# Does jinn possession exist in Islam?

*The popular picture of jinn possession, and the question of what the jinn would gain by it*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/lexzvtf9yga/s/1/
- Date: 2018-04-15 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Jinn: Myth and Reality in Islam by Mufti Abu Layth (0:00–3:52)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeXzvtf9YGA&t=0s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/lexzvtf9yga/

**Topics:** Jinn possession; Jinn, angels and the devil; Reason and revelation

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Not as popularly pictured, Mufti Abu Layth holds: the idea of demons taking over a body and causing illness and insanity does not survive the Quran, the authentic Sunnah and reason. He asks what the jinn would even gain by it and sets out to trace where the belief comes from.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth holds that jinn or demonic possession, as popularly pictured, does not exist when examined against the Quran, the authentic Sunnah and reason, and that the first question to ask is what objective the jinn would have in possessing anyone.

**Evidence, his words at 2:30:** “gene possession demonic possessions the way people pictured this understanding that we've defined does not actually exist” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeXzvtf9YGA&t=150s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth describes the public perception of possession: demons, shayatin or jinn enter the mind or take over the body, the person falls ill, develops perceptible mental-health problems, obsessive behaviour, bouts of insanity, screaming and anxiety, or catatonic states with frozen limbs and strange gestures, and their relationships fall apart. He stresses that he is describing the urban myth, not endorsing it. The first question he raises is why the jinn would do this: the cultural answer is to create mischief, fitna and corruption on earth and to harm the children of Adam. He states his thesis that, measured against the Quran, the authentic Sunnah and the voice of reason, possession as so pictured does not exist, and outlines what follows: where the confusion stems from within the Quran and Sunnah, then psychological perspectives, including the valid point Shaykh Akram made earlier that some medical conditions are simply not yet understood, which does not make them the jinn. He says the backdrop to all of it is human beings trying to explain what is going on around them.

## Sources and names cited

- jinn
- Shaytan
- fitnah
- Shaykh Akram Nadwi

## Transcript (machine tier, 0:00–3:52)

[0:00] so when we speak about possessions as an understanding that people have that are like demons out there and these demons that people envisage or the the shayateen or the Djinn and they come and take over they somehow people may vary in the interpretation but they come into the mind or they take over the body of people and usually what they do is they make a person go ill this is the public perception I'm just saying I'm not saying this is correct um this is what the myths the general urban myth out there is that once these demons have

[0:35] possessed people they usually become ill they develop some kind of perceptible mental health issues so they become weird they might appear obsessive they've got OCD this is this is what people their relationships usually mess up this is one of the key things that okay the relationships going downhill it's usually all they've developed some kind of illness or about of insanity they act weird or sometimes what could be called catatonic schizophrenia so

[1:14] they they develop weird limp actions and they freeze and - you know these gestures going on and so this is usually when people see this this is what they picture as Djinn possessions and also in the bouts of insanity they're screaming and shouting and anxiety and all this stuff now a first the the key question is why why would the Djinn be doing this that's one question comes to mind we're not saying it's definitely not true but let's just entertaining this premise for a moment why would the Djinn be doing

[1:51] this what is the objective of the Djinn in doing this to start off with well the key thing that comes to mind that most people believe that the kind of cultural myths out there is to create mischief on earth this is the interpretation that to create fitna and facade and to destroy relationship and to harm bani adam' this is what people think so that's the topic and it's not the topic so this is the problem at hand that we're trying to deconstruct and show well actually now

[2:30] with that in mind that picture let's go back to the true sources the Quran the Sunnah the authentic Sunnah and and and out the sound voice of reason and let's take a look at this right gene possession demonic possessions the way people pictured this understanding that we've defined does not actually exist but I want to go into why do people where is this confusion stemming from within the Quran and Sunnah where is this coming from and then I want to take

[3:07] a look at psychological kind of perspectives and also highlight some chakra had highlighted earlier on about sometimes there are medical issues which we don't know like sometimes there's a problem we don't know why that is and but just by not knowing does it mean it's the jinn this will and that's a hundred percent valid point and I will highlight as well some psychological cases that I want to share with you guys but that will be my in my second part I want to take a look at that to just show the complexity of some cases and if you go back a few decades how that could be

[3:44] so easily inexplicable and you have to remember that the backdrop to all of this is coming from a single point and that is human beings trying to explain what's going on around them you see we have to remember that historically the most learned people in any society were the scholars were the religious scholars of any religion so in Christianity the monks were the people who could read and write in Hinduism the Brahmins in Islam the ulama

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment LeXzvtf9YGA/s/1. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/lexzvtf9yga/s/1/

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