RENAISSANCE AUGUST 2020

29 Monthly Renaissance August 2020 Faith & Beliefs Essence of Polytheism (2) Amin Ahsan Islahi Worship of the Jinn Similar to the angels, the Arabs also considered the jinn to be above the status of worshippers and a group belonging to the realm of the divine. The Qur’ ā n refers to this assumption of theirs in the following words: And they have invented a blood-relationship between Him and the jinn: but the jinn know [quite well] that they have indeed to appear [before his Judgment-Seat]! Glory to Allah. [He is free] from the things they ascribe [to Him]!” (37:158-159) As a consequence of their inclusion in this superior status, the jinn were believed to be part of the divine creator. “Yet they make the jinn equals with Allah, though Allah did create the jinn” (6:100) These jinn began to be considered to be providers of benefit or harm, in the same sense as God should be. It was believed that if the jinn wanted to harm anyone, no one could stop them and if they wished to benefit someone, they could do so without any restrictions. As a result, human sacrifice, which is the last stage of subservience and degradation and of which only God is worthy, began to be offered to them to calm their rage and anger. Even God has not demanded human sacrifice in the form in which it was offered to the jinn. The Qur’ ā n says: “Even so, in the eyes of most of the pagans, their ‘partners’ made alluring the slaughter of their children.” (6:137)