Prophets among the Jinn

Prophets among the Jinn

Question: Hadrat, did prophets come from among the jinn? Are there any human or jinn sahaba still alive?

Answer: A few years ago someone from Muzaffar Nagar published an article in a magazine titled ‘Roohani `Aalam’ i.e “The Spiritual World” in which he stated that there was a jinn sahabi residing at Muzaffar Nagar and Hakeem Ihsaan Ilaahi Sahib had met with this jinn.

The jinn had told him that he was born in Arafaat during the life of Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam and had believed in Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam and had also participated in every jihad with Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam. Thereafter he was appointed as the king of the jinn in India.

Once Shah Waliyullah’s brother, Shah Ahlullah, was brought to his court due to his being accused in the murder of a jinn who had come in the form of a snake.

The article also stated that this jinn will appear at the commencement of the fifteenth century Hijri. Since then it has been eleven years but this jinn has not yet made an appearance.

The publisher had also written in the magazine that if this information is incorrect then a retraction would be published in the very same magazine.

It was also written in the article that this sahabi jinn had appointed Hakeem Ihsaan Ilaahi as his khalifah. However, since he was not an aalim, Moulana Haneef Aslam Sahib was made to join him so that conveying the message will prove easier.

This entire incident was sent to me as an istifta (request for a fatwa.) In reply to it I wrote that it is correct that the jinnat are a creation of Allah Ta`ala. Surah Jinn is an entire surah in the Qur’an. It is also correct that their lifespan are much longer than that of human’s. It is also true that Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam had gone to the jinnat for the purpose of tabligh and that they had brought iman at his hands. However Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam had never appointed any jinn as his khalifah (representative) nor as an imam.

Ulama have written that Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam had participated in many wars yet he had never appointed a jinn as the ameer (leader). On several occasions Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam happened to leave Madina Munawwarah and appointed someone to lead the salah but never did he appoint a jinn.

Allah Ta`ala has not made man subservient to jinn. Rather, being ashraf-ul-makhlooqat (best of creation), man has been kept free from the subordination of the jinn. It is for this reason that a jinn can narrate a hadith from a human but a human cannot narrate from a jinn. How can such a report be reliable when it is not known who is he narrating from and who has related it? In short, man has not been kept in subordination to the jinn in any way.

It becomes clear from the context of the narration recorded as ‘zuhoor-e-sahabah’ (appearance of the sahabah) that towards the end of the fourteenth century Hijri a very old jinn sahabi will emerge. The ummat at that time will be split into seventy three sects. One sect will obey this old jinn sahabi and only this sect will attain salvation. The other seventy two sects will not obey this jinn sahabi and will enter Jahannum despite practising on the Qur’an Kareem and authentic ahadith.

The akaabir-e-aslaaf (the past senior elders) have already given a detailed explanation of the seventy three sects in their kitabs centuries before. In this narration salvation has been restricted to the following of just one person, whereas this is incorrect.

Imam Malik رحمة الله عليه had compiled his kitab Al-Muatta and seventy ulama had endorsed its authenticity. The khalifah of the era wished that the Muatta be hung on the Ka’bah so that all the people practise on it. Imam Malik stopped him from doing this and said, “The sahabah had gone to far off lands taking with them the ahadith which they had heard directly from Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam . They will practise on those ahadith. Why should they be forced to practise on this Muatta?”

Hence it is incorrect to take one narration and compel the entire ummat to practise on it. For this reason I had very strongly refuted this.

Furthermore, on seeing the stamp on that letter it is evident that this jinn was not acquainted with Arabic. How could have he have been possibly born in Arafat?

The stamp read sultan-ul-ajinnah The Arabic word ‘ajinnah’ is the plural of ‘janeen’, which means ‘foetus’. The plural of jinn is not ajinnah. This word appears in the Qur’an also:

واذ انتم اجنة فى بطون امهاتكم

And when you were foetuses in the wombs of your mothers [52: 32]

Once, when the editor of that magazine had come to Deoband, I reminded him that he had declared that if this article was false then a retraction will be published. However up to this date no retraction has been made. He replied, “Disregard it.”

I told him, “This is not a matter to be ignored. By publishing it in your magazine you have drawn the attention of people to it and you had promised them that should the article turn out to be false a refutation will be written in those very pages. Therefore it is wajib (compulsory) upon you to refute it.

Despite all this he did not write any refutation. It is very well possible that now that magazine is no more in circulation.*

Indeed this person has frequented many places, writing taweezat (amulets). He had once gone to South Africa and I happened to meet him there. However I was unable to meet the person who had met the jinn directly and was appointed as his khalifah. Since he was not an alim others have been sent together with him so that he may fulfil the duty of khilafat. As far as his commission is concerned we don’t know how much has been fixed.

Question: Hadrat, since narrating on the authority of jinnat is unreliable then how is it that in some kitabs like Tazikirat-ur-Rasheed the narration of Shah Ahlullah Sahib is recorded?

Answer: Any narration that has been related by any of the the akabir from the jinnat in some of their kitabs, it is because of its being something unique and rare.

For example, Shah Waliyyullah Sahib has recorded many such narrations in his book An-Nawadir. That is why Shah Sahib named the book An-Nawadir (The Rarities). No action or belief is based on it. It is not intended that masaail be deduced from them. Rather whatever has been narrated is because of its being something unique and strange.

Malfuzat-e-Faqihul Ummat Hadrat Mufti Mahmudul Hasan Saheb Gangohi