43 jinn

and politics, in ios 10 (1980), 14-20; R. Firestone, (see tribes and clans) that God, in the
Jihād. The origin of holy war in Islam, New York fullness of his lordship, succeeds in making
1999; M.K. Haykal, al-Jihād wa-l-qitāl fī l-siyāsati
l-shariyya, Beirut 1996; A.A. Jannatī, Defense and
disappear (q 53:23, “They are but names
jihad in the Qur
ān, in al-Tawīd 1 (1984), 39-54; which you have named”), the jinn survive
M.J. Kister, An yadin (Qur
ān IX⁄29). An attempt at the heart of the new religion. The
at interpretation, in Arabica 11 (1964), 272-8; Qur
ān limits itself to denying them the
A. Morabia, Le Ǧihād dans l’Islam médiéval. Le
“combat sacré” des origines au XIIe siècle, Paris 1986; greater part of their powers — those, at
M. Mu ahhari, Jihad in the Qur
ān, in M. Abedi any rate, that they could have claimed
and G. Legenhausen (eds.), Jihād and shahādat. from the lord of the Qur
ān. In particular,
Struggle and martyrdom in Islam, Houston 1986,
they are shorn of their primordial function
81-124; A. Noth, Heiliger Krieg und heiliger Kampf in
Islam und Christentum, Bonn 1966; H.T. Obbink, relative to humankind, that of uncovering
De heilige oorlog volgens den Koran, Leiden 1901; the secrets (q.v.) of destiny (ghayb), thereby
Paret, Kommentar; id., Sure 9, 122, in wi 2 (1953), possessing knowledge of the future and of
232-6; R. Peters, Islam and colonialism. The doctrine
of jihad in modern history, The Hague 1976; the world of the invisible (see hidden and
D. Powers, The exegetical genre nāsikh al-Qurān the hidden; destiny; fate). In the
wa-mansūkhuhu, in Rippin, Approaches, 117-38; account of the death of Solomon (q.v.;
Abdallāh b. Amad al-Qādirī, al-Jihād fī sabīli
q 34:14), the jinn, having failed to grasp
llāh. aqīqatuhu wa-ghāyatuhu, Jeddah 1992;
U. Rubin, Barāa. A study of some qur
ānic that the king is dead, continue to serve him
passages, in jsai 5 (1984), 13-32; A. Sachedina, in humility and abasement — thus demon-
The development of jihād in Islamic revelation strating their ignorance of the ghayb. But
and history, in J.T. Johnson and J. Kelsay (eds.),
Cross, crescent and sword, New York 1990, 35-50;
the very fact that the Qur
ān dispossesses
A. Schleifer, Jihād and traditional Islamic con- them, allows, at the same time, for recogni-
sciousness, in iq 27 (1983), 173-203; id., Under- tion of their former role as mediators be-
standing jihād. Definition and methodology, in
tween the invisible world and humankind.
iq 27 (1983), 118-31; F. Schwally, Der heilige
Krieg des Islam in religionsgeschichtlicher und The Qur
ān finds itself in the surprising
staatsrechtlicher Beleuchtung, in Internationale position of having to come to terms with
Monatsschrift für Wissenschaft, Kunst und Technik 6 the jinn, i.e. subjecting them to its God, so
(1916), 689-714; W.M. Watt, Islamic conceptions
of the holy war, in T.P. Murphy (ed.), The holy
powerful is the image they conjure up in
war, Columbus, OH 1976, 141-56; A.L. Wismar, popular imagination and local beliefs. In
A study in tolerance as practiced by Muammad and his doing this, the text of the Qur
ān permits
immediate successors, New York 1966. us to confirm part of what has been sug-
gested concerning the way in which the
desert Arabs (see arabs; bedouin; pre-
Jinn islamic arabia and the qur
n) of the
sixth century c.e. viewed their relationship
A category of created beings believed to to the jinn.
possess powers for evil and good. Although Regarded as having lost their faculty of
their existence is never doubted, the jinn familiarity with the invisible, the jinn were
(Eng. “genie”) are presented in the Qur
ān also seen as having lost their “power” or
as figures whose effective role has been “faculty of action” (sul
ān, e.g. q 55:33).
considerably curtailed in comparison to Sul
ān is the exclusive preserve of the God
that accorded to them by various forms of of the Qur
ān, who dispenses it to whom-
pre-Islamic religion. soever he wishes (q 14:11; 59:6; etc.; see
Unlike their rivals, the rabb and the rabba, power and impotence). He never dele-
the “lords” and “ladies,” supernatural pro- gates complete mastery to anyone, how-
tectors and “allies” (awliyā) of the tribes ever, since omnipotence remains one of
 jinn 44

his exclusive properties (see god and his minds of many Muslims, with the fear that
attributes). One should consider this the jinn remain as dangerous and as unpre-
assertion about the reduction of the jinn’s dictable to access as ever.
powers in the light of the qur
ānic denial The jinn most often figure in the Qur
ān
of the powers attributed to magic (q.v.; in the form of a collectivity. The other
sir). The qur
ānic allusions to magic seem name applied to them is shayā
īn, “satans,
to demand the presence of an initiator devils” (associated with the Eng. “de-
(himself human and dependent on a super- mons”), a name whose semantic evolution
natural being) who “teaches” ( yuallimu) it, from classical Greek is worthy of particular
that is — in this context — gives “guide- attention (see foreign vocabulary). The
lines” (alām; cf. q 2:102; 20:71). The people equivalence between the terms jinn and
of Mecca called Muammad the “lying shay
ān, already familiar in pre-Islamic
sorcerer” (sāir kadhdhāb, q 38:4); he is de- Arabia, is confirmed in the Qur
ān with
nounced as “bewitched” (masūr, q 17:47); reference to the supernatural beings who
he is said to be “possessed by jinn” (majnūn, are said to be in Solomon’s service. They
q 15:6; see insanity; lie). In another pas- are indicated — indiscriminately — by
sage it is the “satans, devils” (shayā
īn, the both these terms: in q 27:17, 39 and 34:12,
equivalent of the jinn in the Qur
ān — see 14 it is the jinn who serve Solomon; but in
below) who “teach magic to men” ( yualli- q 21:82 and 38:37 they are called shayā
īn.
mūna l-nāsa l-siar, q 2:102). Nonetheless, a Parallel to the use of their designation in
pervasive sentiment that the jinn still need the plural, the “satans” come to acquire
to be appeased can be seen in the persist- the status of a proper name, “the Satan”
ent ritual sacrifices to the jinn, which have (al-shay
ān), a rebel against God (q 17:27;
been more or less openly admitted until 19:44) and an enemy (aduww) of people
very recently among the desert shepherds. (e.g. q 17:53, and numerous other places in
This demonstrates that the powers denied the Qur
ān; see devil).
the jinn are nevertheless understood to As regards Iblīs, the qur
ānic diabolos (lit.
remain vital despite the passage of centu- the Gk. term means “he who divides [by
ries (e.g. the sacrifice of the tent reported calumny]”; this is the Septuagint’s transla-
by Jaussen, Coutumes, 339; Wellhausen, tion of the Heb. sā
ān [derived from Job 1,
Reste, 151 also quotes the slightly earlier “the adversary” or “the accuser” — in fact,
observations made by Doughty in Travels, he who proposes to put the just person to
ii, 629). “the test”]), his qur
ānic attestations are far
Ethnographic research indicates that, less significant than either the singular or
despite the qur
ānic statements to the con- the plural occurrences of shay
ān. Iblīs is of
trary, people continue to believe in the qui- immediate interest in the context of the
etly disconcerting presence of these beings, jinn, however, because he is identified as
who haunt the spaces to which people do one of them in q 18:50. Iblīs enters the
not belong but through which they are qur
ānic discourse in the context of a par-
nevertheless constrained to pass whenever ticular narrative, that of his refusal to pros-
going from place to place. Their vague trate himself before Adam (see bowing
hordes appear to be contained, rather than and prostration; adam and eve). A.J.
reduced to impotence, in those territories Wensinck (Iblīs) sees an origin of this ac-
which belong to them and where humans count in the Life of Adam and Eve (Kautsch,
are at constant risk of encountering them. Apokryphen, § 15; also in Riessler, Altjüdisches
An acknowledgment of divine omnipo- Schrifttum). It should be noted, though, that
tence coexists in uneasy tension, within the the more ancient “Vie Grecque d’Adam et
 45 jinn

Ève,” presented in Dupont-Sommer and he alone among the angels refused, justifies
Philonenko (La Bible), does not contain the his disobedience (q.v.) saying that he was
passage in question; in the Latin version, created from nār (the usual translation, but
however, the “devil” (der Teufel) does reject not necessarily appropriate here, is “fire”),
any obligation to prostrate himself before and therefore he should not have to pros-
Adam and refuses to obey the command of trate himself before a creature “of clay”
the archangel Michael (q.v.). The incident (q.v.;
īn). Does this mean that it justifies his
is placed after the account of the fall of status as a jinn? According to local tradi-
man from the garden of Eden. In the tions, the nār from which the jinn are cre-
account contained in the Qur
ān, the order ated (see below) most certainly does not
to prostrate comes directly from God with- correspond to “fire” (q.v.), while in the
out the archangel’s (see angel) interven- ancient tradition of the Near East — and,
tion. Iblīs incurs divine wrath (see anger) a fortiori, in the Bible — angelic nature is
upon his refusal and sees, at his own re- clearly “igneous” (cf. the Seraphim, etc.; if
quest, his punishment “deferred” (inār this meaning prevails, then Iblīs could well
or takhīr). He is appointed the “great be identified as an “angel,” in the Near
tempter” (mughawwī or mughwī, see trial) Eastern sense of the term).
of humankind until the resurrection (q.v.). The Qur
ān says nothing about the
In several passages in the Qur
ān this material from which the angels are created.
sequence is placed before the account of The Islamic tradition regards them as
the fall (hubū
) of Adam, which is told only being made from nūr, the “cold light of the
subsequently (see fall of man; garden). night,” that of the moon (q.v.), which is
This is a reversal of the order of the also the light of guidance and of knowl-
pseudo-epigraphical texts noted above, in edge (see knowledge and learning),
which the fall precedes the devil’s confron- precisely the opposite of nār, which is diur-
tation with God. Finally, it should be noted nal and solar. As opposed to the jinn, who
that the qur
ānic tempter of Adam in the are incontestably figures from local beliefs,
garden of paradise (q.v.) is always called angels (malak, pl. malāika, lit. “envoys,”
shay
ān and never Iblīs. from the root l--k) are not a local con-
Does the juxtaposition of the two texts struct: they are attested in Ethiopic and
(that of the refusal on the part of Iblīs and Hebrew, as well as in inscriptions from
that of the fall of Adam) imply a continu- northeastern Arabia. Although there may
ity of the account or its re-working in the have been particular, local understandings
canonical text? The question should at of “angels,” the qur
ānic discourse on the
least be asked. In several cases, passages subject is highly polemical. Perhaps, there-
dealing with Iblīs are followed by the fore, the qur
ānic “angels” should not be
account of the fall (q 2:34; 7:11; 15:31, 32; taken as referring to a local religion, as has
17:61; 20:116; 26:95; 34:20; 38:74, 75). It is sometimes been said in connection with a
only in the single verse of q 18:50 that Iblīs cult of the “daughters of Allāh” — alleged
is designated expressly as a jinn. In the to be the angels (see below).
other passages he is depicted as a rebellious Despite the single occurrence in which
angel without, however, any explicit men- Iblīs, the “devil” of the Qur
ān, is desig-
tion of his angelic nature; in fact, the text nated a jinn — could this be an inter po-
essentially states the following: the angels lation? — he would seem, thanks to his
(malāika) prostrated themselves except Iblīs specific narrative insertion (i.e. his refusal
(illā Iblīs) who refused. In q 38:76, Iblīs, of to prostrate to Adam; his corrupting mis-
whom it has just been said (q 38:73-4) that sion is also biblical), to have origins clearly
 jinn 46

distinct from those of the local jinn⁄shay- is essentially defensive and, in some ways,

ān. It is only at a later date, in the post- in continuity with the past? The Qur
ān
qur
ānic Islamic tradition, that he is finally confirms the division of the earth into two
completely assimilated into al-shay
ān, the territories — that of humankind and that
“Satan” of the Qur
ān as the prototype of of the jinn. The formula contained in the
all beings hostile to humankind. The two Qur
ān, al-ins wa-l-jinn, “the humans and
diabolical representations live on in Islamic the jinn” (also, al-jinn wa-l-ins), is clearly
tradition, enacting a complex destiny often dominant in the statements the Qur
ān
in combination, or encounter, with other makes concerning the jinn for there are
negative figures such as various sorts of twenty examples of this conjunction of
dragons derived from the ancient Near jinn and humanity (using the collective
Eastern traditions. The adventures as- noun jinn: q 6:112, 128, 130; 7:38, 179;
cribed to them subsequently have little to 17:88; 27:17; 41:25, 29; 46:18; 51:56; 55:33;
do with their itinerary as stated in the 72:5, 6; using the singular jānn employed as
Qur
ān. a collective noun: q 55:39, 56, 74; using the
Even if the jinn of the Qur
ān are shown plural form al-jinna wa-l-nās, “jinn and peo-
as deprived of part of their powers be- ple [or tribes]”: q 11:119; 32:13; 114:6). The
cause they no longer manage to uncover God of the Qur
ān is presented as master
the secrets of heaven, they can nonetheless of the two spaces. But the ancient repre-
raise themselves up to heaven’s gates (cf. sentation of the co-existence of this funda-
q 15:18; 37:10; 72:8-9; see heaven and mentally bipartite division of the earth
sky). The account of the heavenly ascen- (q.v.) remains intact.
sion of the jinn is obviously not com- With regard to shayā
īn al-insi wa-l-jinni at
manded by God — unlike the routes taken q 6:112, “satanic men and jinn,” it could be
by the angels, which, just like those taken asked to what the “satanization” here
by men, must be marked with signposts evoked corresponds. Since the verse prob-
(e.g. q 15:14; see also the term sabab, pl. ably belongs to the Medinan period (see
asbāb, used to designate the obligatory chronology and the qur
n) it can
routes for both men and angels at doubtless be compared to the various pas-
q 18:84-5, 89, 92; 40:36-7; it should be sages denouncing an “alliance” (walā) be-
noted that, for the angels, the urūj is specif- tween humans and the “demons” (shayā
īn),
ically a movement of “descending and re- a designation that should be regarded as
ascending” at q 15:14; 32:5; 34:2; 57:4; another name for the jinn: the infidels
70:4). But Islamic tradition has continued adopt these “demons” as allies (q 7:27, 30;
to recognize the jinn’s ability to move in all cf. 17:27), but the alliance will in no case
spaces without needing to follow a trail. benefit them (q 2:16; see contracts and
This mobility probably corresponds to an alliances; clients and clientage).
ancient local belief that has remained There is also a series of occurrences where
deeply embedded, namely that of the the alliance is with “the Satan,” the term
notion — vital in the society of sixth and being used as a proper name. He is as
seventh century Arabia — of movement much a betrayer of the cause of human-
from place to place and the concept of a kind as are the “demons,” and will lead
route. people to their damnation (see reward
Can it therefore be said that the represen- and punishment): q 25:29 reflects this
tation of the jinn contained in the Qur
ān theme, that of khadhūl, the “abandonment”
 47 jinn

of humanity by its pseudo-ally, the Satan utilize terminology similar to that concern-
(see enemies). The same theme is to be ing the “service” rendered to God: i.e.
found in q 25:18 with the earlier deities ibādat al-jinn (there is also a passage on the
designated periphrastically as “that which “service” devoted to Satan, q 36:60). But,
is adored apart from God” (see poly- just like people, the jinn must adore God
theism and atheism). These passages alone (q 51:56). Just like humans they are
correspond to the evolution of the demon- subjected to the last judgment (q.v.;
ology proper to the Qur
ān, which ends up q 37:158). Like the “people of the tribes”
individualizing the satanic figure in a sym- (nās), a number of them are destined for
bolic role that seems to condense together hell (q.v.; q 11:119; for further references
all the negative aspects of the “demons,” to the infernal destiny of the jinn, see
variously named. Like an unavoidable q 6:128; 7:38, 179; 32:13; 55:39).
