The following article has been taken from the book named Kashkul, by Sayyid Abdulhakim Effendi, a professor of theology and tasawwuf at Madrasatul-mutahassisin during the time of the thirty-sixth and the last Ottoman sovereign, Sultan Muhammad Wahidaddin Khan. Kashkul has not been printed.

Those who ask if there are genies should be answered immediately. For, it is very dangerous to doubt if there are genies. The following information, which I have derived from the dependable books of Islamic savants as an answer, should be read with attention and with reason and should be given fair thought so that it will be understood well.

Such (Arabic) words as jin (genie), jinnat, jinan, jannat, jenan and jenin, which are made up of the letters J and N, means 'covered.' The place called 'Jannat' (Paradise) has been given this name because it is covered with fruits, flowers, odors. The crazy are called 'maj-noon' because their minds are covered. The night is called 'junn-i layl' because the dark has covered the daylight. And the creatures called 'genies' are called so because they are covered from our eyes. The word 'jin' is the plural of the noun 'jinni.' 'Jin' means 'jinnis.' 'Peri' is Persian for jinni.

There are two kinds of creatures: visible and invisible. In addition, there are those immaterial creatures which are without place. Imam-i Mawardi says, "The genie is made of four basic substances: water, earthen substances, substances in the air and fire. Of these, fire consists of flames, light and smoke. There are believers and disbelievers among those genies that are created from the flames of fire, which are called marij." According to our recent scientific knowledge, these four basic substances consist of a hundred and three elements. Accordingly, all creatures are made from elements and they bear energy. Because we can see those beings that are in solid or liquid forms under normal physical conditions and also the colored gases, things that are made from these are visible. For example, because solid substances and water are in the majority (more than seventy percent) in man, man is visible. So are plants and all animals.

Genies are made from air and fire. [The flames of fire are invisible. Because the solid substances in it are lighted by heat, they look bright.] Therefore, genies are invisible, too.

The flame is of two parts: one of them is zulmani (invisible). The other is nurani (which is invisible, too). Genies are created from the zulmani part and angels from the nurani part. Men are created from earthen substances, but Allahu ta'ala has changed these substances into organic forms and organs, into flesh and bones. Likewise, in angels and genies the flame has changed into a latif (fine), particular form that can take any shape.

The description of genies: genies, that is, peris, are the substances made from the flames of fire and can take any shape.

But angels are luminous substances. They can take various shapes. Angels and genies are closer with respect to their creation. Angels are noble, dear. Genies are despicable, unworthy. In angels the luminous part is in the majority and in genies the flame substance is in the majority. Certainly, nur (light) is better than zulmat. The approximity of angels to genies is like the nearness of man to animals. The higher ones of men are more valuable than angels, and genies are more valuable than animals.

Most Islamic savants said that angels are objects. And this is the truth of the matter.

He who disbelieves the existence of angels becomes a disbeliever. He who disbelieves the fact that they are objects does not become a disbeliever, but he becomes a holder of bidat.

Also, he who disbelieves the existence of genies becomes a disbeliever. A part of ancient philosophers, the majority of the group of Qadariyya [Mutazila] and zindiqs disbelieved genies and satans. They said that genie meant an intelligent person, a genius, and satan meant an evil person. He who does not read books of din or know of the words of Islamic savants will certainly not believe. But it is something astonishing that while the fact is clearly stated in the Qur'an and though the books written by great men of Islam are so many, the Qadariyya group do not believe it. For, these people claim that they obey the Qur'an. This comes to mean that they obey it this far only. However, genies' existence is not unreasonable. That is, it is not something which the mind would not admit. For, it is not something which Allah's power could not make. Today, scientists, owners of wisdom and faith do not deny the things about which the mind does not say impossible. The facts that are stated in the Qur'an should be interpreted with the clear and common meanings of the words. Shaikh-i akbar [Muhyiddin-i Arabi] proves the existence of genies through the following ayats:

1 - The fifty-sixth ayat of Zariyat Sura purports, "I have created men and genies only so that they would know, obey and worship Me."

2 - The seventy-fourth ayat of Arrahman Sura purports, that genies will enter Paradise.

