Exile of the jinn (exorcism) in Islam

 

Recently, a major film was made about the life of Gabriel Amorth, the chief exorcist of the Catholic Church. His numerous books, and now a film, have sparked a resurgence of exorcism and interest in devil possession. Below are some questions that may arise and answers from an Islamic perspective.

Preface: Possession by the devil can be something very scary, but it is neither the most harmful nor the most common action of Shaitan and his legions. Therefore, there are no special warnings related to this in the Quran. Read more about this below.

1. What is devil possession?

"Possession" refers to the possession of a "devil" (jinn) in a person and the establishment of control over his abilities, for example, when a person speaks in a different voice or has a power that he usually did not possess. Thus, it consists of:

a) Shaitan takes possession of a person;

b) speaks/acts through his body.

2. What aspects of obsession are confirmed by the Qur'an or the Sunnah?

The possession of Shaitan is confirmed, but the mastery of abilities is not. Allah says: "Those who lived off riba (illicit profits) will rise (from the graves) like those whom Shaytan drove mad with his touch" (Surah Al-Bakara, verse 275). And the Prophet said, "Satan moves in man through his veins."

Therefore, if someone refuses to believe in Shaitan's mastery of abilities, then his belief is correct. But they have to believe that Shaitan can get access to the body.

3. Is the concept of possession heresy?

The two above-mentioned texts leave room for complete obsession, including mastery of abilities. Therefore, the idea of possession is not heresy. It does not contradict Sharia and is not rationally contradictory. Anyone who says that this is heresy is mistaken.

4. Do we have reliable evidence of jinn possession?

For centuries, scientists and commoners have given the same eyewitness accounts that make them believe that jinns can inhabit a person and master his abilities to move and speak.

Imam Ahmad's son told me: "I told my father that some people deny that shaitan enters the human body. He replied, "They're lying. He moves in and speaks through their language. This is well known. A person speaks a language that no one understands. He is beaten with blows that could knock down a camel, but he does not feel anything. They are moving at a very high speed. And other things that give a certain knowledge (yufid al-'ilm al-daruri) that whoever speaks and moves through this person belongs to a different species than humans."

In conclusion, it should be noted that the introduction of Shaitan into a person is confirmed by sacred texts (obligatory faith), while the mastery of abilities reaches us only through observation and reliable transmission without sacred texts (therefore, this is an acceptable, but not obligatory faith).

Not everything we are sure of is obligatory for faith in Islam. For example, the existence of viruses has an even stronger foundation than the existence of djinn — we can see viruses with microscopes and photograph them. It is absurd to deny their existence. Nevertheless, a Muslim may stubbornly refuse to admit this and at the same time profess the correct aqida before Allah. We will just say that he is wrong, stubborn and denies the facts, but we cannot say that he is a heretic. The same thing happens with djinn obsession.

5. If the jinn's obsession is real, why is it not mentioned in the Qur'an or hadith?

No matter how scary possession is, it's not the scariest thing a shaitan can do. The legal status of a djinn possessed is the same as that of a madman. Instead, the Qur'an draws our attention to "waswas" and "igua", which will be discussed later.

6. What's worse than being possessed by jinn?

Allah warns directly about "waswas" and "igua", whispering and misleading. These two things are much more common than obsession and have more lasting effects that can destroy families and lead people to eternal punishment in the Ahirate. The protection against this is knowledge, dhikr and communication with righteous Muslims: "Indeed, the mercy of Allah (and the answer to prayers) is close to the virtuous (al-muhsinin)" (Surah Al-A'raf, 7:56).

7. If the Trinity is false, then how do Christians successfully expel the jinn?

The Shaitans are repelled by the mere mention of Allah or any of His angels or prophets, regardless of the language. The Qur'an confirms that Jews and Christians still have some truth — they remember the name of God and the names of His prophets. "If Allah had not allowed some people to defend themselves from others, monasteries, churches (Christians), synagogues (Jews) and mosques (Muslims) would have been destroyed" (Surah Al-Hajj, 22:40). Of course, we believe completely different things about God and His prophets, but their names still bother Shaitan and his legions in the same way that atheists hate all forms of faith in God, right and wrong. Just as non-believers can cure diseases or ward off thieves or intruders, they can drive away evil jinns.

8. If the jinn's obsession is confirmed, is it necessary for Muslims to expel him?

This is the fard kifaya (collective duty) of Muslims to eliminate harm, no different from an outbreak of the disease.

9. Do Shaitans hate mentioning God and His prophets as much as atheists?

Sheikh Abdul-Wakil al-Durubi said no; atheist people just get annoyed, while shaitans and jinns get physically hurt from mentioning them. Consequently, they literally cannot approach a person who commits dhikr.

10. Sh. Abdul-Wakil al-Durubi was asked the following question: if the Shaitans cannot approach the one who remembers Allah and His prophets, then how do the worshippers go astray?

He cited a hadith that every person has a karin or a jinn companion who is protected from dhikr and can whisper false beliefs to a person, misleading him. This karin is neutralized only by knowledge and being in the jama'a, which means the general population of Muslims, but also the historically formed opinions of the majority, which are held by all or a significant part of scientists.

11. Are the Shaitans fallen angels?

Christians still consider Shaitans to be fallen angels and seem to have no idea about the third creation, which, according to the Quran, is called jinn. Allah clearly says that Shaitan "was a jinn" (Surah Al-Kahf, verse 50). We do not believe that angels can disobey Allah.

12. Can we learn about jinn possession from Christian exorcists?

Observable knowledge, such as the symptoms and patterns of diseases, can be obtained from non-believers. Theories about the causes of symptoms or proposed treatments that contradict Sharia law are rejected. There is no prohibition against hearing what a Christian has to say about the behavior of people supposedly possessed and how he cured them, since these are just observations.