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Offline Reader Questions

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Is there such a thing as 'Possession'?
« on: October 04, 2012, 03:13:06 PM »
Sallam Joseph

I am not sure if you were aware of a case in Birmingham, UK last week, where a judge sentenced several members of a Pakistani family for murdering their daughter. The reason for their actions was that they believed she was 'possessed by a jinn'.

You are probably aware, that many Muslims, more so from the subcontinent feel that in some cases where people have psychotic episodes etc, that is could be due to jinn possession.
 
I have looked through the verses of the Quran on jinns, I could not find anything that suggests this is possible.

From your knowledge, does the Quran mention anything about 'possession' or is this something that stems from secondary sources?

It is an area i think needs to be explained to people , not just to stop heinous crimes like above, but to realise that people displaying any signs of mental health need help, not to be killed.

Your thoughts are very welcome


Offline Joseph Islam

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Re: Is there such a thing as 'Possession'?
« Reply #1 on: October 04, 2012, 03:19:44 PM »
Salamun Alaikum,

There is absolutely no justification for acts of violence against individuals in the name of 'possession'.

However, in response to your question from a Quranic perspective, it is important to appreciate that even the prophet was accused of being ‘majnun’ (MaJNun) (15.6, 37:36, 68:51). The actual meaning of the word ‘maJNun’ is ‘possessed by the Jinn’ (note the root ‘Jinn’ present). This is the word's primary signification.

In general parlance, the term takes a derivative secondary meaning as a result of 'being possessed’ to mean becoming mad, crazy or insane. So the concept of ‘being possessed’ is well known to the Quran. The Quran’s response is not that there is no such concept, but rather it confirms that the Prophet was not afflicted by any such occurrence and therefore, he was not insane.

However, there is indeed much attributed to such possessions when there are perfectly good conventional explanations for a condition someone may be experiencing. Please see a related post below and an article on Jinn.

Magic
http://quransmessage.com/forum/index.php?topic=570.0

The Jinn
http://quransmessage.com/articles/jinn%20FM3.htm


I hope that helps, God willing.
Joseph.
'During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act' 
George Orwell