The Jinn

Amongst us [jinn] are some that submit their wills and some that swerve from justice. Now those who submit their wills, they have sought out the path of right conduct: but those who swerve, they are fuel for Hell-fire.

— The Qur'an, Al-Jinn: 14-15

According to Islamic teaching, God created three classes of intelligent beings: the angels (mala'ika, sing., malak) made of light; the jinn ("the hidden," masc. sing. jinni, fem. sing. jinniyya) made of smokeless fire or aether; and humans (al-Ins) made of clay. Angels are God's direct servants at his side, while both humans and jinn are capable of salvation and were sent to populate the earth. Muhammad was tasked with bringing both jinn and humans to salvation and many jinn appear to have adopted Islam, but there are also jinn who have devoted themselves to tempting others and have rejected the message of the faith, risking damnation. It is said that the jinn were the original inhabitants of Earth but fell away from the worship of God. Iblis, the Islamic equivalent of the Devil, is recorded as being originally one of the most powerful of the ancient jinn. He fell to pride and refused to bow down to Adam when commanded by God.

All jinn occupy a constant place in the folklore of Islam and share several common characteristics. Some myths tell of impious humans that have transformed into jinn on their deaths, although whether this describes the creation of Infernal ghosts or transformation into Magic spirits or some kind of Faerie apotheosis is difficult to determine. The true nature of bazarkh, the soul's experiences immediately after death, has not been elucidated by the few Merinita and Criamon scholars interested in pursuing this state. See the "Terminology of Jinn" sidebar for further details.

All jinn are said to be composed of "smokeless fire" — the exact nature of this varies depending on the chosen Realm alignment of the particular jinni: Faerie jinn are composed of Glamour, Infernal jinn have bodies of rarefied power and Magic jinn are composed of pure magic. This magical body is usually aligned to the Form of Vim, rather than being flame associated with the Form of Ignem, although some jinn, particularly Magic jinn, are strongly aligned to the elemental Forms. Most jinn can assume a physical form composed of elemental matter or solid energy using one of their powers. Many have the ability to change their shape into elemental manifestations, animals, humanoid forms, or the shape of particular humans.

Jinn divide themselves into several main tribes that roughly correlate with their Realm alignment. Thus the Jann are lesser Faerie jinn that follow the ways of Islam and pass for human merchants, no-

Common Muslim folk sometimes mistakenly refer to ghosts and other supernatural creatures from Arab folklore as jinn. Dhilan, ghaddars, hatifs, naddahas, nisnases, shiqq, and udars are not jinn in the sense given here, nor are the Persian divs, yazatas, and peris*.* However, Faerie jinn may mimic or assume roles similar to these creatures in order to entrap humans in their stories. These creatures have different origins than jinn: ghosts may have once been humans; some have been created by magical mishaps or the workings of ancient wizards; others are aligned to the Divine or Infernal Realms. Despite their name, the Faerie creatures referred to as Soqotran jinniyah and associated with the Myrrh trees of that island are not true jinn and are similarly unaffected by Sihr.

Arab folklore also blames many supernatural events and occurrences, including ghostly haunting, on the jinn. Thus the term "jinni" is also mistakenly used to describe any magical spirit, effect or creature. The lesser Airy Spirits, including the entities understood by Hermetic theory as Spell Spirits, are similarly explained using this lesser term, though they lack the cultural identity of true jinn. The Named Spirits of Hermetic Theurgy, such as the Astra Planeta daimons so well known to Arab wizards, are also not considered jinn*,* and are referred to instead as al-Nujum, "the Stars."

To the ignorant mundane, anything supernatural is jinn*,* but to a sahir, a jinni is a specific creature subject to the Art of Sihr and its legacy of command passed down from the wisdom of Suleiman. This makes dealing with unknown supernatural entities potentially difficult and dangerous for a sahir, and so most prefer to rely on knowledge passed down by their forebears and are very cautious when dealing with encountered spirits they have not summoned directly.

Sahirs using Sihr or their Solomonic Magic have no exceptional power over these other spiritual creatures but some may be able to use different magical abilities such as the Goetic Arts of Summoning and Commanding to affect these spirits.

mads, or shepherds, interacting with humans in stories involving hospitality and morality. The Shaitan are a collection of both dark Faerie and Infernal spirits, some of who have become corrupted into true terrestrial demons. The Ghul tribe consists of dark Faerie sexual predators and cannibalistic Infernal savages that haunt cemeteries and graveyards looking for carrion or lone travelers. The powerful Marid tribe are a loose alliance of ancient Magic elemental spirits of water, wind, and weather found predominantly in Arabia.