The Nature of the Jinns

An Explanation based on the Quran and Science

(Extracted from the author’s book titled “Secrets of Angels, Demons, Satan, and Jinns
- Decoding their Nature through Quran and Science”
Mahmood Jawaid
Revised November 28, 2012

Throughout the history, various kinds of beliefs have existed about spiritual beings. They have
been categorized as good, bad, or neutral beings with respect to how they affect the humans. They
assume various forms in the religions of the world, which include celestial and atmospheric
beings, devils, demons, and evil spirits; ghosts, ghouls, and goblins; and nature spirits and
fairies.1

In Western religions, the good spiritual beings are usually called angels and the bad ones are
termed demons. In Eastern, ancient, and primitive religions, such beings are less categorical, for
they may be good in some circumstances and bad in others. Islam classifies spiritual beings into
angels (malaikah) and jinns.1

Jinns, according to the Quran, are the hidden being created with a conscience and free will. They,
like humans, inhabit the earth. Their world is parallel to the world of humans. The existence of an
invisible intelligent being living with us on the earth has intrigued the human mind and has
prompted much folklore. We will analyze the Quranic descriptions about the Jinns in the
light of science to understand their origin.

Analysis:
Most of us think that Jinns are made from fire. This is probably because of the claim made by
Satan (Iblees), who was a Jinn:

018.050--- He (Iblees) was one of the Jinns (al-jinn), ---

007.012 You created me from fire, and him (Adam) from clay (also 038.076)

The Quran, however, also makes the following statement:

015.027 And the Jinn race (al-jaann), We had created before, from the fire of a scorching
wind (min naar-is-samoom).

055.015 And He created Jinns (al-jaann) from fire free of smoke (mim maarij-im min
naar).

The term ‘Jinn’ itself sheds some light on the nature of the Jinns. The names used for the Jinns in
the Holy Quran are ‘al Jinn’2, ‘al-jaann’3, and ‘al-jinnah’4. These names are derived from the
root word ‘janna’, which is the active voice of ‘junna’,’ yujannu’. The root meaning of ‘junna’
and ‘yujannu’ is 'to be covered or hidden.' ‘Jann’ and ‘yajunnu’ are the active voices meaning 'to
cover or hide.’5 The word ‘janna’ has been used twice in the Holy Quran to describe the word
'cover':

Copyright © 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, & 20012 by Mahmood N. A. Jawaid 1
 006.076 When the night covered (janna) him (Abraham) over, he saw a star: He said:
"This is my Lord." But when it set he said: "I love not those that set."

053.032 He knows you well when He brings you out of the earth., and when you are
hidden (ajinnatun) in your mothers' wombs.

The word ‘jaann’ has also been used for the stick of Prophet Moses (MoosaAS), when it turned
into snake.

027.010 And throw down your stick!‘. But when he saw it moving as if it were a snake
(jaann), he turned in flight (also 028.031 NQ)

Since we do not understand the miracle of the stick turning into a snake, we cannot really
understand why ‘jaann’ is used for the snake. We will, therefore, exclude this use of the term
from our discussion.
The root of the word suggests that the Jinns are hidden or invisible to the human eye.
Their hidden or invisible nature has also been identified with reference to Satan, who is one of the
Jinns. The Holy Quran suggests that, whereas Satan, a Jinn, and his tribes can see the humans,
the human being cannot see them:

007.027 --- for he (Satan) and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see
them ---

 Verse 007.012 states that Satan claimed his superiority over Adam because he was made
from fire.

 Verse 015.027 defines what kind of fire it is. It states that the Jinns are made from a fire that
is a scorching wind.

 Verse 007.027 claims that the fire is smokeless.

The Quranic statements thus suggest that the fire the Jinns are made from has the following
characteristics:

it is invisible to the human being;

it is a scorching wind (hot flame);
it is smoke free.

