The jinn [creatures Allah created who live in a world we cannot see] are spoken of often, and so is Shaytan [the devil], but the two are not the same thing, and neither is a figure of stories. The Qur’an and its explanations describe both plainly: a real creation with real duties, and an enemy whose aim and whose limits are both stated. This page gathers what the books in my library say: who the jinn are, who Iblis is, what Shaytan wants, how far his power reaches, and how a believer is protected from him.
It stays with what the books state, in their own words. The evil eye and magic are separate questions, with their own evidence, and they are not this page’s subject.
A Creation of the Unseen, Created from Fire
Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, explaining the verse in which Allah says He created the jinn and mankind only to worship Him, describes the jinn like this:
“The jinn are a creation from the realm of the unseen. We do not see them. But they are required to worship Allah, and they are prohibited from polytheism and from disobedience just as the children of Adam are. However, they are different in their makeup from the children of Adam. From the perspective of commands and prohibitions, they are similar to the children of Adam; they are commanded and they are prohibited. The jinn are a creation from the creation of the unseen; we do not see them, but they exist.”
(Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles, printed p. 89.)
Even their name says they are hidden: “The jinn are referred to as jinn from the word al-ijtinan, which means ‘something that is hidden’” (printed p. 89). What they are made from is also stated. Allah says of the first of them: “He created man from dry clay like pottery, and He created the jinn from smokeless fire” (Surah ar-Rahman 55:14-15, as rendered in Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 9, printed p. 374). Shaykh as-Sa’di explains that “the jinn” in this verse is “the father of the jinn, namely the accursed Iblees”, created “from smokeless fire”, “that is, from a pure flame of fire, or from that which is mixed with smoke” (printed p. 374). And they were there before us: “And the jinn We created before that, from intensely hot fire” (Surah al-Hijr 15:27, Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 5, printed p. 159), before that meaning, as as-Sa’di says, “before the creation of Adam” (printed p. 160).
Commanded and Prohibited, Like Mankind
The jinn are not animals and they are not forces without choice. They have intellect and responsibility. Shaykh al-Fawzan says of the jinn and mankind together that Allah “has given them intellect and made them responsible for worshiping Him alone, not associating anything as a partner with Him” (Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles, printed p. 88). That is why the Qur’an addresses them, why their hearing it matters, and why some of them believed. Allah directed a group of them to His Messenger ﷺ to hear the revelation:
“Say: It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened [to the Qur’an] and they said: Indeed we have heard a wondrous recitation, which guides to the right path, so we have believed in it, and we will never associate anyone with our Lord;”
(Surah al-Jinn 72:1-2, as rendered in Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 10, Surah al-Jinn opening page.)
Shaykh as-Sa’di explains why they were sent: “Allah directed them to His Messenger so that they might hear His revelations, and so that proof might be established against them and the blessing be perfected for them, and so that they might be warners to their people” (same page). Proof established against them means they are answerable, like us. And like us, they divide. In their own words in the same surah: “Among us were some who were righteous and some who were otherwise; we followed different paths” (72:11), the otherwise being, as as-Sa’di explains, “evildoers, wicked people and disbelievers” (Vol. 10, printed p. 238). And: “Among us are some who have submitted [in Islam] and some who are wrongdoers; whoever submits [in Islam], it is they who have sincerely sought the right path” (72:14, printed p. 238).
Iblis: One of the Jinn Who Rebelled
Iblis is not an angel who fell. The Qur’an names what he is at the moment of his refusal:
“And [remember] when We said to the angels: Prostrate before Adam, and they [all] prostrated except Iblees. He was one of the jinn, so he rebelled against the command of his Lord.”
(Surah al-Kahf 18:50, as rendered in Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 5, printed pp. 375-376.)
Shaykh as-Sa’di opens his explanation of the verse: “Here Allah tells us of the enmity of Iblees towards Adam and his progeny” (printed p. 376). His refusal was pride in what he was made from. Explaining Surah al-A’raf, as-Sa’di writes: “He refused to prostrate to him out of disdain for him and his own self-admiration”, and Iblis justified himself with the claim “I am better than he”, saying “You created me from fire and You created him from clay” (Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 3, printed p. 207). Expelled and cursed, he asked for time: “[Iblees] said: Grant me respite until the day they are resurrected. [Allah] said: You are among those who are granted respite” (7:14-15, printed p. 207). As-Sa’di is clear that the respite was no honour: “The divine response to his supplication was not an honour in his case; rather it was a test and trial from Allah for him and for people, so that it might become clear who will be sincere and obey his Lord instead of his enemy, and who will not be like that” (Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 5, printed p. 161).
His Aim, and the Limit of His Power
Shaytan is the name Iblis carries in his rebellion, and the books use it of him and of every rebellious one who follows his way, from the jinn and from mankind. His aim was stated by himself, out loud, at the beginning:
“[Iblees] said: Because You have caused me to be misguided, I will certainly lie in wait for them on Your straight path. Then I will certainly come at them from before them and from behind them, from their right and from their left. And You will find most of them ungrateful.”
(Surah al-A’raf 7:16-17, as rendered in Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 3, printed p. 209.)
As-Sa’di explains the lying in wait: “that is, I will surely stay close to the path and do my utmost to bar people from it, and cause them not to follow it” (printed p. 209). But staying close to the path is all he can do. He cannot drag anyone onto his side of it. He will say so himself, on the Day when saying it no longer helps the ones who followed him:
“And Shaytan will say, when the matter is decided: Verily Allah gave you a true promise; I also gave you promises, but I betrayed you. I had no power over you, except that I called you and you responded to me. So do not blame me; blame yourselves.”
(Surah Ibrahim 14:22, as rendered in Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 5, printed p. 128.)
As-Sa’di draws out what “I had no power over you” means: “In other words: that is all I had, that I called you to whatever I wanted and I made it fair-seeming to you, then you responded to me, following your whims and desires” (printed p. 129). A call, and a sin made to look fair: that is the whole of his equipment. Over Allah’s true slaves he has nothing at all. Allah told him: “Verily you will have no power over My slaves, except those misguided ones who choose to follow you” (Surah al-Hijr 15:42, Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 5, printed p. 160), and as-Sa’di explains why: “because of their true servitude to their Lord and compliance with His commands, Allah will help them and protect them from the Shaytan” (printed p. 162). Allah even names his scheming for what it is: “feeble indeed is the scheming of Shaytan” (Surah an-Nisa 4:76, Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 2, printed p. 217).
The Believer’s Protection: Refuge with Allah
The protection the books name is not an object and not a ritual of anyone’s invention. It is turning to Allah Himself. The command comes at the very door of reciting the Qur’an:
“When you recite the Qur’an, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan. Verily he has no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord. He has power only over those who take him as an ally and, under his influence, ascribe partners to Allah.”
(Surah an-Nahl 16:98-100, as rendered in Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 5, printed p. 242.)
As-Sa’di explains: “The way to keep oneself safe from his evil is to turn to Allah and seek refuge in Him from his evil. So the reciter should say: A’oodhu billahi min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem (I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan), pondering the meaning thereof and relying in his heart upon Allah to divert the Shaytan from him” (printed p. 242). And the promise inside the verses is his to state: “Allah wards off from the believers who put their trust in Him the evil of the Shaytan, so he has no power or control over them” (printed p. 242). The same command meets the believer at any moment a prompting comes:
“And if a prompting from Shaytan stirs you up, seek refuge with Allah, for He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. Verily those who fear Allah, when an evil suggestion comes to them from Shaytan, remember and immediately begin to see clearly.”
(Surah al-A’raf 7:200-201, as rendered in Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 3, printed p. 344.)
A prompting, as-Sa’di explains, is when “you feel his whispering and discouragement from doing good, or encouragement and prompting to do evil”, and seeking refuge is to “turn to Allah and seek protection with Him” (printed p. 344). And he describes what remembering does for the God-fearing person who has slipped:
“the pious person, if he commits a sin by responding to devilish prompting to do something that is prohibited or to omit something that is obligatory, will remember how the Shaytan got to him and will take note of that weak point. He will remember what Allah has enjoined upon him and what he must do of adhering to faith. So he will come back to his senses, ask Allah to forgive him and make up for his negligence by repenting sincerely and doing many good deeds. Thus he will repel the despised Shaytan and spoil everything he has achieved.”
(Tafsir as-Sa’di, Vol. 3, printed p. 345.)
Refuge is sought with Allah, and with no one else. Shaykh al-Fawzan, explaining seeking refuge (al-isti’adhah [seeking protection with the one who can protect you]) as a type of worship, recalls that before Islam a man stopping in a valley would say “I seek refuge with the master of this valley”, meaning the big jinn, asking the jinn for protection from the jinn. The Prophet ﷺ replaced that with words directed to Allah:
“When anyone lands at a place and then says, ‘I seek refuge in the perfect word of Allah from the evil of what He has created,’ nothing will harm him until he marches from that stopping place.”
(The Prophet ﷺ, as quoted in Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan, Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles, printed p. 176; the book’s footnote records that Muslim reported it (#2708) from the hadith of Khawlah bint Hakim as-Salimah.)
Shaykh al-Fawzan’s comment is one sentence: “This is what is correct to say instead: al-isti’adhah by way of the perfect words of Allah instead of al-isti’adhah with the jinn” (printed p. 176). The believer’s protection, in the books, is faith, trust in Allah, remembering Him, and seeking refuge with Him in the words He taught. Nothing is added to that here, because the books name nothing else in these passages.
So, What Are the Jinn and Shaytan?
The jinn are a real creation of Allah from the realm of the unseen. We do not see them. They were created from fire, before mankind, and like mankind they have intellect, they are commanded and prohibited, and among them are believers and disbelievers.
Iblis is one of the jinn. Commanded with the angels to prostrate to Adam, he refused out of pride, was expelled, and was granted respite until the Day of Resurrection, as a trial for mankind.
Shaytan is Iblis in his rebellion, and every rebellious follower of his way. His aim is to bar people from Allah’s straight path. His power is only a call and a sin made fair-seeming; he cannot compel anyone, and over the believers who trust in their Lord he has no power at all.
The believer’s protection is to take him as an enemy, as the verse of Surah al-Kahf encourages, and to seek refuge with Allah in faith, remembrance, and the words the Prophet ﷺ taught.
I gathered this page so that who the jinn are, and who their enemy and ours is, stands in one place in the words of the books, and I ask Allah to make it beneficial.
Further Reading
The Pillars of Faith (Iman): the six pillars of faith, the level of the religion this page’s subject belongs to.
What Is the Purpose of Life in Islam?: why Allah created the jinn and mankind, from the books.
Surah An-Nas: seeking refuge with Allah from the whisperer, from the jinn and from mankind, in the Juz ‘Amma series.
Who is Allah: the Creator of the jinn and of mankind, and of everything besides them.
References
Tafsir as-Sa’di: Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman ibn Nasir as-Sa’di. International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH). English Edition 1, 2018. Translated by Nasiruddin al-Khattab. Vols. 2, 3, 5, 9 and 10.
Explanation of the Three Fundamental Principles: Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan. Authentic Statements Publications. First Edition, Sha’ban 1440 AH/April 2019. Translated by Raha Batts.
Verified on 2026-10-24 against the books listed above.