Pre-Islamic Beliefs About Jinn

• Belief in jinn is testified not only by the Quran, but also by pre-Islamic literature in the seventh century.
• Some scholars of the Middle East hold that they originated as malevolent spirits residing in deserts and unclean places, who often took the forms of animals; others hold that they were originally pagan nature deities who gradually became marginalized as other deities took greater importance.
• Since the term jinn seems not to be of Arabic, but Aramaic origin, denoting demonized pagan deities, the jinn probably entered the Arabian belief in the late pre-Islamic period.
• Still, jinn had been worshipped by many Arabs during the Pre-Islamic period, though, unlike gods, jinn were not regarded as immortal.
• Emilie Savage-Smith, who asserted that jinn are malevolent in contrast to benevolent gods, doesn't hold this distinction to be absolute, admitting jinn-worship in pre-Islamic Arabia.
• In the regions north to the Hejaz, Palmyra and Baalbek, the terms jinni and ilah were often used interchangeably.
• Julius Wellhausen likewise states that in pre-Islamic Arabia it was assumed there are friendly and helpful beings among the jinn.
• Although their mortality ranks them lower than gods, it seems that the veneration of jinn had played more importance in the everyday life of pre-Islamic Arabs than the gods themselves.
• According to common Arabian belief, soothsayers, pre-Islamic philosophers, and poets were inspired by the jinn.
• Their culture and society were analogous to that pre-Islamic Arabian culture, having tribal leaders, protecting their allies and avenging murder for any member of their tribe or allies.
• Although the powers of jinn exceed those of humans, it is conceivable a man could kill a jinni in single combat.
• Jinn were thought to shift into different shapes, but were feared especially in their invisible form, since then they could attack without being seen.
• Jinn were also feared because they had been thought to be responsible for various diseases and mental illnesses.
• Julius Wellhausen observed that such spirits were thought to inhabit desolate, dingy, and dark places and that they were feared.
• One had to protect oneself from them, but they were not the objects of a true cult.
• Al-Jahiz credits the pre-Islamic Arabs with believing that the society of jinn constitutes several tribes and groups and some natural events were attributed to them, such as storms.
• Despite that they were often feared or they inspired awe, the jinn were also pictured to have romantic feelings for humans.

Test your knowledge of the pre-Islamic beliefs surrounding jinn with this quiz. Learn about the origins, worship, and cultural significance of jinn in the Arabian Peninsula before the spread of Islam.