10513 - Protection From the Jinn

the question

I am having a problem with jinn. I have been able to perceive jinn in diferent ways all my life. I

never seemed to be bothered by this until recently. I saw a jinn in our apartment in the first days

we moved in. Off and on I would pick up on a little activity from this jinn or even jinns, like doors

opening by themselves، seeing it، hearing them etc... However، things seem to be changing a lot.

Now something is happening every day and things are making me uncomfortable in my home to
the point where I do not want to live here anymore. The jinn(s) open doors، shout my name

startling me out of sleep، knock over objects، appear as a cat، are messing with my computer and

phones، I see its shadows and even more. It is very freaky. I am really not sure what to do about

this problem. I am hoping moving out of this house will help the situation...? But in the meantime I

have tried to recite Al-Baqarah، Al-Ikhlas، Al-Falaq، An Nas and even play a recording of the

recitation in my house. The activity stops when I do so but as soon as I stop the recording the jinn

makes its presence known in some way or other (most of the time). Sometimes، my recording will

be shut off and my cmputer resets in the middle of the recitation...which apparently has happened

too many times. Jinn even appear to me in dreams very often. I do not know how to end this

situation but I would seriously appreciste answers or suggestions soon.

Detailed answer

Praise be to Allah.

Firstly:

The questioner is mistaken in saying that she has seen a jinn, because the jinn can see us but they

1/8
cannot be seen by us.

Al-Shafi’i said:

“Whoever is of sound character and claims to have seen the jinn, his testimony is no longer valid,

because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

‘Verily, he and qabeeluhu (his soldiers from the jinn or his tribe) see you from where you cannot

see them’ [7:27]

–unless he is a Prophet.” (Ahkaam al-Quran)

Ibn Hazm said:

“The jinn are real, and they are creatures created by Allah. Among them are kafirs (non-Muslims)

and believers. They can see us but we cannot see them. They eat, have children and die. Allah

says (interpretation of the meanings):

‘O you assembly of jinn and mankind!’ [6:130]

‘And the jinn, We created aforetime from the smokeless flame of fire’ [15:27]

‘”And of us some are Muslims (who have submitted to Allah, after listening to this Quran), and of

us some are al‑qaasitoon (disbelievers those who have deviated from the right path)’. And

whosoever has embraced Islam (i.e. has become a Muslim by submitting to Allah), then such have

sought the right path.

And as for the Qaasitoon (disbelievers who deviated from the right path), they shall be firewood

for Hell”’ [72:14-15]

‘Verily, he and Qabeeluhu (his soldiers from the jinn or his tribe) see you from where you cannot

2/8
see them’ [7:27]

‘Will you then take him (Iblis) and his offspring as protectors and helpers rather than Me’ [18:50]

‘Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish’ [55:26]

‘Everyone shall taste death’ [3:185].” (al-Muhallaa)

Hence what the questioner has seen may be just her imagination or an illusion, or it may be jinn

appearing in a form other than that with which Allah has created them.

Secondly:

With regard to the jinn harming humans, this is proven to happen and it does happen. Protection

against that is attained by reciting Quran and adhkaar (dhikr/remembrance of Allah) prescribed in

sharee’ah (Islamic law).

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“Undoubtedly the jinn can have a harmful effect on humans, and they could even kill them. They
may harm a person by throwing stones at him, or by trying to terrify him, and other things that are

proven in the sunnah (prophetic teachings) or indicated by real events. It was reported that the

Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave permission to one of his companions

to go to his wife during one of the military campaigns – I think it was the campaign of al-Khandaq –

as he was a young man who had recently got married. When he reached his house, he found his

wife standing at the door, and he objected to that. She said to him, ‘Go inside,’ so he went inside

and found a snake curled up on the bed. He had a spear with him, so he stabbed it with the spear

until it died, and at the same instant as the snake died the man also died. It was not known which

of them died first, the snake or the man. When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon

him) heard of that, he forbade killing the harmless kinds of snakes that are found in houses, apart

3/8
from those which are maimed or are streaked and malignant.

This indicates that the jinn may attack humans, and that they may harm them, as is known from

real-life events. There are numerous reports which indicate that a man may come to a deserted

area, and a stone may be thrown at him, but he does not see anybody, or he may hear voices or a

rustling sound like the rustling of trees, and other things that may make him feel distressed and

scared. A jinn may also enter the body of a human, either because of love or with the intention of

harming him, or for some other reason. This is indicated in the ayah/verse (interpretation of the

meaning):

‘Those who eat riba (interest) will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing

of a person beaten by shaytan leading him to insanity’ [2:275]

In such cases, the jinn may speak from inside of that person and address the one who is reading

verses from the Quran over him; the reciter may take a promise from the jinn never to come back,

and other things concerning which there are very many reports which are widespread among the

people.

