Jinn

(D)jinn or genies are an Arabic mythical being with magical abilities. They are one of three sentient creation of Allah along with Angels and Humans. Like Humans, the Jinn were given free will and thus can be good or evil.

According to the Qur’an, the Jinn are made of smokeless flame or “the fire of a scorching wind.” As their name indicates, Jinn roughly translates to “hidden”, they are invisible to humans. Some people believe that we are assigned a Jinn at birth which acts as a guardian spirit.

Genie is the more popular known name for Jinn in today’s culture. Even though the Jinn were created by Allah with free will, the story of Aladdin made popular the legend that Genies are imprisoned and will grant you three wishes if you set them free by rubbing a lamp. According to the book The Thousand and One Nights, you summon a Jinn by writing the name of God in Hebrew upon a sword or knife and use it to draw a diagram using symbols and incantations.

In some legends, the Jinn who grant wishes are known to take what you wish for very literally so it is important to remember to be careful what you wish for.