Editing Jinn (section)

== Magical practises ==
{{Anchor|Jinn in form of storms and shadows}}

Jinn might be invoked, along with demons and devils, for means of sorcery, incantation, protection, or divination.<ref>Gerda Sengers ''Women and Demons: Cultic Healing in Islamic Egypt'' BRILL 2003 {{ISBN|978-9-004-12771-5}} page 31</ref><ref>Ian Richard Netton ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' Routledge 2013 {{ISBN|978-1-135-17960-1}} page 376</ref> Soothsayers (''kāhin'') are credited with the ability to ask jinn about things of the past, since their lives are believed to last longer than that of humans.<ref>Morrow, John Andrew (27 November 2013) Islamic Images and Ideas: Essays on sacred symbolism, McFarland, ISBN 978-1-476-61288-1</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=73}}

Common beliefs regarding sorcery and commanding jinn are attested in [[Ibn al-Nadim|ibn al-Nadim's]] ''[[Kitāb al-Fihrist]]''.<ref name="ReferenceB">Travis Zadeh ''Commanding Demons and Jinn: The Sorcerer in Early Islamic Thought'' Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014</ref>{{rp|style=ama|p=141}} Since he locates such practises not as a branch of science or philosophy, but rather in a chapter about stories and fables, the author might not have believed in the efficiency of sorcery himself.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=141}} He reports that the art of commanding jinn and demons is traced back to [[Solomon in Islam|Solomon]] and [[Jamshid]]. The first who would have practised a lawful method of incantation is supposed to be [[Abū Naṣr Aḥmad b. Hilāl]] during the [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad period]].<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=142}} Ibn Nadim explains lawful and unlawful subjugating of jinn and demons as distinct: While the former controls the jinn by the power of God's divine names, the latter pleases demons and devils by prohibited offerings and sinful acts.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=141–142}}  According to al-Jāḥiẓ, ibn Hilāl is said to have the power to summon demons and jinn<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=142}} and further claimed to have married a daughter of Satan and begotten a child.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=143}}

There is evidence that subjugation of spirits, jinn, and demons, was also cultivated by various Islamic authorities. [[Abu al-Fadl Muhammad al Tabasi|Al-Ṭabasī]], who was considered a reliable ''[[hadith|muḥadīth]]'' (scholar of ''ḥadīth'') and pious ascetic, wrote an extensive treatise (''al-Shāmil fī al-baḥr al-kāmil'') on subjugating demons and jinn.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=145}} According to [[Zakariya al-Qazwini]], it was well known that jinn obeyed al-Ṭabasī. He gives an example, that al-Ṭabasī demonstrated the jinn to the famous scholar [[al-Ghazali|Ghazālī]], who saw them as shadows on the wall.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=145}} He professes that jinn only obey when the individual turns away from the temptations of creation and devoting oneself towards God.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=146}} The ''al-Shāmil'' gives detailed instructions for preparations of various incantations. Unlike, for example in the writings of [[Fakhr al-Din al-Razi|al-Razi]], the ''al-Shāmil'' has no direct link to Hellenistic or Hermetic magic or philosophy.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=148}} Magic was also used in the [[Ottoman Empire]] as evident from the Talismanic shirts of [[Murad III]].<ref>Felek, Özgen. "Fears, Hopes, and Dreams: The Talismanic Shirts of Murād III." Arabica 64.3-4 (2017): 647-672.</ref>

Related to the occult traditions in Islamic culture is the belief in the "Seven kings of the Week", also known as ''rūḥāiya ulia'' (higher spirits; angels) and ''rūḥāiya sufula'' (lower spirits; demons). These beings are, for example, invoked for the preparation of [[Magic square#Magic squares in occultism|Magic squares]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mommersteeg |first=Geert |date=1988 |title="He Has Smitten Her to the Heart with Love" The Fabrication of an Islamic Love-Amulet in West Africa |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/40463380 |journal=Anthropos |volume=83 |issue=4/6 |pages=501–510 |jstor=40463380 |issn=0257-9774}}</ref><ref name="Lebling–2010"/>{{rp|style=ama|p=87}} This belief is attested by the [[Book of Wonders]].<ref name=Carboni-2013/> It contains artistic depictions of several supernatural beings (demons, jinn, the evil eye, fever (Huma, Arabic: حمى), devils, [[lilith]], etc.).<ref name="Taheri, Alireza 2017"/><ref name=Carboni-2013/> Some of these beings indicate that the work connects Hebrew, Christian, and Islamic magical traditions.<ref name=Carboni-2013/> The original work is attributed to [[Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi|al-Bakhi]], who founded a system of astrological magic based on [[Neoplatonism|Neo-Platonic thought]].<ref name=Carboni-2013/> Although many pages are damaged, it is possible to reconstruct their meanings from Ottoman copies.<ref name=Carboni-2013/> Each king is depicted with helpers and associated talismanic symbols.<ref name=Carboni-2013/>