Today I came across a startling and rather absurd, but also somewhat amusing piece of information. I’ll quote the whole passage, to provide context:
Since jinn often move about in the world of men and transact business with humans, a significant body of law was elaborated by religious jurisconsults, dealing with such matters as the property rights of jinn and cases of mixed marriages between jinn and women. Ritual hygiene was another potential issue. Although women have to perform the major ritual ablution (the ghusl) after having had sex with men before they can perform the prayers, according to the legal compilation Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya there is no need for the ablutions after having had sex with jinn. [Robert Irwin, The Arabian Nights: A Companion (London: 2005), p. 204]
Now, Irwin’s reference for this is Abdelwahab Bouhdiba’s fairly well-known book, Sexuality in Islam. Thankfully, I happen to have a copy of it, so I was able to cross-check for better understanding. The way Irwin phrases the fact above isn’t quite as helpful as does Bouhdiba, who is paraphrasing from the primary source and states: “If a woman recognizes that she has a djinn [as lover] who visits her and makes her feel what she feels when her husband lies with her, this woman does not have to wash.”
On one level, a discussion of this nature shouldn’t be all that surprising for some of us who are intimately familiar with those Muslim societies – particularly in North Africa and South Asia – where jinns are deeply entrenched in popular belief. (If you ask me for stories of possessions and exorcisms, I wouldn’t even know where to begin!) On another level, this is also not that surprising if you’re aware of the remarkable degree of pragmatism with which most Muslim jurists used to address issues. For example, even though the classical jurists accepted gay sex as theoretically forbidden, many of them were sufficiently grounded in reality to feel the need to even discuss whether a man had to shower before he could pray, after sleeping with another man (as he would after sleeping with a woman)! In the words of Kecia Ali, “Clearly, in addition to a dogmatic condemnation of same-sex activity, the jurists also had a pragmatic approach to dealing with its occurrence.”
By the way, the source mentioned above, Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, may be better known by some as Fatawa-e-Alamgiri. Considered today as one of the major references for legal opinion in the Hanafi school of thought, it is a monumental collection of fiqh rulings that was put together between 1664-72 by a certain Shaykh Nizam, under the commission of the Moghul emperor Muhyiddin Alamgir (Aurangzeb).
Back on the topic of jinns and sex: according to a post on this webpage, apparently most of the scholars, including Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn Taymiyyah, and Suyuti, thought that sexual encounter between jinns and humans was possible. It seems that Al-Mawardi, on the other hand, was of the minority opinion that that could not be so, because the ‘corporeal’ and ‘incorporeal’ cannot mix.
Funny business, isn’t it?
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I have never read anything on this topic but have heard from people that jinns can have sex with women and even father children. Perhaps they suppose this because Houris
are supposed (by some) to be earthly women transformed into beautiful white beings whom no man or Jinn has ever touched in afterlife which perhaps to some men means that women in this world are touched by men AND Jinn?
What I fail to understand is why can’t men have sex with female jinn and father their children? It is always “our possessions shoudl not be possessed” (pun intended)!
Well, at least one doesn’t have to worry about ghusl in winters!!
Comment by Suroor April 29, 2007 @ 7:35 pmHilarious! marriage with jinns is a good one – i bet that solved a lot of problems in bangladeshi villages. so who is your young unmarried daughter pregnant by? what? oh she’s married to a jinn…
!
Comment by sonia April 29, 2007 @ 7:52 pmAnd again, a woman must perform ghusl if she has an orgasm so do scholars believe that a jinn cannot fully satisfy a woman and only “a real man” aka Muslim man is capable?
Comment by Suroor April 30, 2007 @ 10:39 amSonia: LOL, you are quite imaginative. Apparently, according to the link I mentioned, Imam Malik once wrote in response to a question about marriage to jinns: “I do not see in it any religious objection, but I consider it detestable. For if a woman found pregnant is asked, Who is your husband? and she replies that he is from the jinnee, this will lead to much corruption of the principles of Islam.” Heh!
Suroor: Believe it or not, ever since I blogged about this yesterday I’ve been thinking about exactly the same question as you raised: why is it that only male jinn are imagined to be able to fool around with women? Rather perplexing, and I can’t think of a satisfactory explanation.
Comment by Rawi April 30, 2007 @ 1:42 pmDon’t Jinns need to take a physical shape of a man to do the ‘deed’? Therefore won’t it be like sex with a man?
Comment by Haleem May 1, 2007 @ 2:53 amSorry, but how would you know a jinn was having sex with you? :-/ Because some people just have general “sexed up” feelings and think nothing of it apart from hormones getting a bit fluttery.
