2017 03 The Light March 2017

February 2017 The
Light 5
et when a group of them were amazed by the
recitation of the Quran. This is mentioned in
the Qur’an as the following: “Say (O Muhammad):
It has been revealed to me that a group
of Jinn listened, so they said: ‘Surely, we
have heard a wonderful Quran, guiding to
right way - so we believe in it. And we shall
not set up anyone a partner with our
Lord’.” (The Quran, 72:1-2)
The word Jinn in Quranic verses has
caused much confusion in understanding
its real meaning. According to Taj al-Arus,
nafar-an min al-jinn means a group of
three to seven people. Authentic traditions
narrate that it was a group of seven
Jews from Nasibain who asked the Holy
Prophet to meet him at a secret place at
Nakhla in the outskirts of Makkah where
they listened to the verses of the Qur’an. They
went back to their people and informed them
of the wonderful teachings of the Qur’an. It is
also mentioned that the next morning the Holy
Prophet showed his companions the marks of
their halting places and fire pits where they
had lit their campfires at night.
Dr Basharat Ahmad, on explanation of jinn
in Surah Nas in the Anwar-ul-Qur’an, writes:
Jinn are hidden beings. Any being or thing that
is hidden in Arabic is called Jinn.
According to the dictionary, it is a class of
spirits, lower than the angels, capable of appearing
in human and animal forms and influencing
humankind for either good or evil.
Elites or celebrities are also called Jinn as
they are not usually seen among the common
people and live a secluded life. People who live
in jungles and mountains are also called Jinn.
Germs and microbes are also termed as Jinn as
they are not visible to the naked eye but rather
need microscopes to be seen. Similarly, all
those inherent forces endowed to humans
which instigate animal passions are also
termed as Jinn as they are not visible.
It may be pointed out that man combines
in himself animal and angelic passions. Animal
passions include love, anger and other related
I Shall Love All Mankind.
forces etc. These motivational forces cause all
sorts of human activities.
On the other hand, intelligence, conscience
and high
morals
create in
man the
awareness
to
differentiate
between
right and
wrong to
regulate
his activities
and
make him
conscious of the accountability for his actions
in this life as well in the Hereafter.
Elites or celebrities
are also called Jinn
as they are not usually
seen among the
common people and
live a secluded life.
Consider animal passions as the engine for
the invisible powers within man that propel
the human engine to move and perform activities.
These invisible powers in the terminology
of the Qur’an are called Jinn. When the Qur’an
says that the jinn is created from fire, it means
to say that it creates energy which moves the
engine and it starts working. So conscience,
moral values and intelligence are used like
brakes to keep the engine on the right track
and regulate its speed so that it does not cause
an accident. These brakes in the terminology of
the Qur’an are called angels. However, when
the motivational forces cross their limits and
ignore control and instructions, in the Quranic
terminology these very powers - metaphorically
called Jinn - become Satan. So, Jinn when it
works in the right direction is Angel and when
it goes off the track and leads man to evil and
destruction becomes Satan.
The word shaitaan stems from shayt,
meaning destruction, and Shattan meaning
distance. Thus, the jinn which instigates human
emotions is called satan when it fails to
control it and allows it to destroy itself and
guides it away from its right course.