Popular Beliefs & Information on Djinns and Demons

Information on djinns and demons, which were compiled in the frame of religious scripts and popular beliefs. Characteristics of djinns and demons, their behaviors, foods, sexual intercourse with djinns, djinn courts, djinn weddings…

Sources of Information on Djinns and Demons

In today’s Turkish society, there are some popular beliefs about djinns and demons, which were shaped by various Islamic sources including the Quran and hadiths (the term refers to the recorded words of the prophets of Islam) and Islamized narratives of pre-Islamic Arabian folklore.

In addition to this, some beliefs of pre-Islamic period Turks continue to be told in Islamic form and by preserving the forms in the Pagan period.

Some of the main ones of these beliefs and important parts of information about djinns and demons, which were compiled based on them include:

Characteristics of Djinns and Demons

They can be male and female.

They are born, grow, eat, sleep, and die like humans.

They live in tribes or groups.

They can shapeshift into any form but Prophet Muhammed and sheep.

It is believed that djinns cannot foretell the future. However, since they can move really fast and they are invisible, they can listen to the secrets of people and tell them to people such as hodjas or huddams, who can communicate with them, when they deem necessary.

They live for at least four hundred and at most three thousand years. Although rare, there are djinns, who lived more than three thousand years. Children of djinns are fed by their mothers until they turn 40 years old.

As djinns can be Muslim, Christian, or Jew, there are also djinns without any belief.

Places Djinns and Demons Live

Villages and Rural Areas

Bilal bin El Haris told the following in one of his speeches:

On a journey, we have stopped in a place with the prophet of God. The prophet left the venue to take a piss. I brought a pitcher after him to help him clean up. Once I got closer to him, I heard voices such as some people were discussing as if they were fighting with each other.

I have never heard such a sound before. Later, the messenger of God returned. I told him, “The prophet of God! I heard some men debating each other beside you. However, I didn’t see anyone?”

The messenger of God told me, “Some Muslim djinns and non-Muslim djinns discussed and fought. They appointed me as their judge between them. They wanted me to place them somewhere. I placed the Muslim djinns to villages and mountains, and non-Muslim djinns between mountains and seas.”

According to this rumor, it is believed that djinns are mostly living in villages and rural areas.

Abandoned Houses and Ruins

They adopt abandoned houses that are not used by anyone for long years.

Djinns and demons can be present in venues where people live and sometimes they live together.

You need to enter the house with your right foot and recite bismillah to prevent djinns and demons from entering the house.

Sometimes they are also seen in the houses with people living in them and they cause discomfort and hurt the homeowners.

They can be seen by residents, scare them, throw dirt and stones.

Muslim djinns often prefer to live in the attic rather than inside of the houses to not hurt people.

When you want a Muslim djinn to leave a house, you need to allow him/her three days.

They are often present in venues where music plays and there are paintings or sculptures.

Dumpsites

Djinns often live in dirty places such as dumpsites. Islam prophet said that the garbage left in the houses can be the meeting point of djinns (Abdurrezak, Musannaf, XI, 32.)

Holes and Hallows

Prophet Muhammad banned peeing to pest holes on the ground. The reason for this was asked to Katade, who was one of the interpreters of the Quran as “Why peeing in these holes was banned?” He replied, “It was said that djinns prefer these places to live.” (Ebu Dâvud, Tahâret, 16, (29); Nesâi, Tahâret 30; (1, 33, 34); A. H. Müsned, V, 82.)

Bathrooms and Sewers

Islam prophet Muhammad said that bones and dung are the “foods of djinns.” (Müslim, Salat 150 (450); Tirmizi, Tefsir, Ahkâf (3254); İmam-ı Şiblî, Cinlerin Esrarı, 96)

According to some religious scripts, bone is the food of djinns, and dung is the food of animals of djinns. Therefore, it is believed that djinns often live in large numbers in bathrooms and sewers, and there is plenty of dung in both.

Around Fig Trees

According to a common Turkish popular belief, the surrounding of the fig trees are one of the places, where there are many djinns, and live in. Therefore, they often avoid getting closer to fig trees, especially in the evening.

It is believed that peeing under the fig tree causes djinns to haunt the person.

