saying this verse is a proof against those who deny the possession of Jinn in human beings and think that it is a natural disposition and that Satan can never enter or be a part of a human. Many Mufassirs gave accounts to this effect. For more information, please check
ShaykhulIslam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah be merciful with him) said in his book IdahulDilalah Fi `Umum AlRisalah Lil Thaqalayn (Explaining the Significance of Generality of the Message to Both Humans and Jinn) in Majmu` AlFatawa (The Compendium of Fatwas) vol.19, pp.965, "For this reason some Mu`tazilah (a deviant Islamic sect claiming that those who commit major sins are in a state between belief and disbelief) figureheads, including AlGubba'i and Abu Bakr AlRazy and others denied the entrance of the Jinn into the body of the epileptic. However, they did not deny the existence of the Jinn, even though the entrance of the Jinn into human has not been reported, according to them, in the Prophet's Traditions (peace be upon him). Definitely, they went wrong in this regard. That is why AlAsh`ary mentioned in his book, Maqalat AhlulSunnah walJama`ah, that they proclaimed that the Jinn enter the body of the epileptic person, as Allah (Exalted be He) says: Those who eat Ribâ (usury) will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaitân (Satan) leading him to insanity. `Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, "I told my father that some people claim that Jinn can never enter the body of a person. So he said, 'O son! They tell lies. Satan can even speak
on the tongue of those whom he possesses."
ShaykhulIslam (may Allah be merciful with him) also said in (vol.24, pp 276277) the following: "The existence of Jinn is affirmed in the Book of Allah, Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and according to the consensus of the Salaf (Righteous Predecessors) of this Ummah and its leading scholars. The entrance of a Jinn into a human body is also confirmed by the consensus of AhlulSunnah walJama`ah (those adhering to the Sunnah and the Muslim main body). Allah (the Exalted states) says: Those who eat Ribâ (usury) will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaitân (Satan) leading him to insanity. It is authentically reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, Satan circulates in the human body as blood does. `Abdullah ibn AlImam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, "I told my father that some people claim that Jinn can never enter the body of a person. So he said, 'O son! They tell lies. Satan can even speak on the tongue of those whom he possesses." ShaykhulIslam said, "What he [Imam Ahmad] said is selfevident. The Jinn may possess someone and cause them to speak a language they do not even know. A possessed person may be violently beaten, in a way that even a camel may not endure, yet he neither feels the beating nor is aware of the words he says." Furthermore, the possessed person may
pull the drag he is sitting upon, moves things from a place to another, and other practices that confirmed to those who witnessed such behavior that the one who spoke or moved was not a human being.
Then he said, "None of the leading Muslim scholars ever denied the ability of Jinn to enter the body of a human being. Whoever denies this fact and assumes that Shari`ah denies it has fabricated lies against Shari`ah, as there is no Shari`ahbased evidence that denies this fact." (End of quote).
Imam Ibn AlQayyim (may Allah be merciful with him) mentioned the following in his book, Zad AlMa'ad fi Hadiy Khayr Al'Ibad, vol. 4, pp. 6669:
"There are two types of Jinn's possession of human beings:
Possession caused by earthly malicious spirits;
and the other caused by filthy mixtures.
As for the second type, it is the domain of physicians to find what causes it and how to treat it.
Concerning the possession of spirits, the knowledgeable persons among them acknowledge its existence and do not deny it. They also admit that its treatment should be by confronting the celestial, benevolent and honorable spirits with that wicked and malicious ones to ward off the evil they cause and forestall their acts. This is even stated by Hippocrates in some of his books, as he mentioned some cures for possession. However, he said that his cure is only beneficial in case of possession caused by mixture of filthy blends, but not for that caused by evil spirits.
Ignorant, worthless and disreputable physicians deny the possession of spirits and do not admit that the affect the body of the possessed relying on no evidence to support their claims. They are only ignorant as there is no medical proof to prove the impermissibility of this matter even though the Jinn's possession of human beings is an established fact and reality attests to it. However, the physicians' denial of possession and ascribing this to the occurrence of some filthy blends is partially, not completely true.
