Arabian Society In The Middle Ages Part 2

It has been stated, that, by means of talismans, or certain invocations, men are said to obtain the services of Jinn; and the manner in which the latter are enabled to a.s.sist magicians, by imparting to them the knowledge of future events, has been explained above. No man ever obtained such absolute power over the Jinn as Suleyman Ibn Daood (Solomon, the son of David).

This he did by virtue of a most wonderful talisman, which is said to have come down to him from heaven. It was a seal-ring, upon which was engraved "the most great name" of G.o.d, and was partly composed of bra.s.s and partly of iron. With the bra.s.s he stamped his written commands to the good Jinn; with the iron (for the reason before mentioned, p. 36), those to the evil Jinn or Devils. Over both orders he had unlimited power; as well as over the birds and the winds,[49] and, as is generally said, over the wild beasts. His Wezeer, a?af the son of Barkhiya, is also said to have been acquainted with "the most great name," by uttering which, the greatest miracles may be performed,--even that of raising the dead. By virtue of this name engraved on his ring, Suleyman compelled the Jinn to a.s.sist in building the Temple of Jerusalem, and in various other works. Many of the evil Jinn he converted to the true faith, and many others of this cla.s.s, who remained obstinate in infidelity, he confined in prisons. He is said to have been monarch of the whole earth. Hence, perhaps, the name of Suleyman is given to the universal monarchs of the preadamite Jinn; unless the story of his own universal dominion originated from confounding him with those kings.

The injuries related to have been inflicted upon human beings by evil Jinn are of various kinds. Jinn are said to have often carried off beautiful women, whom they have forcibly kept as their wives or concubines. Malicious or disturbed Jinn are a.s.serted often to station themselves on the roofs or at the windows of houses, and to throw down bricks and stones on persons pa.s.sing by. When they take possession of an uninhabited house, they seldom fail to persecute terribly any person who goes to reside in it. They are also very apt to pilfer provisions, etc.

Many learned and devout persons, to secure their property from such depredations, repeat the words "In the name of G.o.d, the Compa.s.sionate, the Merciful!" on locking the doors of their houses, rooms, or closets, and on covering the bread-basket, or anything containing food.[50]

During the month of Rama?an, the evil Jinn are believed to be confined in prison; and therefore, on the last night of that month, with the same view, women sometimes repeat the words above mentioned, and sprinkle salt upon the floors of the apartments of their houses.[51]

To complete this sketch of Arabian demonology, an account must be added of several creatures generally believed to be of inferior orders of the Jinn.

One of these is the Ghool, which is commonly regarded as a kind of Shey?an or evil Jinnee, that eats men; and is also described by some as a Jinnee or an enchanter who a.s.sumes various forms. The Ghools are said to appear in the forms of human beings, and of various animals, and in many monstrous shapes; to haunt burial-grounds and other sequestered spots; to feed upon dead human bodies; and to kill and devour any human creature who has the misfortune to fall in their way: whence the term "Ghool" is applied to any cannibal. An opinion quoted by a celebrated author respecting the Ghool is that it is a demoniacal animal, which pa.s.ses a solitary existence in the deserts, resembling both man and brute; that it appears to a person travelling alone in the night and in solitary places, and being supposed by him to be itself a traveller, lures him out of his way.[52]

Another opinion stated by him is this: that when the Shey?ans attempt to hear words by stealth [from the confines of the lowest heaven] they are struck by shooting-stars; and some are burnt; some, falling into a sea, or rather a large river (ba?r), are converted into crocodiles; and some, falling upon the land, become Ghools. The same author adds the following tradition:--"The Ghool is any Jinnee that is opposed to travels, a.s.suming various forms and appearances;"[53] and affirms that several of the Companions of the Prophet saw Ghools in their travels, and that 'Omar, among them, saw a Ghool while on a journey to Syria, before El-Islam, and struck it with his sword. It appears that "Ghool"

is, properly speaking, a name only given to a _female_ demon of the kind above described: the male is called "?u?rub." It is said that these beings, and the Ghaddar or Gharrar, and other similar creatures which will presently be mentioned, are the offspring of Iblees and of a wife whom G.o.d created for him of the fire of the samoom (which here signifies, as in an instance before mentioned, "a smokeless fire"); and that they sprang from an egg.[54] The female Ghool, it is added, appears to men in the deserts, in various forms, converses with them, and sometimes yields herself to them.

The Se?lah, or Sa?lah, is another demoniacal creature, described by most authors as of the Jinn. It is said that it is mostly found in forests; and that when it captures a man, it makes him dance, and plays with him as the cat plays with the mouse. A man of I?fahan a.s.serted that many beings of this kind abounded in his country; that sometimes the wolf would hunt one of them by night, and devour it, and that, when it had seized it, the Se?lah would cry out, "Come to my help, for the wolf devoureth me!" or it would cry, "Who will liberate me? I have a hundred deenars, and he shall receive them!" but the people knowing that it was the cry of the Se?lah, no one would liberate it; and so the wolf would eat it.[55]--An island in the sea of E?-?een (China) is called "the Island of the Se?lah," by Arab geographers, from its being said to be inhabited by the demons so named: they are described as creatures of hideous forms, supposed to be Shey?ans, the offspring of human beings and Jinn, who eat men.[56]

The Ghaddar, or Gharrar,[57] is another creature of a similar nature, described as being found in the borders of El-Yemen, and sometimes in Tihameh, and in the upper parts of Egypt. It is said that it entices a man to it, and either tortures him in a manner not to be described, or merely terrifies him, and leaves him.[58]

The Delhan is also a demoniacal being, inhabiting the islands of the seas, having the form of a man, and riding on an ostrich. It eats the flesh of men whom the sea casts on the sh.o.r.e from wrecks. Some say that a Delhan once attacked a ship in the sea, and desired to take the crew; but they contended with it; whereupon it uttered a cry which caused them to fall upon their faces, and it took them.[59]

The Shi?? is another demoniacal creature, having the form of half a human being (like a man divided longitudinally); and it is believed that the Nesnas is the offspring of a Shi?? and of a human being.

The former appears to travellers; and it was a demon of this kind who killed, and was killed by, 'Al?amah, the son of ?afwan, the son of Umeiyeh; of whom it is well known that he was killed by a Jinnee. So says El-?azweenee.

The Nesnas (above mentioned) is described as resembling half a human being; having half a head, half a body, one arm, and one leg, with which it hops with much agility; as being found in the woods of El-Yemen, and being endowed with speech: "but G.o.d," it is added, "is all-knowing."[60]

It is said that it is found in ?a?ramot as well as El-Yemen; and that one was brought alive to El-Mutawekkil: it resembled a man in form, excepting that it had but half a face, which was in its breast, and a tail like that of a sheep. The people of ?a?ramot, it is added, eat it; and its flesh is sweet. It is only generated in their country. A man who went there a.s.serted that he saw a captured Nesnas, which cried out for mercy, conjuring him by G.o.d and by himself.[61] A race of people whose head is in the breast, is described as inhabiting an island called Jabeh (supposed to be Java), in the Sea of El-Hind (India).[62] A kind of Nesnas is also described as inhabiting the Island of Raj, in the Sea of E?-?een (China), and having wings like those of the bat.[63]

The Hatif is a being that is heard, but not seen; and is often mentioned by Arab writers. It is generally the communicator of some intelligence in the way of advice, or direction, or warning.

Here terminating this chapter, I must beg the reader to remark that the superst.i.tious fancies which it describes are prevalent among all cla.s.ses of the Arabs, and the Muslims in general, learned as well as vulgar.

FOOTNOTES:

[18] Mir-at ez-Zeman (MS. in my possession)--a great history whose author lived in the thirteenth century of our era. See also ?ur. v.

65.

[19] Mir-at ez-Zeman. ?ur. lv. 14. The word which signifies "a smokeless fire" has been misunderstood by some as meaning "the flame of fire:" El-Joheree (in the ?i?a?) renders it rightly; and says that of this fire was _the_ Shey?an (Iblees) created.

[20] ?ur. xv. 27; and Commentary of the Jelaleyn.

[21] ?ur. xxvii. 10; and xxviii. 31; and the Jelaleyn.

[22] ?ur. lv. 39, 74; and the Jelaleyn.

[23] 'Ikrimeh, from Ibn-'Abbas, in the Mir-at ez-Zeman.

[24] Mujahid, from the same, ibid.

[25] Hence the appellations of "Jinn" and "Jann."

[26] Tradition from the Prophet, in the Mir-at ez-Zeman.

[27] Ibid.

[28] The worship here spoken of is prostration, as an act of obeisance to a superior being.

[29] ?ur. xviii. 48.

[30] E?-?abaree, quoted in the Mir-at ez-Zeman.

[31] Mir-at ez-Zeman.

[32] ?ur. vii. 11; and x.x.xviii. 77.

[33] Mir-at ez-Zeman.

[34] El-?asan El-Ba?ree, in the Mir-at ez-Zeman. My interpolation of the word "other" is required by his opinion before stated.

[35] Mujahid, quoted by El-?azweenee.

[36] Mujahid, from Ibn-'Abbas, in the Mir-at ez-Zeman.

[37] El-?asan El-Ba?ree, ibid.

[38] 'Ikrimeh, from Ibn-'Abbas, ibid.

[39] Mishkat el-Ma?abee?, ii. 314.

[39a] Ibid. ii. 311, 312.

[40] Mir-at ez-Zeman. See above, p. 18.

[41] Modern Egyptians, ch. x.

[42] Ibid.

[43] Sale, in a note on chap. xv. of the ?ur-an.

[44] So I translate the word "kha??;" but in Es-Suyoo?ee's Nuzhet el-Mutaammil wa-Murshid el-Mutaahhil, section 7, I find, in its place, the word "weshm," or "tattooing;" and there are some other slight variations and omissions in this tradition as there quoted.

[45] El-?azweenee.

[46] ?ur. lxxii. 6.

[47] Modern Egyptians, ch. x.

[48] Ibid. ch. xxiv.