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Ruling on denying jinn possession of humans

Question

Does believing in when jinn hunt someone or not believing in it affect one's faith and whether one will go to hell or Paradise? Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The ability of the jinn to possess humans is unanimously agreed upon by Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa‘ah. No one has denied this fact except the people of Bid'ah (religious innovations). It is proven by the verse that reads (what means): {Those who consume Riba (interest) cannot stand except as one whom the devil has driven to madness by his touch...} [Quran 2:275] Al-Qurtubi  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him commented on the verse, saying, "This verse serves as evidence of the falseness of the view held by those who deny jinn possession and claim that it is the work of human dispositions and that the devil does not flow within the human body and cannot possess him."

Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him wrote, "The entrance of the jinn into the human body is confirmed by the consensus of the Imaams of Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa‘ah." Hence, denying this fact and claiming that it is impossible and cannot be true and does not happen is a religious innovation, and it is feared that the person who denies it would be exposed to the punishment of Allaah on the Day of Judgment.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him was once asked, "What is the ruling on those who deny jinn possession of humans?" He answered:

"Such a person belongs to the Mu‘tazilah sect, who do not believe that the jinn can possess the human being. However, this claim is proven wrong by the texts of the Quran and Sunnah. Allaah, The Exalted, says about those who deal in Riba (what means): {Those who consume interest cannot stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except as one stands whom the devil has driven to madness by his touch...} [Quran 2:275] Moreover, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, 'Satan circulates in the human body as blood does.' It has been narrated that a man was possessed by a jinn and was brought to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, recited Ruqyah (healing through Quran and supplications) over him and commanded the jinn to get out of his body. The reality testifies to it as well. It is observed that jinn could possibly possess the human being, influence him, cause him to fall sick, frighten or disturb him, and trigger his worries according to the degree of the power that the jinn has gained over the person. I advise the Muslims to use two means (to safeguard themselves from jinn possession). First, reliance on Allaah and holding the belief that their reliance on Allaah empowers them over the jinn and that jinn are overpowered by Thikr (expressions of remembrance of Allaah) and the remembrance of Allaah, The Exalted. He says (what means): {From the evil of the retreating whisperer.} [Quran 114:4] It means that Satan withdraws from whispering in the person's heart when he remembers Allaah. Second, reciting reported Thikr that protects us from evils such as the Kursi verse [Quran 2:255]. Whoever recites the Kursi verse at night, Allaah assigns a guardian angel to guard him; no devil approaches him until the morning."

For more benefit, please refer to fataawa 10719and 84297.

Allaah knows best.

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