JÂN BIN JÂN AND THE GENII WHO ARE ACCORDING TO THE LAW CALLED JINNS, AND THE DOMINION OF EBLIS— MAY ALLAH CURSE HIM.

Allah the Most High has said: ‘And the genii, we have created them formerly of the fire of the Simûm.’* It is related by Ibn Abbâs, u. w. bl., that the name of the father of the genii is Asûm, and that his surname is Jân. In the book of Adam,* it is recorded that Jân was called Târnûsh; when his children and descendants had multiplied on the face of the earth, Allah—whose name be glorified—gave them a law, and commanded all of them to obey Him. Târnûsh and his children, having received the command­ments of religion, lived in comfort, till one cycle of recom­pense had elapsed; after that they began to sin, to disobey, to be obstinate and haughty. A cycle of recompense, which was considered by the sages of former times to consist of thirty-six thousand years, and by some of twenty-five thousand and two hundred, is held by Mahi-ud-din Magh­rabi, whose opinions are honoured in latter ages as decrees, to amount to twenty-four thousand years. After the Lord of glory had condemned them, he subjected all of them to the chastisements of perdition, except the weak ones of that nation who had been constant in prayer; these he pardoned, appointed one of them of the name of Haliaish to be their governor, and granted them a new law. When another cycle had elapsed, they became disobedient, because their nature was intent upon aggrandisement; therefore the Eternal sent forth His command for their annihilation. The remainder of that tribe, who had found grace from the wrath of Allah on account of their constancy in prayer, obtained an individual named Maliqa to be their governor. The third cycle also came to an end, they again transgressed from the straight path, and were afflicted by the anger of the powerful avenger; but the pious, who were only few in number, were spared, and became in course of time a great nation. Hamûs, who was adorned with the ornaments of virtue, science, probity, and rectitude, became their governor, and reigned over them during his whole life, with justice according to the law, until he was translated to the pro­pinquity of the mercy of the Lord of both worlds.

The wicked sons of Jân blasphemed and sinned; the Most High sent prophets to admonish them, and to advise them, but all in vain. Therefore, at the end of the fourth cycle, Divine Wisdom renewed the judgment, and appointed a tribe of angels to make war upon them. The angels, having descended from heaven, attacked the sons of Jân, and killed the majority of them. Those who escaped from the sword dispersed among islands and ruins; some of them who had not attained the age of maturity were made prisoners by the angels. The name of one of these prisoners was Eblis, who went up to heaven with the angels, and was educated among them; by degrees he improved so much that he was honoured by being made a teacher of angels. The author of the ‘Kulmât-ullutayif’ has related that the assembly to whom he preached was attached to the glorious throne, that he ascended a pulpit of rubies, and a banner of light floated over his head, and so many angels were present in his company that their number could not be ascertained by anyone except by Him who knows all secrets. Many years having elapsed since he had become a worshipper, and the sons of Jân having in course of time increased, and come forth from the isles and ruins into inhabited places, they subjected the world to themselves so that it fell away from obedience to, and the knowledge of God. Eblis aspired to become their director and guide, signified to them his wish, and was accepted. He came down to earth from heaven with a crowd of angels, and a small company of the obedient sons of Jân hastened to [enrol themselves in] his service. Azazil* sent one of the pious, Sahlûb Bin Mullâtub by name, to the great men of that people, as a prophet, to call them to follow the religion. The messenger acted according to the commands he had received, but an excess of temerity and rebellion induced that nation to cause him to taste the beverage of martyrdom. Azazil, however, was not aware of this event, and after a protracted absence of the prophet, he sent another, who underwent the same fate; then Azazil sent them a monitor, whom these impure ones likewise slew. At last he despatched Yusuf Bin Yusuf, who met his own kindred, and they strove to take his life also, but, by means of subtleties and stratagems, he rescued himself from the jaws of death, returned, and narrated his adventures. Azazil then obtained leave from the Mansion of Unity, sped with an army of angels to combat the disobedient, and having slain the majority, he dispersed the remnant of them over the world. Having attained sovereign authority in all matters of command and dominion, he raised the standard of royalty, with the motto of ‘I, and no one besides me,’ asserting that, in case the Almighty should delegate the supreme authority to another individual, he would offer resistance, because he considered himself to be the sole possessor of all theoretical and practical perfections, and saw no one more worthy than himself to occupy that position. In short, the vapour of self-complacency and conceit had found entrance in the closet of his brain, and he dwelt alternately in heaven and on earth.

Verses:

From pride in the army of the King, He now roamed over the earth and now over the sky. He was not aware of his works and acts, Nor that his method was faulty.

Very often he adduced, in select assemblies, arguments favouring his own excellency by means of deceitful illusions and diabolical stratagems, and allowed free play to his contumacious spirit in the company of angels. Meanwhile, some of the latter were one day going to have a look at the Preserved Table. On their return Eblis perceived marks of grief on their forehead, and asked them for the cause. They replied, ‘This day we have obtained the information from the Table that one of the Cherubim* of the mansion of eternity will soon be afflicted with ejection and everlasting damnation. Every one of us is afraid for his own sake, and we request thee to pray that the guardian angels may allow none of us to fall into this awful misfortune; we are very much terrified and dismayed.’ Eblis said, ‘Let not this event disturb you, for that judgment refers neither to me nor to you. I have years ago been aware of it, and have not communicated it to anyone.’ The pride and arrogance of Eblis did not allow him to weigh the words of the angels, he had no inclination for humiliation and sub­mission; consequently he was condemned to everlasting perdition, and sempiternal culpability; may Allah preserve us therefrom.

At that time the blessed exclamation ‘I am going to place a substitute on earth’* reached the hearing of the inhabitants of the universe, and the echo of the succession of Adam overspread the surface of the world. On hearing the news, depraved ejaculations protruded their heads from the entrails of the unhallowed Satan, and he said, ‘How can a man created of loam claim superiority, since clay is thick and dark, whereas fire is subtle and luminous; light is always more excellent than darkness.’ The angels, having guessed the event to come either from the deeds of the son of Jân, or by some other means, said [to God], ‘Wilt Thou place there one who will do evil therein and shed blood, but we celebrate Thy praise and sanctify Thee.’* But the Lord, who is aware of what is to take place, knew by His prescience that the angels were not conscious that Adam would become the repository of supreme mysteries, and the manifester of the perfections and attributes of Allah; therefore He replied, ‘Verily I know that which ye know not.’* By this answer the angels were admonished for their boldness, and having come forth to deprecate, they walked in the path of imploring pardon; but Eblis persevered in his opposition as before.

Let it not remain hidden from the discerning reader that everything narrated above about Jân and the genii has been taken from the translation of the books of Adam— u. w. b. bl., etc.—written by the distinguished sage Abu Ali Ja’fer Bin Yaqûb-ul-isfahani; and He [i.e. God] knows best the true state of the case.