Part 5 - Jinn/Demons
Earlier it was stated that the disembodied spirits of the giants of other abominations killed during the flood became Demons. At least by the modern sense of the word as a malevolent spirit. The very first original meaning of demon of course meant any kind of spiritual being. They could be good, bad, or somewhere in between. Eventually Angels, including fallen Angels, were separated from the term. Through time the term demon has taken on a purely evil persona. This is likely why the Jinn are also separated from the term. They are supernatural creatures originating in Middle Eastern folklore, known as genies in English.
Jinn is a word of a collective number in Arabic, derived from the Arabic root j-n-n meaning 'to hide, conceal' or 'be hidden'. Arabic lexicons define jinn not only as spirits, but also anything concealed through time, status, and even physical darkness. An Arabic word for garden or Paradise, jannah, is a cognate of the Hebrew word gan 'garden', both derived from the same Semitic root. In arid climates, gardens have to be protected by walls; the same concept as in the word paradise from pairi-daeza, an Avestan word for garden. It literally means 'having walls built around'. The protection of a garden behind walls implies its being hidden from the outside.
Amongst ancient Middle Eastern cultures, any spirit lesser than angels is often referred to as a jinni. this is why the word genie is used in English, derived from Latin genius, which meant a sort of tutelary or guardian spirit thought to be assigned to each person at their birth. English borrowed the French translation of genius, genie. The French translators of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights used genie as a translation of jinni because it was similar to the Arabic word in sound and in meaning.
Currently they reside in a parallel dimension on the world, usually referred to as the etheric plane. At one time they resided in heaven like the Angels. It is said that they resided on the earth for 4000 years before man was created. They abused their freedom by refusing to bow to humans when ordered to. For disobeying they were expelled from Paradise and denied further access to heaven. Supposedly they have free will like humans and like us they can be good, evil, or benevolent. Like humans, jinn will also be judged on the Day of Judgment according to their deeds. Unlike us Jinn are said to have been created from smokeless flame. They are usually invisible to humans. A companion of Mohammed described them as creatures of different forms; some resembling vultures and snakes, others tall men in white garb. They may even appear as dragons, onagers, or a number of other animals. In addition to their animal forms, the jinn occasionally assume human form to mislead and destroy their victims. Some believed the jinn were generally "ignorant, untruthful, oppressive and treacherous". They are known to be not trustworthy, mischievous and tricksters. Another belief is that the jinn that whisper to people's souls and tell them to submit to evil desires. They account for much of the "magic" and paranormal activity perceived by humans. While other things such as possession and poltergeist type activity is carried out by demons who reside in the same spiritual realm of the earth as the Jinn. Although they came along at a fairly later date. The demons carry out the activities they do because they are evil, violent, angry and strongly desire to regain bodily form. It is unclear what the Jinn fully do or what their purpose was. By one of their types titles it is clear that originally they were tempters and accusers appointed by God to test mankind's faith. This is There is a possibility that the demons have influenced how some of the Jinn act.
Types of jinn include the shaytan, the ghul, the marid, the ifrit, and the jinn. Ifrits seem to be the strongest form of jinn, followed by marids, and then the rest of the jinn forms. A few traditions divide jinn into three classes: those who have wings and fly in the air, those who resemble snakes and dogs, and those who travel about ceaselessly. Jinn have the power to travel large distances at incredible speeds and are thought to live in remote areas, mountains, seas, trees, and the air, in their own communities. The social organization of the jinn community resembles that of humans.
According to traditions, the jinn stood behind the learned humans in Solomon's court, who in turn, sat behind the prophets. The jinn remained in the service of Solomon, who had placed them in bondage, and had ordered them to perform a number of tasks.
It is interesting that they are described as being able to have the form snake or serpent. Also that they resided in the garden of Eden or that their name partly derives from garden. The infamous snake from the Bible very well could have been one of these lesser spirits. It also seems like they may have served under the seraphim a.k.a. fiery serpent class of Angels covered in an earlier part.
