In this article
In short
- 01The Permanent Committee’s ruling: seeking the help of the jinn in identifying an affliction or its treatment is shirk.
- 02No human can rule on whether a given jinnī is Muslim or disbelieving, righteous or hypocritical, so “he only uses them for good” settles nothing.
- 03A karāmah cannot be summoned by the one who wants it — anyone who claims the jinn are subjected to him as a karāmah has, by that very claim, shown it is nothing of the sort.
The Permanent Committee’s ruling
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Iftā' is Saudi Arabia’s senior fatwa body. It was asked about seeking help from the jinn.
The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Iftā’
The Committee cited two verses:
وَأَنَّهُۥ كَانَ رِجَالٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْإِنسِ يَعُوذُونَ بِرِجَالٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ فَزَادُوهُمْ رَهَقًۭا
Wa-annahu kāna rijālun mina-l-insi yaʿūdhūna bi-rijālin mina-l-jinni fa-zādūhum rahaqā
"And there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the jinn, so they [only] increased them in burden." — Sūrah al-Jinn 72:6
وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًۭا يَٰمَعْشَرَ ٱلْجِنِّ قَدِ ٱسْتَكْثَرْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْإِنسِ ۖ وَقَالَ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُم مِّنَ ٱلْإِنسِ رَبَّنَا ٱسْتَمْتَعَ بَعْضُنَا بِبَعْضٍۢ وَبَلَغْنَآ أَجَلَنَا ٱلَّذِىٓ أَجَّلْتَ لَنَا ۚ قَالَ ٱلنَّارُ مَثْوَىٰكُمْ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌۭ
"And [mention, O Muhammad], the Day when He will gather them together [and say], 'O company of jinn, you have [misled] many of mankind.' And their allies among mankind will say, 'Our Lord, some of us made use of others, and we have [now] reached our term, which you appointed for us.' He will say, 'The Fire is your residence, wherein you will abide eternally, except for what Allah wills. Indeed, your Lord is Wise and Knowing.'" — Sūrah al-Anʿām 6:128
The Committee explains the “mutual use” in this verse: humans venerated the jinn, submitted to them and sought their protection, and the jinn served them, bringing what they asked for. Telling them the kind of illness and its causes, things the jinn can see and humans cannot, is that same exchange. And the jinn may lie; they cannot be trusted, and it is not permitted to believe them.
“But he only uses them for good, and he is pious”
Fatwa 7369
- It is not permitted, even for apparent good. Seeking their help leads to many corruptions. The jinn belong to the unseen: no human can rule on whether a given jinnī is Muslim or disbelieving, righteous or hypocritical, because such a judgement requires complete knowledge of his character, religion, commitment and taqwā, and we have no yardstick to sort their truthful from their liars.
- There is no precedent. It is not established that the Prophet ﷺ, the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, the Companions or the Successors ever did this, sought jinn help, or turned to them for their needs.
- In an age of ignorance it slides into sorcery. With knowledge scarce, a person can fall into charlatanry and sihr under the banner of “using jinn for good”, be caught in their scheming without realising, and lead ordinary people astray after the sorcerers.
- Ibn Taymiyyah’s own caveat. Where he mentions that using jinn in permitted and good matters can be like using humans, he ends the same passage by warning that a person without complete knowledge of the Sharī‘ah may be deceived by them and schemed against.
- Imam Ahmad’s position. Ibn Muflih records in al-Ādāb al-Sharī‘ah: Ahmad was asked about a man who claims to treat the possessed with ruqā and incantations, or claims to address the jinn and speak with them, some of them serving him. He said: “I would not like anyone to do it. Leaving it is dearer to me.”
What a karāmah is
A karāmah is an event outside the ordinary course of things that Allah brings about at the hands of a righteous servant who follows the Sunnah. Believing in the karāmāt of Allah’s righteous friends is a principle of Ahl al-Sunnah, and many are recorded:
- The People of the Cave, and Maryam finding provision in her prayer-niche brought by no human being — both in the Quran.
- The three men trapped in the cave by the boulder, who called on Allah by their righteous deeds until it moved — in Bukhari and Muslim.
- Jurayj the worshipper of Banī Isrā'īl, cleared of a false accusation of zinā when a nursing infant spoke — in Bukhari.
- Khubayb ibn ‘Adiyy, held prisoner by Quraysh, found eating grapes when there were no grapes in Makkah — in Bukhari.
But three cautions follow:
- Chase istiqāmah (uprightness), not karāmah.
- Wonders are not proof of righteousness. Extraordinary feats also appear at the hands of the disbelieving and the corrupt, as istidrāj (a rope paid out to them), like the great wonders that will accompany the Dajjāl. The proof of a person’s uprightness is his adherence to the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, not his marvels.
- Jinn-service is not a karāmah by definition. A karāmah cannot be summoned by the one who wants it: it is a pure favour from Allah to His friends, sometimes granted when sought, sometimes withheld. Anyone who claims the jinn are subjected to him as a karāmah has, by that very claim, shown it is nothing of the sort. Judge the man by his state, not by his wonders.
Medical first, alongside ruqyah — nothing here replaces a doctor’s care.
Sources
- The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Iftā' — fatwa on seeking the jinn’s help
- Fatwa 7369 — on the man who "uses jinn only for good" and on karāmāt
- Ibn Muflih, al-Ādāb al-Sharī‘ah — Imam Ahmad’s position
Why using jinn even for permitted things is not allowed — Abdulrahman al-Faqih and the three kinds of jinn-users
Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Faqih states his position plainly: "What we hold as our religion before Allah is that it is not permitted to use the jinn in any of these matters" — and he adds that he personally heard Sheikh…
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