Editing Jinn (section)

=== Poetry and soothsaying ===
Despite that they were often feared or inspired awe, the jinn were also pictured to befriend humans or have romantic feelings for them. According to common Arabian belief, pre-Islamic [[Fortune-telling|soothsayer]]s, philosophers, and [[Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry|poets]] were inspired by the jinn.{{Sfn|El-Zein|2009|p=34}}<ref name="Lebling–2010"/>{{rp|style=ama|pages= 1–10}}

The Arabian poet [[al-A'sha]] (d. after 3/625) is said to have gotten his inspiration for his poetry by a friend named Misḥal ("daʿawtu khalīlī Misḥalan") and further calls him his jinni-brother ("akhī ʾl-jinnī").<ref name="jstor.org">{{Cite journal |last=Yosefi |first=Maxim |date=2019 |title=The origins of the traditional approach towards the jinn of poetic inspiration in tribal Arab culture |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27014158 |journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies |volume=49 |pages=293–302 |jstor=27014158 |issn=0308-8421}}</ref> Similarly, the poet [[Hassan ibn Thabit|Thābit]] (d. 54/674) who later converted to Islam and became known as "the poet of the prophet", referred to his jinni-friend as his "sharp-sighted brother from the jinn" ("wa-akhī min al-jinn al-baṣīr").<ref name="jstor.org"/> The relationship between jinn and humans can also be romantic in nature. According to one famous Arabian story, the jinni Manzur fell in love with a human woman called Habbah. He is supposed to have taught her the arts of healing.<ref name="AmiraJinn2">{{cite book |author=Amira el-Zein |title=The Evolution of the Concept of Jinn from Pre-Islam to Islam |pages=108–109}}{{full citation needed|date=May 2024}}</ref>
 
The mutual relationship between jinn and humans is different than that of a jinni and a soothsayer (''kāhin''). The soothsayer is presented as someone who is [[Spirit possession|totally controlled]] by the jinni entering. The soothsayer was consulted to reveal hidden information or settle disputes, as it was believed, the jinn speaking through them revealed hidden knowledge.<ref>Ruiz, Manuel. "The conception of authority in pre-Islamic Arabia: its legitimacy and origin." (1971). p. 20</ref>