During the Nevada Ghost and Paranormal Series’ Religion and the Paranormal Discussion, the Northern Nevada Muslim Community President Sherif A. Elfas shared his belief in jinn.

Jinn are not ghosts; they’re equivalent to us.

Muslims believe God created three types of sentient beings: angels (created from light), humans (created from clay) and jinn (created from fire). They live much like we do in our world (eat, drink, marry, bear children, die) and in our homes, yet they are usually invisible to the human eye. Wikipedia states that jinn usually can’t see us as they go about their daily business.

Jinn possess free will and face the same final judgment that Muslims believe people do. There are good jinn and evil jinn, just like with people.

Satan rules over evil jinn.

Satan, who once resided in paradise, was ejected due to his bad behavior. He leads a group of bad jinn, who try to lead humans astray.

Muslims believe ghosts do not exist.

Islamic tenets declare that when people die, their spirits don’t return to earth. Elfas says sometimes a jinn’s great strength can interfere with our lives by producing strange and unsettling occurrences that Westerners usually attribute to ghosts.

Jinn can possess wings and others can change their shape. Some even possess the ability to appear to humans.

The belief in jinn is so strong, many Muslims will say a supplication as they enter a bathroom to make sure there are no jinn there to watch them.

I found this view to be fascinating and I’m thankful Elfas joined our panel discussion.