Ignorant and atheist doctors started to attribute the possession of human beings as caused only by filthy blends, but anyone with the least knowledge of such spirits and how they affect the body of the possessed will be astonished at the ignorance of such people and the weakness of their perception of such matters.
It should be noted that providing a treatment for possession is done on both sides; the person who is possessed and the healer. As for the duty of the possessed person,
he should have strong Iman and sincerely turn to the One who created such spirits and be attentive with his tongue and heart when seeking refuge with Allah (Exalted be He), as if he is in a battlefield in which two matters are indispensable for him to gain victory over his enemy; the right weapon and the strong hand that holds it. If any of them falls short, the other is useless, let alone the lack of both things and the obscenity of a believing heart deprived of Tawhid, Tawakkul (putting one's trust in Allah), Taqwa (fearing Allah as He should be feared) and sincerely seeking Allah's help.
The second aspect related to the healer
who should not lack the same two matters, as some healers only find it sufficient to say to the Jinn, "come out of the body", or "Bismillah [In the Name of Allah], or say, "There is neither might nor power except with Allah!. The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say, Get out, you are the enemy of Allah and I am the Messenger of Allah."
I witnessed our shaykh sending a person to speak with the possessing spirit in the body, saying, "The shaykh commands you to get out, this is not permissible for you", and then the possessed person comes to his senses and may even speak with the Jinn. In other cases, the Jinn might be of rebellious and obstinate in which case they need to be exorcised through beating the body of the person
who wakes up feeling no pain at all. We often witnessed that.
He added, "Generally speaking, this kind of possession and treatment is not denied except from some weakminded people whose knowledge is unreliable. In most cases, those who are possessed by such evil spirits are responsible for their condition by their poor share of practicing sound Iman (Faith), and the depravity of their tongues and hearts from authentic Adhkar and Prophetic supplications. This condition provides
the evil spirit, which finds a person stripped of Iman to protect him or her, and affect and dominate his body."
This is the end of his account may Allah be merciful with him.
Through the Shari`ahbased evidence that we have mentioned and the consensus of the scholars of AhlulSunnah walJama`ah (those adhering to the Sunnah and the Muslim main body) concerning the possibility of Jinn haunting a human body, it becomes clear for readers that those who deny this fact are totally wrong, and that Shaykh `Aly AlTantawy made a great mistake in denying matters that he does not know very well.
However, he promised that he would return to AlHaqq (the Truth) whenever he is guided to. We ask Allah that he does so after reading what we mentioned. May Allah grant him and us guidance!
Similarly, it should be known that what AlNadwa newspaper published in its issue dated 14/10/1407 A.H., p.8 concerning what Dr. Muhammad `Irfan said about the vanishing of the word "insanity" from the medical dictionary and his describing the Jinn possessing of the human body and speaking on his tongue as completely wrong from the scientific point of view, all this is invalid on his part due to his lack of sound religious knowledge and ignorance of what the esteemed scholars of AhlulSunnah walJama`ah have said in this regard.
The ignorance of many doctors with regard to this fact is not to be taken as evidence; rather it denotes their unawareness of what many other trustful scholars say that is consistent with the Shari`ah and consensus of AhlulSunnah walJama`ah, as reported by Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyyah from all people of knowledge, and as also reported by Abu AlHasan AlAsh`ary from AhlulSunnah walJama`ah.
This was also reported to have been said by Abu AlHasan AlAsh`ary as cited by the versatile scholar Abu `Abdullah Muhammad Ibn `Abdullah AlShibly AlHanafy who died 799 A.H. in Chapter FiftyOne of his book, "Akam AlMurjan fi Ghara'ib Al Akhbar wa Ahkam AlJan".
It has been previously mentioned in the speech of Ibn AlQayyim (may Allah be merciful with him) that prominent physicians admit the existence of this matter and do not deny it; rather, it was denied by the ignorant and atheist among them.
As such, the reader should know and comprehend fully what we said as being akin to the truth and not to fall victim to the illusory words of doctors
and those following their way, or those who ignorantly speak of matters in which they do not have sound or reliable knowledge, but are just imitating ignorant physicians and some innovators from Mu`tazilah and the like. Allah is the One Whose Help is sought.