According to a linked belief, people who will fall down from a fig tree will certainly be disabled or die soon.

Appearance and Disappearance Times of Djinns

According to a common Islamic belief, djinns can travel the world freely after the evening prayer, in other words, when the sun goes down upon the agreement, they made with the prophet Muhammad.

They also retreat to desolate places such as mountain tops, deserts, and forests to leave the world to humans before the morning prayer, in other words, before the sun rises.

Therefore, many Muslims do not travel alone to especially desolate places in the evening. Even children cannot go out in the evening to play games right in front of their houses.

Things Djinns and Demons Dislike

Praying and Worshiping

Djinns and demons do not like to be prayed to or worshiped in places they are present.

Call to Prayer

According to Muslims, they especially hate the call to prayer. The call to prayer is a prayer that is read aloud to call Muslims to prayer. It is said aloud five times a day in the morning, noon, afternoon, evening, and night from a minaret or similar high place in Muslim settlements. Their time is determined locally according to the position of the sun in the region.

Since the world of djinns and people collide at the evening prayer, djinns are often seen after the evening prayer. They disappear after the call of morning prayer.

The foundation of this belief is based on the following words of the Islam prophet Muhammad:

When the sun goes down and nightfall starts, or at nightfall, prevent your children from going out. It is because demons are free in these times, and they become active. Make sure your children come to your home an hour / a while after nightfall, lock the doors, and mention the name of god. It is because a demon cannot open a closed door. (Buharî, Eşribe, 22).

Aspand

They are very disturbed by the smoke of aspand, which is also known as evil eye weed. You need to burn aspand regularly in a place where you want to kick out the djinns or keep them away.

Vinegar

Djinns hate vinegar and its smell. You need to wipe everywhere apart from the bathroom and toilet in your house with vinegar or vinegar and water mixture to keep the djinns away.

Iron

There is a popular belief in the Anatolian peninsula, which makes the most of Turkish lands, that djinns are afraid of iron.

It is also believed that when you prick a demon type called alkarisi, which haunts women and children, with an iron needle, it will lose its ability to shapeshift and become the slave of the person who pricks it.

Alkarisi cannot remove the needle on its own. If the needle will be removed somehow, its slavery ends, and it will run away.

Similarly, pricking the pillow or keeping an iron scissor or knife under the pillow is a common practice to protect yourself from nightmares and sleep demons.

Protective Amulets, Talismans, and Prayers

Amulet: It is generally a piece of paper written in Arabic letters, folded in as a triangle, kept in a waterproof case, and worn around the neck, which is believed it protects the wearer or possessor from harmful supernatural effects, brings good luck, or saves the person from diseases, and believed to contain a religious and magical power.

Vefk: It is a kind of talisman crafted by writing letters and numbers, which are believed to have powers and effects, into square and rectangular shapes in certain mathematical equations.

Protection Prayers: Djinns and demons often run away from places, where Felak, Nas, and Ayetel Kursi prayers in Quran are told. These verses are read in odd numbers such as 3, 7, and 41 for protection. It is also believed that djinns cannot enter venues, where these verses are written on a sign and hung on the wall, or they cannot harm people who wear them as amulets or talismans.

Djinns’ Diet

The food of djinns is mostly human leftovers.

They like to eat bone, dung, and onion skins.

They became the partners of any meal, which will be eaten without reciting bismillah (short prayer meaning I begin in the name of the god, who forgives and protects) and with the left hand.

If we forget to recite bismillah before starting to eat our meal and djinns become a partner to our meal, they will have to vomit what they have eaten when we recite bismillah before we get up from the table.

Djinn Possession and Haunting

What Is Djinn Possession?

Supernatural attacks performed by djinns on people to punish them are called djinn possession. As a result of these attacks, various abnormalities can be observed in the body of the person. Partial or complete paralysis, epileptic seizures, contractions, and deformations on the face as a result of the shock of the attack are called djinn possession.

What Is Haunting?

While djinn possession is the term that refers to a single attack, unlike djinn possession, haunting refers to the state of being constantly bullied and distressed by the djinn. The form and severity of the distress may vary.

They often haunt people living alone, women and children.

