The Vengeful Djinn: Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies (18 page)

Knowledge of the Past, Present, and Future

According to Islamic thought, the future is not yet part of the created world and is known only by God and a select few of his angels. Forty days before an event takes place, a message about it is sent down from the Highest Assembly to the heaven where angels
called katibin write it down as destiny."
Once written, destiny is irreversible and cannot be changed, even if the person learns about it. Angels do not reveal destiny without God's permission. Certain sheikhs say they are inspired by angels and can know and reveal the future. However, some believe the sheikhs are really talking to djinn masquerading as angels.

Djinn know the past, the present, and what is taking place at another location (clairvoyance or remote viewing), but they do not know the future. Before Islam, they had the power to know the invisible, but they abused it by revealing their secrets to humans in exchange for gifts and control over a person's freedom.12
God took their power away and shut them out of the seventh heaven. They climb up stairs or fly up to sit at the door and eavesdrop on the angels, who chase them away with stones. If hit, the djinn fall like burning stars (meteors)."

King Solomon proved the djinn have no knowledge of the future by concealing his death, in order to show people that they should not let the djinn fool humanity into thinking their ethereal counterparts ever had such knowledge.

It is said Solomon died leaning on his stick, and his corpse remained propped up on it for an entire year. Meanwhile, the djinn, thinking he was still alive, went on as slaves building his temple and city. At last, ants ate through the stick and the corpse collapsed. The djinn suddenly realized he was dead and had no more hold over them, and they fled.14
In Western tradition, angels are consulted for fortune-telling, although it isn't an official function. Theirs is not to reveal the future-unless God tells them to-but
to stand by to provide aid when called upon by people as they go
through the trials and experiences that are the results of choice.

Western demons are said to be clairvoyant, and able to know
and tell the future. They know the secrets of people past and present, and are capable of commanding any language. In cases of
possession, demons reveal these abilities; the speaking of dead languages or claims of the ability to tell the future are taken as proof
of possession.

Possession

In ancient times, illnesses, afflictions, aberrant behavior, and misfortune were blamed on demons who were said to have the power
to enter the body and take over one's body and mind. Djinn have
this ability, too, and the traits of their possession described in the
previous chapter can be applied to demons as well.

In Islamic and Christian traditions, the invading entities find
ways to sneak into the body. The djinn often enter when a person's
aura is weakened or split from trauma. In Western lore, demons
enter through the breath, such as when a person sneezes, or hiding
on bits of food. Giving in to temptations and sin will, of course,
make one susceptible as well.

Certain individuals-religious authorities and healers-have the
ability to exorcize demons through prayers, incantations, fumigations, and issuing holy commands. Exorcisms can easily go wrong
when an unskilled exorcist challenges powerful, crafty demons or
djinn; a person who performs this sort of task must be knowledgeable and powerful in his or her own right. In the Western tradition, the Catholic church has strictly ritualized exorcism, with rules
governing how and why demons can possess people, and how they
must behave in exorcisms. Demons do not just upset life, but use
possession as a way to mock the Church and God, spewing forth
blasphemies and obscenities through His most beloved creation.

Sexual Union

Angels and demons do not marry and have families, but the djinn do, just like us.

It is interesting to note, however, that angels, demons, and djinn are all capable of having sexual relations with human beings. Such unions are not considered desirable for mortals, and the offspring are usually oddities, if not downright monstrosities. Demons are considered to be sterile, but can impregnate women through a bothersome and awkward process of first using a female form to seduce a man to collect his sperm, and afterwards changing to a male form to impregnate a woman.

Both djinn and demons can approach humans sexually as seductive lovers in beautiful or familiar forms. Certain demons, the incubi (male) and succubi (female), are more sexually aggressive, especially in cases of hauntings and possession.

