Editing Spirit possession (section)

=== Islam ===
Various types of creatures, such as ''[[jinn]]'', ''[[Shaitan|shayatin]]'', ''[[Ifrit|ʻafarit]]'', found within [[Islam]]ic culture, are often held to be responsible for spirit possession. Spirit possession appears in both [[Islamic theology]] and wider cultural tradition.

{{anchor|Ifrit|Afarit}}
Although opposed by some Muslim scholars, sleeping near a graveyard or a tomb is believed to enable contact with the [[ghost]]s of the dead, who visit the sleeper in dreams and provide hidden knowledge.{{sfnp|Diem|Schöller|2004|p=144}} Possession by ''ʻafarit'' (a vengeful ghost) are said to grant the possessed some supernatural powers, but it drives them insane as well.{{sfnp|Westermarck|2014|pp=263–264}}

{{anchor|Jinn|Geni}}
''[[Jinn]]'' (singular ''jinni'') are much more physical than spirits.{{sfnp|Chodkiewicz|2012}} Due to their [[Subtle body|subtle bodies]], which are composed of fire and air (''marijin min nar''), they are purported to be able to possess the bodies of humans. Such physical intrusion of the jinn is conceptually different from the whisperings of the devils.<ref name="Böttcher–2021">{{cite book|last=Krawietz|first=B.|year=2021|title=Islam, Migration and Jinn: Spiritual Medicine in Muslim Health Management|location=Deutschland|publisher=Springer International Publishing}}</ref>{{rp|67}} Since ''jinn'' are not necessarily evil, they are distinguished from cultural concepts of possession by devils/demons.{{sfnp|Al-Krenawi|Graham|1997|p=211}}

Since such ''jinn'' are said to have [[Predestination in Islam#Qadar and free will|free will]], they can have their own reasons to possess humans and are not necessarily harmful. There are various reasons given as to why a ''jinni'' might seek to possess an individual, such as falling in love with them, taking revenge for hurting them or their relatives, or other undefined reasons.{{sfnp|Rassool|2015}}{{sfnp|Bulkeley|Adams|Davis|2009}} At an intended possession, the covenant with the ''jinni'' must be renewed.{{sfnp|Maʻrūf|2007|p=2}} Soothsayers (''kāhin'' pl. ''kuhhān''), would use such possession to gain hidden knowledge. Inspirations from jinn by poets requires neither possession nor obedience to the jinn. Their relationship is rather described as mutual.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Yosefi, Maxim|title=The origins of the traditional approach towards the jinn of poetic inspiration in tribal Arab culture|journal=Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies|volume=49|publisher=Archaeopress|pages=293–302|year=2019|jstor=27014158}}</ref>

The concept of jinn-possession is alien to the Quran and derives from pagan notions.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Islam, F.|author2=Campbell, R.A.|title=Satan Has Afflicted Me!" Jinn-Possession and Mental Illness in the Qur'an|journal=J Relig Health|volume=53|pages=229–243 |year=2014|issue=1 |doi=10.1007/s10943-012-9626-5|pmid=22688386 }}</ref> It is widespread among Muslims and also accepted by most Islamic scholars.{{sfnp|Dein|2013|pp=290-293}} It is part of the ''[[aqida]]'' (theological doctrines) in the tradition of [[Ashari]],<ref name="Böttcher–2021"/> and the [[Atharism|Atharis]], such as [[ibn Taimiyya]] and [[ibn Qayyim]].<ref name="Böttcher–2021"/>{{rp|56}} Among [[Maturidites]] it is debated, as some accept it, but it has been challenged since the early years by Maturidite scholars such as [[al-Rustughfanī]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Harvey|first=Ramon|title=Transcendent God, Rational World: A Maturidi Theology|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2021|page= 164}}</ref> The [[Mu'tazila]] are associated with substituting jinn-possession by devilish-whisperings, denying bodily possession altogether.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Dein, Simon|author2=Abdool Samad Illaiee|title=Jinn and mental health: looking at jinn possession in modern psychiatric practice|journal=The Psychiatrist|volume=37|issue=9 |year=2013|pages=290–293|doi=10.1192/pb.bp.113.042721 }}</ref>

{{anchor|Shaitan|Shayatin}}
In contrast to ''jinn'', the devils (''[[Shaitan|shayatin]]'') are inherently evil.{{sfnp|Meldon|1908|pp=123–146}} [[Iblis]], the father of the devils, dwells in the fires of hell, although not suffering wherein, he and his children try to draw people into damnation of hell.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bullard, A.|year=2022|title=Spiritual and Mental Health Crisis in Globalizing Senegal: A History of Transcultural Psychiatry|location=US|publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> Devils don't physically possess people, they only tempt humans into sin by following their lower ''[[nafs]]''.{{sfnp|Sells|1996|p=143}}{{sfnp|Griffel|2005|p=103}} [[Hadith]]s suggest that the devils whisper from within the human body, within or next to the [[Qalb|heart]], and so "devilish whisperings" ({{langx|ar|waswās}} <big>وَسْوَاس</big>) are sometimes thought of as a kind of possession.{{sfnp|Szombathy|2014}} Unlike possession by ''jinn'', the whispering of devils affects the soul instead of the body. Inspiration by angels, on the other hand, is called {{langx|ar|ilhām}}.<ref>MacDonald, D.B. (2012). Ilhām. In P. Bearman (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_3533</ref>

Demons (also known as ''[[Div (mythology)|div]]''), though part of the human conception, get stronger through acts of sin.<ref>{{cite periodical |first=Moiseeva Anna |last=Vladimirovna |year=2020 |title=Prophet Sulaimān v klassische persische Poesie: Semantik und struktur des Bildes |lang=de |trans-title=The prophet Solomon in classical Persian poetry: Semantics and structuring of images |periodical=Orientalistik. Afrikanistik. |number=3 |url=https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/prorok-sulaym-n-v-klassicheskoy-persidskoy-poezii-semantika-i-struktura-obraza |access-date=14 October 2021}}</ref> By acts of obedience (to God), they get weaker. Although a human might find pleasure in obeying the demons first, according to Islamic thought, the human soul can only be free if the demons are bound by the spirit (ruh).<ref>{{cite journal|author=Shalinsky, Audrey C.|title=Reason, Desire, and Sexuality: The Meaning of Gender in Northern Afghanistan|journal=Ethos|volume=14|issue=4|year=1986|pages=323–43|publisher=JSTOR|doi=10.1525/eth.1986.14.4.02a00010 |jstor=640408}}</ref> Sufi literature, as in the writings of [[Rumi]] and [[Attar of Nishapur]], pay a lot of attention to how to bind the inner demons. Attar of Nishapur writes: "If you bind the ''div'', you will set out for the royal pavilion with Solomon" and "You have no command over your self's kingdom [body and mind], for in your case the ''div'' is in the place of Solomon".<ref>{{cite book |author=Hamori, Andras |year=2015 |title=On the Art of Medieval Arabic Literature |place=US |publisher=Princeton University Press |page=158}}</ref> He further links the demons to the story alluded in the Quran (38:34) that a demon replaced the prophet Solomon: one must behave like a triumphant 'Solomon' and chain the demons of the ''[[nafs]]'' or lower self, locking the demon-prince into a 'rock', before the ''[[rūḥ]]'' (soul) can make the first steps to the Divine.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Lewisohn, L.|author2=Shackle, C.|year=2006|title=Attar and the Persian Sufi Tradition: The Art of Spiritual Flight|location=Vereinigtes Königreich|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|page=156}}</ref>