figure of the anti-god he seems to remain In the Qur
ān, the theme of the nations
capable of trapping humans (e.g. q 27:24 that were destroyed because of their rebel-
or 58:19). lion is also applied to the jinn (see punish-
The theme of demonization and the ment stories). One passage (q 6:130)
accusation of pacts with the jinn apply attributes to the jinn, after the fashion of
specifically to the Medinan enemies of humans, “envoys from among you (min-
Muammad (see medina; opposition to kum)… who warned you” (see messenger;
muammad), the “impious” (kāfirūn, the warner), but this passage seems to have its
ancient “ingrates” of tribal Arabia, “those origins in a form of rhetorical symmetry
who fail to recognize a benefit received”; and nothing more is known about it (see
see belief and unbelief; gratitude and form and structure of the qur
n;
ingratitude; blessing), the “hypocrites” rhetoric of the qur
n). The disappear-
(munāfiqūn, formerly used of “cowards,” ance of the “nations” (umam) of the jinn is
and, as noted by Watt, also the term used also associated — without providing any
to designate Muammad’s political ene- further detail — with that of the human
mies in Medina; see hypocrites and “nations” that have disappeared (q 41:25;
hypocrisy), or however they are named. 46:18; cf. q 7:38, where disappearance is
It is a technique of qur
ānic polemical dis- associated with “hell” (nār); see genera-
course (see polemic and polemical tions). This is probably an extrapolation
language) typical of the Medinan era, of the Qur
ān’s discourse, bringing the
corresponding to conflict situations in punishment of the impious, of the deniers
which the religious argument often comes and of those who fail to recognize the
to the aid of the political (see politics and “signs” (q.v.; āyāt) of God to its logical con-
the qur
n; language and style of the clusion. The jinn of the Qur
ān again lose
qur
n). This is in contrast to the Meccan ground with reference to their previous
period, in which Muammad is accused by status. They are reduced to sharing the
his own of being “possessed by the jinn.” eschatological destiny of humankind
The antithetical relationship between the (see eschatology).
jinn as negative allies and God as the only In this type of passage it is impossible to
positive ally (walī, e.g. q 4:45) lends itself to distinguish that which has its origins in
conjecture about a “cult” alleged to be beliefs and practices evident in seventh-
devoted to the jinn. In particular, some century Arabia from that which belongs to
qur
ānic passages that discuss the jinn the Qur
ān’s polemical discourse and the
 jinn 48

controversy pursued with enemies in an sentation of wreaths of smoke and mirages

attempt to confuse them by the force of of “the burning air of the solar day” and
words (cf. q 2:14, where the hypocrites are not that of flames. This metaphorical
with their “demons”; in q 6:121, it is these transposition could also be recognized in
demons who push “their minions”, i.e. the numerous qur
ānic uses of the concept
Muammad’s adversaries, to “controversy” of nār (regarding the nature of the jinn,
or “disputation,” mujādala, see debate and see q 15:27, “created from the fire of al-
disputation). samūm”; and q 55:15, min mārijin min nārin,
It is also no easy task to uncover the real- a difficult formulation which would make
ity of the belief that is being fought over in the jinn “unformed beings created from
the tangled Meccan passages about a “cult the reverberated heat” and not, as in
of angels” (ibādat al-malāika) — which some translations — such as that of Kazi-
seems to become confused with a cult of mirski — beings created from a “pure fire
the jinn (q 34:41; cf. also the “invoca- without smoke”; see, for an attempt at a
tion,” awdh, addressed to the jinn in more precise explanation of the two pas-
q 72:6) — and about the representation of sages, Chabbi, Seigneur, 190 f.).
angels as “daughters” (banāt) of God But this difference in nature that the
(q 6:100; 16:57; 37:149, 153; 43:16; 52:39). In Qur
ān is constrained to admit, can only
q 37:150-2 it is a question of a belief in the permit the jinn to retain powers that
fact that the lord is said to have procreated enable them to outclass humans. Thus,
angels of the female gender (q.v.), while in although the jinn are no longer able to
verse 158 of the same sūra, a form of “kin- hear what heaven says about destiny, they
ship” (nasab) is alleged between God and are nonetheless still represented as being
the jinn. In q 6:100, the jinn are said to be perfectly capable of rising up to heaven
“associates” (shurakā) of God while the without divine assistance. The divine guard
“daughters of God” are once again at the gates of heaven requires all of its
evoked. It appears that in this polemic, powers, launching against them “fiery
pseudo-angelized figures are being reduced traces” (shihāb), to throw them back to
to jinn, the pseudo-angelized figures who, earth and prevent them from collecting the
in the final analysis, would seem to be the secrets of the future (q 37:10; 72:8-9). A
tribes’ local protecting goddesses who are further valiant deed could have been cred-
to disappear slowly but surely under a vari- ited to a jinn of Solomon’s court who is
ety of disguises (see the remarks made by said to be ifrīt (q.v.), “very skillful and
Wellhausen [Reste, 24] regarding the term crafty.” He suggested to his master that, in
“daughter of God,” which he compares to an instant, he could bring him the throne
the representation of the Beney Elohim). In of the queen of Sheba (see bilqīs); but
all likelihood it is also a way of reducing the jinn does not have the time to demon-
them to a minor, subordinate role by strate his powers (which are manifestly
declaring that, just like humans, they are seen as effective) since his place is taken
“created beings.” And yet their nature is by a more suitable member of the king’s
stated to be different from that of human- retinue — one who “knew the scrip-
kind. The Qur
ān says that they are made ture” — who accomplished the mission
from nār. The usual translation, “fire,” “in the twinkling of an eye” (q 27:39-40).