The fire is usually created by burning wood, coal, gasoline, oil, or natural gas. When fuel burns, it
produces hot gases (Figure 1). The hot gases consist of carbon dioxide and steam and form the
flame of the fire. Carbon dioxide is an invisible gas. It is carbon dioxide gas that gives fizz to soft
drinks. Hot steam is dry and is also invisible. The steam we see coming out of the boiling water is
in reality not steam. It is condensed water mist in the steam.

Most of the fuels have solids and give off carbon particles upon burning (Figure 1). The heat of
the flame makes the carbon particle glow. It is this glow that gives the flame its color.6 The same
carbon particles form soot upon cooling and make the flame smoky. Thus if we could remove the
carbon particles from the flame, the flame would not only be smoke-free, it will also be invisible.
The invisible smoke-free flame will, therefore, only consist of gases (carbon dioxide gas and
steam) (Figure 2). We can, therefore, infer that the Jinns are made from gases (carbon dioxide gas

Copyright © 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, & 20012 by Mahmood N. A. Jawaid 2
and steam) that are the product of fire and are invisible to human eye. We can also infer that it is
the gaseous nature of the Jinns that makes them invisible.

Note: For a detailed discussion on this topic the reader is referred to the book titled “Secrets of
Angels, Demons, Satan, and Jinns - - Decoding their Nature through Quran and Science”
.

Hot Carbon Dioxide Gas

(invisible)

Hot Dry Steam (invisible)

Burning Fuel

Carbon Particles (glows

when hot, black soot when
cools of)

Figure 1: The Components of a Burning Fuel.

Hot Carbon Dioxide Gas

(invisible)

Smoke-free
Flame
Hot Dry Steam (invisible)

Figure 2: The Components of a Smoke-free Flame.

About the Writer:

Mahmood Jawaid is an engineer by profession and writer by avocation. He is the published author of
“Secrets of Angels, Demons, Satan, and Jinns – Decoding their Nature through Quran and Science,” “Atom
to Adam – How, When and Where in the Light of Quran, Bible and Science (A Study of Human Origin),”
“Hunting to Cloning – Unearthing Civilizations through Quran,” “Lessons from the Qur’an,” and “Divided
We Prosper – A Humorous Reflection on Human Cultural Practices.” He has also published many articles
on religious issues in the Charleston Gazette, West Virginia and has written research papers on Islamic
issues from modernist perspective. He has also written quite a few poems in Urdu and English. His writings
can be found on MahmoodJawaid.com. He is a Chemical Engineer and possesses Bachelor and Master of
Science degrees in Chemical Engineering and has Professional Engineers license from the State of Texas.
His e-mail address is mnajawaid@yahoo.com.

References:

Copyright © 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, & 20012 by Mahmood N. A. Jawaid 3
1
The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1977, Volume 1, pp. 871-876.
2
The Holy Quran: Surah Al-Anaam, Verses 100, 112, 128, and 130; Surah Al-Aaraaf, Verses 38 and 179;
Surah Al-Isra, Verse 88; Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 50; Surah An-Naml, Verses 17 and 39; Surah Saba, Verses
12, 14, and 41; Surah Fussilat, Verses 25 and 29; Surah Al-Ahqaaf, Verse 18 and 29; Surah Adh-
Dhariyaata, Verse 56; Surah Ar-Rahmaan, Verse 33; and Surah Al-Jinn, Verses 1, 5, and 6.
3
The Holy Quran: Surah Al-Hijr, Verse 27; Surah Ar-Rahmaan, Verses 15, 39, 56, and 84.
4
The Holy Quran: Surah Hood, Verse 119; Surah As-Sijdah, Verse 13; Surah As-Saaffaat Verse 158;
Surah An-Naas, Verse 6.
5
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, "The Meaning of the Holy Quran," Amana Publications, Beltsville, Maryland, 1989,
Note No. 929 of Surah Al Anam, Verse 100.
6
Growing up with Science, H. S. Stuttman Inc., Westport, Connecticut, 1990, Volume 6, p. 528.
Lewis, B., and von Elbe, G., "Combustion, Flame, and Explosion of Gases," Academic Press, 1961,
Chapter IX.

Copyright © 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, & 20012 by Mahmood N. A. Jawaid 4