jnawaz%skat.usc.edu@usc.edu (Jemshed Nawaz) (08/30/90)
In article <14657@wpi.wpi.edu> kriz%skat.usc.edu@usc.edu (Dennis Kriz) writes: > > >Thanks for your replies. Now that I know that ginnies are part of Islamic >belief, can someone explain to me how they relate to Angels? Are Angels >basically good ginnies, and Satan an evil one? Or are they entities >altogether? Catholics believe for instance in guardian Angels, do Muslims >believe similarly? > >dennis >kriz@skat.usc.edu Jinns (or Ginnies) are a species of beings which invisible to us, just like the Angels are invisible to us. Belief in Jinns is not a tenet of Faith (unlike the belief in Angels).According to the Qur'an the jinns were created from fire, and before man was created: "whereas the invisible beings we had created, (long) before that, out of the fire of scorching winds." (15:27) Jinns, like us, also possess freedom of will and choice and the power to distinguish right from wrong. They will also be reckoned for their actions as we are to be reckoned. They will also be subject to punishment and reward. "And (tell them that) I have not created the invisible beings and men to any end other than that they may (know and) worship Me." (51:56) "But (as for those who refuse to avail themselves to divine guidance,) that word of thy Sustainer shall be fulfilled: 'Most certainly will I fill Hell with invisible beings as well as with humans, all together!" (11:119) The Jinns were conveyed the Divine message revealed to Prophet Muhammad(pbuh) as they were conveyed the Divine message of Prophet Moses(pbuh): "They said: 'O our people! Behold, we have been listening to a revelation bestowed from on high after (that of) Moses, confirming the truth of whatever there still remains (of the Torah): it guides towards the truth, and onto a straight way." (46:30) As among human beings, jinns also have the good and the evil, the obedient and the sinful: "Just as (we do not know how it happens) that some from among us are righteous, while some of us are (far) below that: we have always followed widely divergent paths." (72:11) The apostates among the Jinns are termed as Devils/Satans. The leader of the devils is Iblis (who refused to bow down to Adam(pbuh). The word Satan or Devil can also be used to refer to human beings who possess satanic characteristics. Jemshed Nawaz