probably makes no sense in the context. In fact, therefore, the approach taken by
The image conjured up is that of a repre- the Qur
ān to the jinn seems to be para-
 49 jinn

doxical. A final quotation will demonstrate resentation and perception of the perma-
another way in which the Qur
ān treats nent encounter with, and the otherness of,
them: their persistent power can be per- these metamorphic beings lend support to
ceived as a constant theme when the their imaginary existence in the minds of
Qur
ān itself appeals to their testimony people. The Qur
ān strives to turn to its
(see witnessing and testifying) in order God’s advantage the fear inspired by the
to convince men who refuse to believe. jinn and to annihilate the powers attrib-
These are the “believing jinn,” called to uted to them by the pastoral and nomadic
aid in attesting to the pre-eminence of a societies of western Arabia. Nevertheless,
qurān (a verbal noun designating “the mes- these strange creatures have continued to
sage faithfully transmitted” and not yet exist in a particularly intense manner in a
Qur
ān as a proper noun) that they have wide variety of disguises in the collective
heard by chance and that they call “mar- imaginings of Islamic societies. They en-
velous” (ajab, q 72:1; see marvels; countered and merged with other super-
miracle). If the jinn themselves are con- natural beings already long resident in the
vinced, how could humans not be con- territories conquered by Islam. Some of
vinced? The reasoning must have been these retained their original names such as,
seen as incontestable. for instance, the div in Iran. Others would
A non-Arabic origin of the word jinn is lose their identity, at least in appearance,
not immediately traceable, even though it and be assimilated with the figures, most
is cognate to the root j-n-n, present in most surely negative, that can be definitively
of the ancient Semitic languages, albeit as identified as jinn.
a designation of a garden or a cultivated
place with trees (the Hebrew gan; this latter Jacqueline Chabbi
meaning is retained in Arabic, wherein the
triliteral root j-n-n is used to designate a Bibliography
“cover” of vegetation). On the other hand, A. Caquot, Anges et démons en Israël, in Sources
Orientales VIII. Génies anges et démons, Paris 1971,
the Ethiopic gānen has the meaning of 115-51; J. Chabbi, Le Seigneur des tribus. L’islam de
“demon, evil spirit.” Sometimes this Ethio- Mahomet, Paris 1997, 185-232; Ch.M. Doughty,
pic term is said to be of Syriac origin Travels in Arabia deserta, Cambridge 1888, New
(Leslau, Dictionary, 198), from the root g-n-n, York 1979; A. Dupont-Sommer and M. Philo-
nenko, La Bible. Écrits intertestamentaires, Paris 1987;
“recover, reside in, descend upon” (this is P.A. Eichler, Die Dschinn, Teufel und Engel im Koran,
used of the Holy Ghost, see Payne Smith, Leipzig 1928; T. Fahd, Anges, démons et djinns
Dictionary, 73; see holy spirit). But Syriac en Islam, in Sources Orientales VIII. Génies anges et
démons, Paris 1971, 155-213 (with important
(see syriac and the qur
n) does not
bibliography); A. Jaussen, Coutumes des Arabes au
appear to provide the negative meaning pays de Moab, Paris 1907, 1947; Jeffery, For. vocab.;
“possessed,” a meaning well-attested in E. Kautsch, Apokryphen und Pseudepigraphen des
Arabic and Ethiopic. It is probable, there- Alten Testaments, Tübingen 1900-21; W. Leslau,
Comparative dictionary of Geez, Wiesbaden 1987;
fore, that this latter meaning of jinn is a J. Payne Smith, Compendious Syriac dictionary,
development specific to Arabic, which Oxford 1903; P. Riessler, Altjüdisches Schrifttum
passed into Ethiopic. At any rate, the term ausserhalb der Bibel, Augsburg 1928; W.M. Watt,
Muhammad at Medina, London 1956; A.T. Welch,
jinn, with its derivatives jānn, jinna, jinnī (in
Allah and other supernatural beings. The emer-
the masculine, the feminine and the col- gence of the qur
ānic doctine of tawid, in jaar
lective, respectively), is fully attested in the 47 (1980), 733-58; J. Wellhausen, Reste arabischen
Arabic of the era of the Qur
ān. The rep- Heidentums, Berlin 1887, 1927, 19613, 148-59 (chap.
