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Spirit possession and exorcism in Islam

InIslam,the belief that spiritual entities—particularly,jinn—canpossessa person, a thing or location,[1]is widespread; as is the belief that the jinn and devils can be expelled from the possessed person (or thing/location) throughexorcism.This practice is calledal-'azm,[2]: 98 ṭard al-shayṭān/al-jinn(expulsion of devils/spirits),[3]orruqya(Arabic:رقية,romanized:ruqya,spell, charm, magic, incantation),[4]and exorcists are calledraqi.

The 72nd chapter of theQur'anentitledAl-Jinn(The Jinn), as well as the heading and introductorybismillahof the next chapter entitledal-Muzzammil(The Enshrouded One).

Belief in the supernatural—witchcraft,sorcery,magic,ghosts,anddemons—in the Muslim world is not marginalized as eccentric or a product of ignorance, but is prevalent among all social classes. Belief in the supernatural creatures such asJinnare both an integral part of Islamic belief,[5]and a common explanations in society "for evil, illness, health, wealth, and position in society as well as all mundane and inexplicable phenomena in between". Given the moral ambivalence ascribed to supernatural agents in Islamic tradition, exorcisms can be addressed to both good and evil spirits.[6]

Jinn are thought to be able to enter and physically possess people for various reasons, whiledevils(shayāṭīn) assault theheart(qalb) and attempt to turn their victims to evil.[7]

Possession in Islam

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Most Muslim scholars believe in the possibility that jinn can physically possess people.[8]Only a minority denies demonic possession and argues that jinn can merely whisper to a person.[8]The everyday-life concern may vary. Some consider possession to be purely theoretical with no practical application, others consider interference of jinn only under rare circumstances, for example, when summoned by a sorcerer, yet others take it seriously and attribute everyday events to demonic activities.[9]

Mental disorders, such asepilepsy,forgetfulness,schizophrenia,[10]lack of energy, and morbid fears, are often attributed to demonic-possessions and witchcraft.[8]Yet, not all mental-illnesses are attributed to demons, rather demons are believed to cause such symptoms.[11]: 54 Belief in Jinn-possession is not only prevalent in Middle-Eastern countries, such asSaudi Arabia,[12]but also among Muslims inGreat Britain.[13]Belief in demonic possession also prevails among educated people.[12][14][15]

Due the ambiguous nature of jinn, some people may volunteer for possession. Possession by spirits are believed to grand beneficent powers, as in the case ofdiviners.[6]In that case, the possessed by perform a trance dance (hadra) in order to renew their covenant with their personal jinni.[6]In context ofSwahili culture,jinn possession may be used for healing purposes.[16]Such possessions are to be distinguished from cultural concepts of possession by demons.[17][11][18]

Possessing spirits

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According to the Islamic view on possession, a corruptedsoul(nafs) increases suspectibility (dha'iyfah)[19]to possession by evils spirits. Among them are jinn and devils.[20][21][22][23]The jinn differ from devils, by that the former can be believers (Muslim). However, since both are said to be created from some sort of fire, they are affined in some local Islamic beliefs.[21]

The jinn can be good or evil and inflict act autonomously or inflict harm when enslaved throughmagic.[24][25][21]Since jinn share their bodily nature with humans, jinn may also possess people because they fell in love with them, often resulting in alleged intercourse between these two.[18]Jinn may also possess someone to take revenge if angered. In such cases, the jinn are also thought to harm a person by hitting them.[26][27]Even if a pious jinni befalls a human, there is need for an exorcism as relationships between humans and jinn are socially frowned (makruh) upon.[6]

Devils(pl.:شَيَاطِينshayāṭīn) assault their victims by whisperings (وَسْوَسَةwaswasa), which is spiritually, rather than possessing them physically.[28]The devils' sole purpose is to lure both humans and jinn into sinful activities, both minor ones and major ones.[29][30]Paradoxically, suspectibility to the devils also increase with piety, since the devils are more engaged to corrupt a pure soul than a tainted one.[21][31]

Ruqyā(exorcism)

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Ruqyā(Arabic:رقيةIPA:[ruqja],lit. 'invocation') refers to the practise of exorcising spirits, jinn, and demons in Islamic tradition and is part of the wider body of the "prophetic medicine".[32]

