Jinni in House

Praise be to Allah

These noises and
actions may come from the jinn. The jinn are part of the creation of Allah
whose existence we must believe in, because Allah mentions them in many
verses of the Quran, and there is even a Surah named after them, namely
Surah al-Jinn. Their existence is a matter upon which there is consensus.

Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyah said:

All nations
believe in the jinn and they have had many encounters with them, which it
would take too long to describe. No one denies the existence of the jinn
except for a very few ignorant philosophers and doctors and the
like. [Majmoo’ al-Fatawa]

Their powers are
greater than those of man, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“An ‘Ifreet
(strong one) from the jinn said: “I will bring it [the throne of the Queen
of Saba] to you before you rise from your place.” [27:39]

There was a great
distance between Sulayman (peace be upon him) and the Queen of Saba (Sheba).

Allah has enabled
the jinn to change shape and to fly, etc, but despite their great powers
they have no control over the righteous slaves of Allah. Allah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Verily, My slaves
(i.e. the true believers of Islamic Monotheism) — you have no authority over
them. And All-Sufficient is your Lord as a Guardian.” [17:65]

“And he (Satan)
had no authority over them, except that We might test him who believes in
the Hereafter, from him who is in doubt about it.” [34:21]

Even the shaytan
acknowledged this and said:

“[Iblees] said: ‘O
my Lord! Because You misled me, I shall indeed adorn the path of error for
them (mankind) on the earth, and I shall mislead them all.

Except Your
chosen, (guided) slaves among them.’” [15:39-40 – interpretation of the
meaning]

Rather he has
control over those people who agree with his kufr (disbelief) and follow him
willingly, as Allah tells us (interpretation of the meaning):

“Certainly, you
shall have no authority over My slaves, except those who follow you of the
Ghawun (those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, and evildoers).”
[15:42]

Allah may give
them [the jinn] power over believers because of their sins, as the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah is with the qadhi
(judge) so long as he is not unjust; if he is unjust then Allah has nothing
to do with him and will cause the shaytan to stay with him.” [al-Hakim and
al-Bayhaqi].

The Muslim must,
above all else, arm himself with the weapon of faith and righteous deeds,
for these are the best provision he may have and the best means of foiling
the plots of the devils among mankind and the jinn.

You have to
strengthen your relationship with Allah, for He is the One on Whom you
should depend. Remember Allah a great deal in all situations, and strive to
keep your tongue busy constantly with dhikr (remembrance of Allah). No one
can find any better protection against the shaytan than the remembrance of
Allah. It was narrated in a saheeh (authentic) report from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that Allah enjoined five things
upon Yahya ibn Zakariyya, which he was to do and to command the Children of
Israel to do, one of which was: “I command you to remember Allah, for the
likeness of that is that of a man whose enemy comes after him, until he
comes to a strong fortress where he protects himself from him. Similarly, a
person cannot protect himself against the shaytan except by remembering
Allah.” [Saheeh al-Tirmidhi].

Constantly recite
the dhikrs narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him), such as the dhikr when entering the toilet, when having intercourse,
when hearing the braying of a donkey, when entering the house, in the
morning and the evening, when going to sleep, and in other circumstances and
at other times for which a specific dhikr has been narrated from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

These dhikrs have
been compiled in books such as al-Adhkar by al-Nawawi, al-Kalim al-Tayyib by
Ibn Taymiyah, and Hisn al-Muslim by al-Qahtani [the latter is available with
English transliteration and translation under the title “Fortress of the
Muslim – Invocations from the Quran and Sunnah”, published by Darussalam,
Riyadh – Translator].

You should also
read a lot of Quran in the house, especially Surah al-Baqarah. Ahmad and
Muslim narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not
make your houses (like) graveyards, for the shaytan flees from a house in
which Surah al-Baqarah is read.”

You should also
purify your house of everything in which there is disobedience towards
Allah, such as keeping images and dogs. Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased
with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) said: “The angels do not enter a house in which there is a dog or an
image.” [al-Bukhari, Muslim].

If there are no
angels in the house, it will become a dwelling for the devils.

With regard to
reading Surah al-Muzzammil and al-Mulk when going to sleep, there are
reports that indicate that it is mustahabb (recommended) to recite Surah
al-Mulk before sleeping. Al-Tirmidhi narrated from Jabir (may Allah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) used not to sleep until he had recited Alif-Lam-Meem Tanzeel
(al-Sajdah) and Tabarak alladhi bi yadihi’l-mulk (Surah al-Mulk). [Saheeh
al-Tirmidhi].

With regard to
Surah al-Muzzammil, there is no report to indicate that it is mustahabb to
recite it when going to sleep.

And Allah knows
best.