What if a jinn has sex with an unmarried woman? :-O
I have read about female jinn’s who harrass men and either try to have sex with them..or succeed. But of course that doesn’t sound as appealing as a dude annoying a girl so this story is the one that gains more popularity
Comment by Sumera May 8, 2007 @ 1:21 pmWhy do I know too much on this topic? Maybe because I have met a few Muslims(males) who have admitted to being raped/sexually harassed by a female Jinnyah?
Ahem.
On Iqra TV (a famous Arabic religious channel) they interviewed a scholar from Al AZHAR who swore that his second wife was a Jinnyah and he had 10 children with her.
They also interviewed another man who claims to have 3 children with his Jinnyah wife who suddenly disappeared with the kids and ran off (guess they had a big argument or something).
Both interviewees refused to describe their Jinn “women” because that was haraam. Of course!
My question remains, is it just me, or are we failing to see mental illness at its peek?
I wrote a post about this and briefly touched the issue here.
None of this nonsense occurred udring the time of the Prophet (pbuh), why is it showing up now? And there is a recorded incident where the prophet did encounter the Jinns and they accepted Islam, but nothing about Jinn possession was ever discussed, I wonder why?
Good piece.
Comment by Organic-Muslimah May 8, 2007 @ 4:20 pmVery funny business indeed!
Never really gave this any thought before. In a way it is scary.
It is also very interesting how scholars can handle the most absurd questions.
Comment by ~W~ May 8, 2007 @ 6:29 pmI know a really hot female Jinni that is in a lesbian relationship with a human woman. Does she need to perform ablutions before prayer? Since Jinn are made of fire, perhaps the the term “She is really hot!” is an oxymoron.
Comment by irving May 8, 2007 @ 8:04 pmI come from a small island so *popular*. You will hear about female jinns most of the time trying to *lure* men to sleep with them. Growing up we would be told to wash ourselves after our cycles otherwise the jinns would follow us, or not to go out if someone has janaba or some jinn would follow them. Now, I come to think of it, I think it was a way of getting pple to have ghusl and be in a state of cleanliness whenever they go out. sf
Comment by Anonymous May 8, 2007 @ 8:42 pmI have this concept of a jinn being ghost-like. Am I off the mark?
Comment by Cairogal May 10, 2007 @ 5:02 pmAccording to my understanding and to first hand personal accounts female jinn can and do have sex with men… even male jinn rape or have sex with himan men and female jinn with female humans… jinn are just like humans: it’s takes all kinds…
In medieval times there were two classes of these types of demons or jinn: incubae and succubae, the incubus would seduce the female human and the succubus the male human… however, I don’t know of any reference at that time to homosexual jinn… but then again I’m no expert…
Comment by lars May 18, 2008 @ 11:24 amTo be honest, after reading all the comments, I really find it very fascinating and attractive as well. It has become so expensive to marry a (human) girl now that I’ve been thinking about marrying a jinn–seriously. At least I don’t have to think about paying anything–she doesn’t need any pound-right? So plz let me if any of u guys know how to contact them. I’ve already tried reciting Surah Jinn 600 times. It didn’t work!!!
Comment by Anonymous June 10, 2008 @ 10:13 pmA Jinn is basically a demon is it not? Or something in between good and bad that is allowed to attack people as they sleep to test their faith or lack thereof; possibly even killing them. I have actually been attacked on two occasions by Jinn; it is no laughing matter. If I didn’t have faith in God’s (Allah’s) powers to protect me through his son, I might not be here. I am not kidding. When you awake, still in actuality asleep, to a reality where you can’t move, it’s hard to breath, and you have to force words of rebuke and protection from your mouth, then you can kid about JInns. I was afraid for my life. Could a female Jinn be called a Succubus in Western society?
Comment by Shawna Mathews September 7, 2011 @ 8:54 pmWell having read the above i feel it is true that male / female jinn can interfere with humans sexually as i have experianced it myself and ive tried everything i could to get rid of it, but no cure u name it i have tried everything … I cant go into detail on here as its a long story and began when i was younger but all i no is that if you read namaaz 5 times a day, try ur best to remain in wudu, and recite quran daily, read as aften as u can, keep away from sins then things will improve i no this from my experiances… The Jinn had not left but its calmed down since i went closer to ALLAH swa and since reading. May Allah protect us all Ameen.
Comment by nazia khan November 7, 2011 @ 3:34 pmCan i just add that this topic is no joke and is not at all funny in fact its real and true and you only no when you your self go through it so any1 making fun or finding it funny should not even be here! Its not a nice experiance and for everyone its different there not all the same. Only people who have been through it like myself would undertstand …
Comment by nazia khan November 7, 2011 @ 3:44 pmOh and as for incubus – male jinn and subcubus – female jinn thats what they call it nowadays its all the same meaning in the end just people giving it different names …
Comment by nazia khan November 7, 2011 @ 3:46 pm