Eating and Drinking

The angels and demons of Western lore do not eat. In Genesis 18 and 19, two angels who are shapeshifted into the guises of men visit Abraham and tell him he and his elderly wife, Sarah, will bear a son. Abraham and Sarah offer them a meal and the strangers eat, and then depart to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Whether or not the angels actually consumed the food was a subject of great theological debate in Christianity. Theologians opined that angels, being non-corporeal, cannot eat, and so they only gave the illusion of eating in order to conceal their identities. Djinn eat and drink. They are allowed the bones over which the name of Allah has been said, and they can give animal dung to their own animals to eat."
There are many more points of intersection among djinn, angels, and demons, and we have summarized the most important ones in the table on the next two pages:

In Closing

Making distinctions among supernatural entities and drawing boundaries is problematic at best. The problem increases in complexity when concerning the strongest and most prominent forces who represent the absolutes of good and evil. The nature, characteristics, and traits of entities often blur together. They are not "either-or," but "both-and." For example, can we confidently recognize an angel as an angel, certain it is not something else in disguise? The djinn are renowned for masquerades, and so are demons in the Western supernatural world. Saint Paul observed, "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light."16
Theologians wrote that demons could also appear as the Virgin Mary, saints, and even Jesus himself. The literature of the saints contain numerous accounts of holy men and women being deceived by demons. If the most dedicated holy people can be so deceived, how can ordinary mortals hope to know exactly what they are dealing with when they have entity encounters?

The answer is not easy, and we suggest that we often do not know-we think we are dealing with one particular entity when in fact we may be dealing with djinn.

NE OF A DJINNI'S FAVORITE disguises is that of a fairy, an intermediary being found in mythologies around the world.
Fairy beliefs are universal and strikingly similar across cultures. In
all places, and at all times in history one can find fairies in mythology and folklore. Usually, they appear in stories as small, supernaturally gifted beings that live inside the earth and harbor longstanding grudges against the human race.

Though Western fairy lore predates Christianity, much of it has
acquired Christian elements. In Western lore, fairies seem cute,
pretty, and harmless. In modern depictions, they are usually small
beings (usually with wings) that tend to things in nature. Modern fairies of this type occasionally interact with humans, usually
in good or sometimes comically mischievous ways. Traditionally,
however, fairies are not as innocent, not even in Western lore. Underneath their gossamer glow lies a dark side that crosses into djinn
territory.

Popular Western notions about fairies have been increasingly
sanitized since Victorian times, before which they were among
the most feared of supernatural entities. In earlier times, even the
good-natured fairies were believed to use their supernatural powers
against people more than for help, and people went out of their
way to avoid them or, if they absolutely couldn't, at least placate
them. Fairies offer a good disguise for the stealthy, shapeshifting
djinn, enabling them to hide in plain sight in a supernatural part
of our world. This masking in no way negates the existence of fairies, the varieties of good and bad fairies, or anyone's experiences
with them. But have all our encounters with fairies been with
them-or with djinn?

The use of fairy disguises probably appeals most to green djinn
and red djinn. The green djinn are fascinated with people, as are
many fairies, and both can fall in love with humans and follow them
around. Green djinn love to play, and fairies are renowned for their
nocturnal dancing, singing, and bewitching brews. Green djinn also
love pranks and jokes, a trademark fairy activity.

The guise of ill-tempered fairies suit the red djinn, the ones
looking for ways to cause serious strife with humans. Most of the
fairies documented in Western folklore have a dim view of humans
at best. Like many blue djinn, they avoid people, believing them
to be inferior and not worth their attention. But cross them-especially those who have mean streaks and bad tempers-and disaster strikes. Angry, wronged fairies will destroy homes, fortunes,
and health, using some of the same tactics employed by angry, terrorizing red djinn.

Fairies have already been compared to extraterrestrials, most notably by the folklorist Thomas E. Bullard, and by ufologist Jacques
Vallee in Passport to Magonia (1969). In our research, we found an
even stronger connection to the djinn. The connections shared by
djinn and fairies that also link to extraterrestrials add even more intrigue if it can believed that a masquerade of shapeshifting is indeed in effect.

We have identified numerous similarities and links between
djinn, fairies, and leprechauns. We mention leprechauns separately
because it is uncertain whether or not they technically belong to
the class of fairies. In some descriptions, they are called fairieseven "Ireland's national fairy"-and in other descriptions, they are
separate entities that interact with fairies.

Origins of the Word Fairy

Fairy is generally thought to come from the Latin word fata, or
fate, which refers to the Fates of mythology: three women who
spin, twist, and cut the threads of life. Fairy came into usage in medieval times and was often used to refer to women who had magical
powers. Fairy, originally spelled faerie, referred to the state of being
enchanted.