A Critique of the Article “Jinn” in the Encyclopedia of the Qur᾽ān (EQ)

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student of Quran and Orientalism, Al-Mustafa International University, Qum,, Iran

2 Professor Of Qom Seminary

Abstract

The article “Jinn,” written by Jacqueline Chabbi, is one of the articles in Brill Encyclopaedia of the Quran, which despite useful content, has some weaknesses. This research tries to analyze these weak points with a descriptive-analytical method, based on authentic Islamic sources, so that the doubts are identified and answered. Some of the shortcomings of this article include the author’s emphasis on the limitation of the power of jinns, considering “jinn” and “Satan ”to be equivalent, referring to ethnographic research to examine a Quranic category, weakness and ambiguity in describing the nature and function of jinns, the influence of the Quran from popular culture regarding jinns, and considering some verses of the Quran to be polemical, regardless of the nature of polemics in Muslim literature. This research shows that jinns are responsible beings, including both righteous and wicked, and are not equivalent to devils, but some are among them. Jinns have certain powers, one of which is the ascension to the heavens, which has faced restrictions after the Prophet’s mission for the interests of Islam. In addition, the Quran is not influenced by the culture of the time and it describes the realities about the devils. The nature of polemics in Muslim literature is different from what the author has in mind. Therefore, the author's influence from the Bible and other historical and cultural writings has caused her to present an incomplete and, in some cases, unrealistic and ambiguous description of the subject of “jinn.”

Keywords

References

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