Exorcisms are performed by qualified aRaqior asaint(darvish) who has beenblessed by God(barakah).[33]To qualify as aRaqi,one needs, among other criteria, to believe in God, practise theFive Pillars of Islam,follow the Sunnah as examplified byMuhammadand the saints, believe that theQuranhas the power to influence spirits, and knows about the spiritual world.[22]

For preparations, distractions, such as pictures, music, and golden jewelry, are removed to enableangelsto enter.[22]During the exorcism the exorcist seeks refuge in God and recites Quranic verses. The process further constitutes questioning the patient about their emotional state and dreams. Next, the excorsist negotiates with the possessing creature.[34][35]Such negotiation may include to command the spirit to curse Satan. It is believed that a satanic spirit would refuse to curse their father and can be identified as a devil, much tougher to manage.[36]If the jinni is willing to negotiate, some healers make attempts to convince them to convert to Islam.[35]

Some traditions request aid from good jinn (muwakkal) to negotiate with the possessing spirit.[3][37]

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^Jacobs, Louis (1999). "Exorcism".A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion.doi:10.1093/acref/9780192800886.001.0001.ISBN978-0-19-280088-6.
  2. ^Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis.
  3. ^abSzombathy, Z. (2014). Exorcism. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill.https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26268
  4. ^Wehr, Hans.Dictionary of Arabic(PDF).p. 302.Retrieved8 March2024.
  5. ^Amira El-Zein, Islam, Arabs and the Intelligent World of the Jinn (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2009), p. x.
  6. ^abcdMaʻrūf, Muḥammad. Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Modern Morrocan Magical Beliefs and Practices. Vol. 8. Brill, 2007. p. 2
  7. ^Szombathy, Zoltan (2014). "Exorcism". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 3. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26268. ISBN 9789004269637
  8. ^abcDein, Simon, and Abdool Samad Illaiee. "Jinn and mental health: looking at jinn possession in modern psychiatric practice." The Psychiatrist 37.9 (2013): 291.
  9. ^GINGRICH, ANDRE. “SPIRITS OF THE BORDER: SOME REMARKS ON THE CONNOTATION OF JINN IN NORTH-WESTERN YEMEN.” Quaderni Di Studi Arabi 13 (1995): 199–212.http://www.jstor.org/stable/25802775.p. 299-200
  10. ^Lim, Anastasia; Hoek, Hans W.; Blom, Jan Dirk (1 February 2015). "The attribution of psychotic symptoms to jinn in Islamic patients".Transcultural Psychiatry.52(1):18–32.doi:10.1177/1363461514543146.PMID25080427.S2CID6807422.
  11. ^abRassool (2015).
  12. ^abObeid, Tahir, et al. "Possession by ‘Jinn’as a cause of epilepsy (Saraa): a study from Saudi Arabia." Seizure 21.4 (2012): 245-249.
  13. ^Khalifa, Najat, and Tim Hardie. "Possession and jinn." Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 98.8 (2005): 352.
  14. ^Uvais, N. A.. Jinn and Psychiatry: Beliefs among (Muslim) doctors. Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry 33(1):47-49, Jan–Mar 2017.doi:10.4103/0971-9962.200095
  15. ^Naz, N. F., & Aslam, N. (2024). Belief in Jinn Possession Scale: Development and validation. Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 46(1), 88-105.https://doi.org/10.1177/00846724231225675
  16. ^Kim, Caleb C. "Jinn Possession and Uganga (Healing) among the Swahili." p. 71-72
  17. ^Al-Krenawi & Graham (1997),p. 211.
  18. ^abBulkeley, Adams & Davis (2009).
  19. ^GINGRICH, ANDRE. “SPIRITS OF THE BORDER: SOME REMARKS ON THE CONNOTATION OF JINN IN NORTH-WESTERN YEMEN.” Quaderni Di Studi Arabi 13 (1995): 199–212.http://www.jstor.org/stable/25802775.p. 203
  20. ^Barbera, Gerardo. "People of the Wind." Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 31.3 (2021): 421-432.