They encourage the person they haunt to stay in the bathroom alone and for a long time. If a person is spending too much time in a bathroom, a djinn may be haunting or be in love with that person.

If you mock djinns, they will haunt you.

Djinns often haunt people without ablution and possess them.

Djinns may possess you if you take a bath after the evening prayer.

You should not pour water outside after the evening players. If so, you may be haunted by djinns.

You should not pour hot water into the kitchen after the evening prayer. Since pouring hot water hurts djinns, it may result in possession.

You should not go out to take a piss after the evening prayer. If so, you may be haunted by djinns.

Human urine paralyzes djinns. Djinns will possess those who urinate on them or tables. You may piss on djinns or their tables if you will not recite bismillah or say, “destur (make way)” before you pee. This will lead to djinn possession.

Since they are invisible, if you unknowingly step on the tables of djinns, your toe will swell.

Djinn Possession Symptoms

If you recite azan to the right ear of the person and that person faints, screams, shakes, and closes his or her eyes with hands or cries, this means that person is possessed or haunted by djinns.

We can easily understand whether a djinn is in the form of a person by checking his rapid breathing or if his or her feet are reversed.

A person may be possessed by a djinn if he or she suffers the following:

• Has difficulty in falling asleep,
• Constantly having nightmares while sleeping,
• Often sees animals such as cats, dogs, wolves, foxes, lions, cows, and mice in dreams,
• Spends time in the grave, in dirty places, or on terrible roads in dreams,
• Often sees weird people such as black, very short or long people, in dreams,
• Is in very dark or twilight places in dreams,
• Constantly grinding teeth without being aware of it while sleeping,
• Cries, laughs, or screams while sleeping,
• Feels he is falling from a high place while sleeping,
• It takes time to pull himself or has a hard time getting out of the bed when woke up.

Djinn or Demon Summoning

You can summon a djinn by performing certain rituals. You can ask questions and get replies after summoning a djinn.

Hodjas, who talk with djinns and are called huddam, can control certain djinns and haunt people.

Non-Muslim djinns are often summoned in djinn summoning rituals. Djinns can haunt people who summon them.

Muslim djinns help people. Sometimes they also fight to protect people from other djinns.

Besides djinn summoning rituals, it is believed that calling the name of the djinns also attracts the djinns to that place.

Three-Lettered Ones: According to a popular Turkish folk belief, if someone will pronounce the djinn word or any djinn name, djinns will go there. Turks usually use the three-lettered ones expression to avoid saying djinn (cin in Turkish) to prevent this.

Djinns and Sexual Intercourse

Constantly getting your teeth pulled in your dream means that person is having sexual intercourse with a djinn during that dream.

Going up and down the stair in a dream means djinns are having sexual intercourse with that person.

If you do not recite bismillah before the sexual intercourse, djinns will be involved in that intercourse and be partners for our spouses and children who may be born.

Female djinns are called fairies and sometimes they fall in love with men.

When fairies fall in love with men, they try to seduce them in the form of a very beautiful woman.

Fairies, who have sexual intercourse with humans, can give birth to kids.

Djinn Courts

They sometimes kidnap people who hurt them and put them on trial in djinn courts.

According to a rumor:

Our prophet Aisha mother was brought to court by getting her from her bed. When Prophet Aisha asked the reason:

She was told “You murdered a Muslim djinn. We will hold the trial.”

When she asked, “Where did I murder a djinn?”, she was replied:

“When you were reading Quran, one of our Muslim djinn brothers shapeshifted into a snake to listen to you. You killed that snake when you saw it in your home. Therefore, our brother also passed away. You will be trialed for this purpose.” (Kurtubi, el-Camiu Liahkami’l-Kur’an, 16/214,215.)

At the end of the event, they made peace and agreement, which settled the problem.

Djinn Weddings

It is believed that djinns are also born and grown, they socialize and pass away just like people. In this context, it is believed that djinns marry each other and reproduce. It is believed that djinns have more than one marriage.

According to various rumors and stories, it is believed that djinns hold their marriages in deserted forests and fields. Djinn weddings cannot be seen by people. It is believed that a djinn marriage is taking place when someone hears sounds of entertainment, drums, or sees lights without any source. These weddings are short.