# Can there be a balanced view on whether jinn possess people?

*There is no balanced version of the supernatural; possession by disobedience would cover the globe*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/6apj1fumn24/s/3/
- Date: 2020-11-21 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: There is no jinn possession in Islam (reply to Sh Omar Suleiman's video) | Mufti Abu Layth (6:34–11:49)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aPj1fuMN24&t=394s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/6apj1fumn24/

**Topics:** Jinn possession; Reason and revelation; Views on contemporary scholars

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** A supernatural claim cannot be balanced; possession is either real or not. If disobedience, missing prayer and riba invited possession, most of the globe would be possessed.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says there can be no balanced version of a supernatural claim, since jinn possession is either real or not, and that if disobedience, missing prayer or riba invited possession then most of the globe would be possessed.

**Evidence, his words at 7:46:** “because there is no balance to nonsensical it's either sensical or it's nonsensical” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aPj1fuMN24&t=466s)

## Longer summary

Before the actual response, Mufti Abu Layth examines Suleiman's framing. He says Suleiman based his case on being balanced, but that possession is either on or off: the whole point of a supernatural claim is that it does not make sense, so asking for a balanced version of the nonsensical is like asking for balanced irrationality. On the claim that most imams have experienced supernatural phenomena, he says he does not know what they have experienced but suspects it was something naughty rather than supernatural. He notes that Suleiman holds possession proven from the Quran, which he will come to, and that he explains possession by disobedience, above all not praying, which would cover ninety-five percent of the globe, and by riba, on which the whole global economy is based; Mufti adds in passing that he himself does not consider it haram and has a detailed video on that, so on Suleiman's account the entire globe is susceptible. As a tangent he remarks that imams who act too pious, forbidding any reply to a girl's message or calling riba the most disgusting sin, tend to be caught out later in the very thing they overdid.

## Sources and names cited

- Omar Suleiman
- riba
- jinn

## Transcript (machine tier, 6:34–11:49)

[5:53] who does come to the masjid brought them and said my cousin my brother my sister so on so forth is possessed by jinn or someone that sells haram or so on so forth so that's the easiest way to have that happen to you is to allow the protection of allah to be removed from you by doing those those things and remember that when you do things that offend the angels they leave you and when the angels leave you the shayateen come around so if you're surrounding yourself by shayateen constantly and doing things that that cause the angels to leave you then what do you expect is going to happen to you i don't know right people so you just had an explanation there by

[6:30] sheikh omar suleiman about the jinn now you know before we just go into a an actual the actual response to there is no such thing as jin possession just to look at what he said he said he based his thing on saying that look we should be balanced okay but you know this thing there is no balance in this thing by the way this is either on or off it doesn't work it's like saying look you know you shouldn't really switch it on you shouldn't switch it off you should be balanced

[7:07] [Laughter] your balance you see it doesn't work like that because when you say supernatural you like if i say look guys things what he's saying is things should be realistic but supernatural but they should be balanced it's like what does that mean now because it's either supernatural so supernatural can be anything why do now to say no but it must be a balanced version of supernatural the whole purpose of supernatural is it

[7:46] doesn't make sense that's what you're saying it doesn't make any sense so to say well no but it shouldn't make sense but it should still make uh it should you know like it doesn't this is absolutely it's just stupid to say that okay you should but let's have a balanced nonsensical approach [Laughter] because there is no balance to nonsensical it's either sensical or it's nonsensical it doesn't to say it's either rational or irrational but let's have some balanced irrationality it's like yeah balance balance guy you're looking for the wrong thing here

[8:26] so okay that's one part but okay so he he tries to come off quite moderate um he then says look most imams have all experienced some supernatural phenomena i don't know what the hell they've i think what they've experienced most imams that's some naughty naughty that they've experienced it's not actually supernatural it's it's wrongful you know this so i don't know what these imams have experienced that he claims but anyway okay we'll put that aside he then highlights that look there's a

[9:04] this is proven from the quran okay so he feels that it's clearly proven he then explains one of the major reasons because you might ask well if we can be possessed how why are we how do we get possessed says well you get possessed by disobeying god ah okay and one of the major ways is you don't pray ah so that's like basically easily 95 of the globe the entire globe then he says well another thing one of the main reasons is no sorry a prime

[9:40] example of disobeying god is riper river meaning you take more than you give or something like which is basically the entire economic structure of this globe right now is based on on that if you consider that haram obviously i don't not that i agree with it but i don't consider it haram i have a detailed video for that you can watch it but so in that sense the globe the entire globe is partaking in that so okay so we're all susceptible to gin possessions the other thing is you know on a side note i just want to say that you know

[10:20] this is the problem this is just a side jumla i'm just mentioning this as a tangent uh but look you know when when these imams start acting two pious this is you know this is what contributes to their downfall in like it's like some of them will say things like oh you know oh like never uh if if a girl messages you never respond never do this never and then they'll get caught doing this and it'll be a big like oh my god these guys and you'll get like omar sulley manchester

[10:58] saying oh this is the biggest sin the most disgusting sin now this is where and you know you'll probably find in the future that there'll be that will because people you know when they overdo it with a pious thing that's usually their weakness [Laughter] so you wouldn't be surprised if uh a money thing is what comes out later on so but anyway that's a tangent no on a tangent i'm just just saying that but sticking to this

[11:37] this topic of gin possession look people whenever you're about to deal with something you must ask for evidences from the quran sunnah and you must ask why there must be objectives okay so the first question is can we be possessed if we can right just asking what is the objective of jinns possessing us there must be an objective that they can possess this for what so people will say to cause mischief to cause harm

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment 6aPj1fuMN24/s/3. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/6apj1fumn24/s/3/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.