 job 50

Geister und Gespenster; Wellhausen often de- presents Job calling to his lord, “Satan (see
pends on the observations made by Doughty in devil) has indeed touched me with hard-
Travels in Arabia deserta); A.J. Wensinck⁄L. Gardet,
Iblīs, in ei 2 , iii, 668-9.
ship and pain (see trial).” God responds
to his cry, “Scuff [the earth] with your
foot. Here is [water] a place to cleanse
Jizya see poll tax; taxation yourself, [it is] cooling, it is drink.” Job
obeys. A spring appears in which he bathes
and from which he drinks. His kin and “the
Job like of them with them” are restored to
him as an act of divine mercy (q.v.). God
One of the prophetic figures preceding then (q 38:44) commands him to strike
Muammad common to the Jewish, Chris- “her” (the ellipsed pronoun in fa-
rib bihi
tian and Islamic traditions (see prophets has no explicit referent) with a sprig of
and prophethood). Job (Ayyūb) is men- leaves in order to keep an oath he has
tioned in only four pericopes: q 6:83-7 and made (see oaths). The pericope ends with
4:163 set him in the company of the proph- a formula of praise — “How excellent a
ets while q 38:41-2 and q 21:83-4 allude to servant! Constantly was he turned [to
his distinctive vocation and charisma. God]” (nima l-abdu innahu awwāb) — which,
In q 6:83-90, together with Abraham in q 38:30, celebrates the virtues of Solo-
(q.v.), Isaac (q.v.), Jacob (q.v.), Noah (q.v.), mon, the only other prophet to be honored
David (q.v.), Solomon (q.v.), Joseph (q.v.), with this formula. q 21:83-4 likewise tells of
Moses (q.v.) and Aaron (q.v.), Zechariah Job’s call to his lord, God’s hearing of him,
(q.v.), John (see john the baptist), Jesus removal of the hurt upon him, restoration
(q.v.), Elias (see elijah), Ishmael (q.v.), of what he had lost, and his praise of God
Elisha (q.v.), Jonah (q.v.) and Lot (q.v.), he as “most merciful of the merciful.”
is included among those God has guided, Both of the pericopes that indicate Job’s
chosen and preferred to ordinary human- special character are allusive, but the exe-
kind (see election), to whom he has given getical tradition (see exegesis of the
scripture (see book; scripture and the qur
n: classical and medieval), as
qur
n), authority (q.v.), prophethood summarized by al-abarī (d. 310⁄923;
and whose example is to be followed. In Tafsīr, ad loc.), supplies an inter-text in the
q 4:163, Job is named among those to light of which they may be understood. Job
whom a revelation (see revelation and cried out because God had allowed Satan
inspiration) has been given so that hu- to put him to the test by destroying his live-
mans will not be able to claim ignorance stock, slaying his kin, and afflicting him
(q.v.) of God’s will. The names given with a painful disease (see illness and
include those mentioned in the pericope health). Because he remained faithful
cited above — omitting Joseph, Zechariah, while put to the test, God heard his cry,
John, Elias, Elisha and Lot, but adding healed him with a miraculous spring, and
“the tribes” (al-asbā
, see children of restored to him two-fold both his kin, and
israel; tribes and clans), and two gen- the property taken from him. The person
eral categories subsuming all the other to be struck with a sprig in q 38:44 refers to
prophets, those mentioned to Muammad, his wife. She alone, during his illness, had
and those not mentioned to him. not deserted him. But she was tempted by
As for Job’s special character, q 38:41-2 Satan, to whom she had urged Job to sacri-