  21. ^abcdKhan, S. (18 Nov. 2024). Spirit of the Mind. Leiden, Niederlande: Brill.https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004719033p. 35
  22. ^abcAlean Al-Krenawi; John Graham (1999)."Social work and Koranic mental health healers".International Social Work.42(1): 57.doi:10.1177/002087289904200106.S2CID71504194.
  23. ^Dein, Simon; Abdool Samad Illaiee (2013)."Jinn and mental health: looking at jinn possession in modern psychiatric practice".The Psychiatrist.37(9):290–293.doi:10.1192/pb.bp.113.042721.S2CID29032393.
  24. ^Joseph P. LaycockSpirit Possession around the World: Possession, Communion, and Demon Expulsion across CulturesABC-CLIO 2015ISBN978-1-610-69590-9page 166
  25. ^Egdunas Racius ISLAMIC EXEGESIS ON THE JINN: THEIR ORIGIN, KINDS AND SUBSTANCE AND THEIR RELATION TO OTHER BEINGS pp. 132–135
  26. ^GINGRICH, ANDRE. “SPIRITS OF THE BORDER: SOME REMARKS ON THE CONNOTATION OF JINN IN NORTH-WESTERN YEMEN.” Quaderni Di Studi Arabi 13 (1995): 199–212.http://www.jstor.org/stable/25802775.p. 202
  27. ^Větrovec, Lukáš. "Curse, Possession and Other Worlds: Magic and Witchcraft among the Bosniaks." p. 79
  28. ^Maʻrūf, Muḥammad. Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Modern Morrocan Magical Beliefs and Practices. Vol. 8. Brill, 2007. pp. 96/167
  29. ^Meldon (1908),pp. 123–146.
  30. ^Sells (1996),p. 143.
  31. ^Szombathy, Zoltan, "Exorcism", in:Encyclopaedia of Islam,THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Consulted online on 15 November 2019<http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_26268> First published online: 2014 First print edition: 9789004269637, 2014, 2014-4
  32. ^Gerda SengersWomen and Demons: Cultic Healing in Islamic EgyptBRILL, 2003ISBN9789004127715p. 50
  33. ^Al-Krenawi, Alean, and John R. Graham. "Spirit possession and exorcism in the treatment of a Bedouin psychiatric patient." Clinical Social Work Journal 25 (1997): 211-222.
  34. ^Maʻrūf, Muḥammad. Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Modern Morrocan Magical Beliefs and Practices. Vol. 8. Brill, 2007. pp. 165-167
  35. ^abNajat Khalifa; Tim Hardie (August 2005)."Possession and Jinn".J R Soc Med.98(8):351–353.doi:10.1177/014107680509800805.PMC1181833.PMID16055898.
  36. ^Maʻrūf, Muḥammad. Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Modern Morrocan Magical Beliefs and Practices. Vol. 8. Brill, 2007. p. 167
  37. ^Khan, Sanaullah. Spirit of the Mind: Divine Disclosure, Nafs and the Transcendental Self in Islamic Thought. BRILL, 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Bulkeley, Kelly; Adams, Kate; Davis, Patricia M., eds. (2009).Dreaming in Christianity and Islam: Culture, Conflict, and Creativity.New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. p. 148.ISBN978-0-813-54610-0.
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  • Al-Krenawi, A.; Graham, J.R. (1997). "Spirit Possession and Exorcism in the Treatment of a Bedouin Psychiatric Patient".Clinical Social Work Journal.25(2): 211.doi:10.1023/A:1025714626136.S2CID140937987.
  • Maʻrūf, Muḥammad (2007).Jinn Eviction as a Discourse of Power: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Modern Moroccan Magical Beliefs and Practices.Brill. p. 2.ISBN978-90-04-16099-6.
  • Meldon, J.A. (1908). "Notes on the Sudanese in Uganda".Journal of the Royal African Society.7(26):123–146.JSTOR715079.
  • Rassool, G. Hussein (2015).Islamic Counselling: An Introduction to theory and practice.New York: Routledge.ISBN978-1-317-44124-3.
  • Sells, Michael Anthony (1996).Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qurʼan, Miraj, Poetic and Theological Writings.Paulist Press. p. 143.ISBN978-0-809-13619-3.
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  • Westermarck, Edward (23 April 2014).Ritual and Belief in Morocco.Routledge Revivals. Vol. 1. Routledge. pp.263–264.ISBN978-1-317-91268-2.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: date and year (link)
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