Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD with the help of ChatGPT

Abstract

Qur’ān verses 6:128–132 and 34:40–41 challenge the popular notion of “jinn” as supernatural demons by placing jinn and humans together under moral scrutiny. This commentary argues that in these verses jinn refers to powerful or hidden human beings – worldly leaders, elites, or influencers – rather than otherworldly spirits. Classical Islamic commentators largely interpreted jinn as invisible beings made of fire, even suggesting that Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ was sent as a messenger to both humans and supernatural jinn. We examine those traditional views and show their dependence on pre-modern cosmology. Drawing on contemporary scholarship – including Dr. Zia H. Shah’s Quranic analysis and modern scientific insights – we defend a rationalist reading: Quranic jinn symbolize influential men whose “hidden” control over society misleads the masses. Verses 6:130–132 underscore that God’s messengers come from within the community of their audience, implying Muḥammad could not be a prophet to non-human jinn. By revisiting classical exegesis and integrating modern knowledge of psychology and sociology, we reveal how belief in literal demon-like jinn arose from a lack of scientific understanding. In light of the Qur’ān’s own themes and today’s knowledge, the jinn of scripture emerge not as mythical ghoulies interacting with human society, but as very human figures – the arrogant “haves” whose exploitation and deception of the “have-nots” the Qur’ān repeatedly condemns thequran.love thequran.love. This perspective not only resolves theological inconsistencies but also reaffirms the Qur’ān’s timeless call for human accountability free from superstition.

Read further in Microsoft Word file: