Although the Arabic word 'jinn' is related to a word that means 'hidden', the meaning of the term jinn is not 'the hidden ones', contrary to what the average modern Muslim and western paranormal researchers may claim. Arabic jn means 'to cover', 'to conceal', 'to hide'. From the Hebrew cognate gn is derived both magen, 'shield' (obviously a 'covering') and gan, 'garden', the literal word for 'Paradise'. Gan, a 'garden', is a fenced-in place (Jastrow), which implies a guarded place. The English words 'guard' and 'garden' are apparently related to each other etymologically (Stahl). (For Jastrow and Stahl, see http://www.balashon.com/2007/02/genie.html).
According to the earliest Arabic authorities, such as Ibn Abbas, "They were called jinn because they were guardians of Paradise (al-jannah)." Therefore, the 'jinn' does not mean 'the hidden ones', but 'the guardians', because the jinn were the original inhabitants, rulers, and guardians of Paradise before the creation of Adam.
The jinn are a parallel race of beings alongside humans, but the jinn have a less material body with a more subtle or spiritual substance. They live alongside their human cousins, so to speak, in a parallel dimension.
Like humans, some of the jinn are good, some are bad, and some are neutral. They are therefore not to be feared anymore than humans might be feared.
Some older Christian literature called the jinn 'pre-Adamites', but western literature often used this term with racist overtones, and so we personally discourage its use and avoid it.
The jinn are above humans on the spiritual scale, but below the angels, who are pure spirit. In the jinn, the subtle or spiritual predominates over the material aspects of their bodies. In humans, the material predominates over the immaterial or spirit aspects of their bodies.
Stay tuned for more on the mysterious jinn...
Dr. Evrim Sahin
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