So the protection which will prevent the evil of the jinn is for a person to recite that which is

narrated in the sunnah as being effective in providing protection, such as ayat al-Kurisy, for if a

person recites ayat al-Kursiy at night, he will continue to have protection from Allah, and no

shaytan will come near him until morning. And Allah is the Protector.’” (Majmoo’ Fatawa al-Shaykh

Ibn ‘Uthaymeen)

The sunnah mentions adhkhar by means of which one may gain protection from the shayateen

(devils). These include:

Seeking refuge with Allah from the jinn:

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

4/8
“And if an evil whisper from shaytaan tries to turn you away (O Muhammad) (from doing good),

then seek refuge in Allah. Verily, He is the All‑Hearer, the All‑Knower” [41:36]

“And if an evil whisper comes to you from shaytaan, then seek refuge with Allah. Verily, He is All-

Hearer, All-Knower” [7:200]

It was narrated from Sulayman ibn Sard that two men were trading insults in the presence of the

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them), until the face of one of them turned red. The

Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “I know a word which, if he were to say it,

what he is suffering from would go away: ‘A’oodhu Billahi min al-Shaytan il-rajeem (I seek refuge
with Allah from the accursed shaytan).’” (al-Bukhaariand Muslim)

2 – Reciting al-Mu’awwidhatayn (the last two chapters of the Quran, al-Falaq and al-Nas).

It was narrated that Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of

Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from the jinn and

from the evil eye until the Mu’awwidhatayn were revealed, and when they were revealed he

started to recite them and not anything else.” (al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasaa’i, Ibn Maajah.

3 – Reciting ayat al-Kursiy

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) put me in charge of guarding the zakah (charity) of Ramadan. Someone came to me

and started grabbing handfuls of the food. I took hold of him and said, ‘I will take you to the

Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).’ He said, ‘I will teach you some

words by means of which Allah will benefit you.’ I said, ‘What are they?’ He said, ‘When you go to

your bed, recite this ayah (interpretation of the meaning): “Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the

right to be worshipped but He), Al-Hayyul-Qayyoom (the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and

protects all that exists)…” [2:255] – until he completed the ayah. Then Allah will appoint a guard

5/8
for you who will stay with you and no shaytan (devil) will come near you until morning.’ The

Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked me, ‘What did your prisoner

do last night?’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, he taught me something, and claimed that Allah

would benefit me by it.’ He said, ‘What was it?’ I said, ‘He taught me to recite ayat al-Kursiy when I

go to bed, and said that no shaytan would come near me until morning, and that Allah would

appoint a guard for me who would stay with me.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be

upon him) said, ‘He told you the truth, although he is an inveterate liar. That was the shaytan.’”

(al-Bukhaari)

4 – Reciting Surat al-Baqarah

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be

upon him) said: “Do not make your houses like graves, for the shaytan runs away from a house in

which Surat al-Baqarah is recited.” (Muslim)

5 – The last verses of Surat al-Baqarah

It was narrated that Abu Mas’ood al-Ansari said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever recites the last two verses of Surat al-Baqarah at night, that will

suffice him.’” (al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

It was narrated from al-Nu’man ibn Basheer (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah inscribed a book two thousand years

before He created the heavens and the earth, from which the last two ayahs of Surat al-Baqarah

were revealed. If they are recited for three nights, no shaytan (devil) will remain in the house”. (al-

Tirmidhi).

6 – Reciting “La ilaha ill-Allah wahdahu la shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘ala

kulli shayin qadeer (There is no god except Allah Alone with no partner or associate; His is the

6/8
Sovereignty and His is the praise, and He is able to do all things)” one hundred times.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be

upon him) said: “Whoever says “La ilaha ill-Allah wahdahu la shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-

hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shayin qadeer” one hundred times in the day, will have a reward

equivalent to that of freeing ten slaves, one hundred hasanahs (good deeds) will be recorded for

him, and one hundred sayiahs (bad deeds) will be erased from his record, and it will be protection

for him from the shaytan for that day, until evening comes. No one could achieve any better than

him except the one who does more than he did.” (al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

7 – Remembering Allah often (dhikr)

It was narrated from al-Harith al-Ash’ari that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon

him) said: “Allah commanded Yahya ibn Zakariya (peace be upon him) five things to follow and to

enjoin upon the Children of Israel… and he commanded them to remember Allah, and the likeness

of that is a man who was being pursued by the enemy, until he reached a strong fortress in which

he found protection; similarly a man cannot find protection from the shaytan except by

remembering Allah…” (al-Tirmidhi)

8 – The adaan (call to prayer)

It was narrated that Suhayl ibn Abi Salih said: “My father sent me to Bani Harithah, and there was

with me a slave of ours, or a companion of ours. Someone called out his name from a garden, and

the one who was with me looked into the garden and did not see anything. I mentioned that to my

father, and he said, ‘If I had known that this was going to happen to you, I would not have sent

you. But if you hear a voice then make the call for prayer, for I heard Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be

pleased with him) narrating that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon

him) said: “When the shaytan hears the call to prayer, he runs away fast.”’” (Muslim).

7/8
The word translated here as “runs away fast” may also mean “passes wind.”

9 – Reciting Quran offers protection against the shaytan

Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And when you (Muhammad) recite the Quran, We put between you and those who believe not in

the Hereafter, an invisible veil (or screen their hearts, so they hear or understand it not) [17:45]

And Allah knows best.

8/8