief in them predates Islam and they feature in folklore and religion both in a variety of shapes and forms
A thread on the djinn:
— Ali A Olomi (@aaolomi) July 31, 2019
The first one is what he calls the ‘Marid’, or locally in Pakistan referred to as a ‘Mureed’. A lot of times people think that palmists have a Marid in their control and that is how they know all your information and can ‘predict’ your future.
There are multiple types of djinn. The classic wish-granting type is known as Marid. They are giant beings with immense power.
According to Islamic lore, they try to listen in to the angels discussing fate and are driven off with fiery missiles—hence shooting stars.
— Ali A Olomi (@aaolomi) July 31, 2019
The next Jinn, of all the types of jinns he listed, is the Ifrit which apparently can shape-shift into animals.
We have all heard that from our elders, right? Don’t be cruel to animals you see since they might be Jinns and exact revenge later on.
Ifrits are infernal winged djinn who live in tribal social structures with kings and rulers. They can shapeshift into animals, or appear as humans and are believed to cause sudden sandstorms and dust devils.
They frequent ruins
— Ali A Olomi (@aaolomi) July 31, 2019
Further on, Ghuls haunt cemeteries and eat meat.
Now I am reevaluating every time someone has told me to throw some meat in a cemetery as a way to get rid of any bad juju considering that now I know for sure it’s not for animals…
Ghuls (where we get the word ghoul from) are djinn who haunt cemeteries. They are flesh-eating creatures that feast on the living and the dead. They can appear as beautiful women to lure men to their deaths, but are recognizable by their donkey legs.
A Qutub is a bestial Ghul
— Ali A Olomi (@aaolomi) July 31, 2019
Then there is the Si’lat which takes the form of a beautiful woman to lure men to have sex with them and procreate with them. Following the Si’lat is the Shiqq which we talked about before as well.
The Si’lat are shapeshifting djinn who take the form of beautiful women to procreate with men. They akin to the succubus or European hag, though si’lat aren’t always evil.
The more malicious Qarinah can also appear as a beautiful woman and is associated with sleep paralysis.
— Ali A Olomi (@aaolomi) July 31, 2019
Then there is Hatif, of a type of Jinn is just a disembodied voice and has no physical form.
They mimic the voices of your loved ones. So that story where you hear your mom call you and then immediately hear your mother’s voice again saying it’s not her might have some truth to it after all…
The Hatif, also known as namgirak in the Persianate world, is a djinn who mimics the voices of loved ones to call out to you.
They has no form, but always sounds like someone you know. If you hear a disembodied voice of a loved on, it may be a Hatif
— Ali A Olomi (@aaolomi) July 31, 2019
Then there are Qareens which we have talked about previously. TL;DR, everyone has one and it’s like your shadow.
Finally, there is the Qareen, a djinn-like companion everyone is born with, like a shadow that follows us through life.
— Ali A Olomi (@aaolomi) July 31, 2019
He then talks about the mention of Jinns in Quran and Hadith, and how the idea of their existence is heavily believed in Islam.
The Qur’an and Hadith refer to the djinn as creatures formed of a type of elemental fire, a smokeless, smoldering flame.
Historically they may have their origin in local spirits of the land, or tutelary deities and perhaps may be related to the concept of Genii.
— Ali A Olomi (@aaolomi) July 31, 2019
Anyway, now that we know there is not one type of Jinn but several, I know I will never know a good night’s sleep again. Which of these types of Jinns freaks you out the most? Let us know in the comments below.
Cover Image Via pond5.com