3 - The thirty-first ayat of Arrahman Sura purports, 'Thaqalayn,' which means "O men and genies." Such names as Rasul uth-thaqalayn, muftiyyuth-thaqalayn and ghaws uth- thaqalayn [that is, the Prophet, the Mufti, the Wali of men and genies] show that genies exist.

All disbelievers with books, fire-worshippers, idolaters, Buddhists, polytheists, most Greek philosophers and great men of tasawwuf believe that genies exist. The event of Hadrat Sulaiman also indicates the existence of genies.

Those who give the ayats telling about genies different meanings in accordance with their own minds become apostates. The fatwa in the book Milal-Nihal and in the book Tariqat-i Muhammadiyya, which is written by Imam-i Muhammad Birghiwi, and the explanation of 'Aqaid-i Nasafi show that they become apostates. The fatwa is:

"Ayats of the Qur'an are to be given their clear, common meanings. Those who change these meanings and thus follow Batinis [Ismailis] become disbelievers."

The Qul a'udhu and Jin suras inform that genies exist. [Some ignorant people suppose that genies are illusions and say that they do not exist; this is worthless. Illusions formed before the eyes out of fear absolutely do not exist. But to suppose that these illusions are genies means that one knows nothing of genies. To say that something does not exist, one has to know, understand it first. Without knowing it, it would be puerile to say that it does not exist. It would be out of place to call such people scientists. It does not become a man of knowledge to say "not existent," only writing by way of supposition, without being based upon knowledge, mind or experiment, about something which has been communicated by all prophets, especially by the highest of the Prophets 'alaihi wa alaihimussalawatu wattaslimat' various times. The only saying of those who disbelieve genies, angels, Paradise and Hell, and even Allahu ta'ala, is, "Who on earth has gone there and seen them? We would have seen them if they existed. It is idiocy to believe things that are not seen." They think that the mind should depend upon the eyes, not the eyes upon the mind. However, the mind is a power above the sense organs and a judge that distinguishes the right ones from the wrong ones of the things that are perceived. If men were dependent upon the eyes and if the honor of humanity were measured with the power of the eyes, a cat, a dog or a rat would necessarily be more honorable, more valuable than man. For, these animals can see in the dark, but man cannot. Then, a person who is reluctant to believe what he cannot see reduces humanity to a grade below animals. This means to say that our sense organs are the mind's servants, tools. The mind is the commander, the ruler. The mind does not deny things that are not seen or heard, nor does it say nonexistent about those things whose nonexistence cannot be proved or understood. It is not reasonable to say that these things are nonexistent.]

Since the existence of genies is something which Islam has communicated clearly, he who disbelieves it will go out of Islam, and none of his worships will be accepted.

Examples of the fact that genies cause harm to men, that they help them, and that they make them attain their wishes have been seen and reported by Muslims and disbelievers at various times. Those who disbelieve the fact, on the other hand, are very few. That is, they are only those quack philosophers plus a few people owning medical diplomas. Old, experienced doctors and those who have received the taste of medical specialization today cannot dismiss the matter by saying that they do not exist, but they have to follow Muslims. Ibni Sina, the most famous doctor of Islamic world, influenced by Greek philosophers, did not get any share from Islam. Yet, while explaining the disease of epilepsy in his book Qanun, he refers to genies. He says, for instance, "As diseases are caused by various substances, so there are those diseases that are caused by genies, and such diseases are widely- known."

[There was information about genies in each prophet's book. They used to act under the command of Sulaiman 'alaihissalam'. When the Prophet Idris 'alahissalam' was taken up to Paradise alive, those who loved him very much could not bear the grief of separation. Drawing pictures of him, they watched them. Those who came after them thought that these pictures were gods. They made various statues and worshipped them. Thus, idolatry came about. Amr bin Luhay, who was the chief of the Huza'a government in Hijaz a thousand years before our Prophet 'sallallahu alaihi wa sallam', brought the religion of idolatry from Hedjaz to Mecca. Those who worshipped idols heard voices from the idols. It was genies who entered the idols, which were statues, and spoke in them. It was heard from many idols that our Prophet had honored the world with his presence and that Islam had commenced. It is written with details in the history book Mirat-i Mecca that many people became Muslims by these words. Satans can enter a living person, too. Affecting man's nerves of sense and movement, they can make motion and voices. Man is unaware of this word or action of his. So, at one time in Rome and Budapest and recently in Adana, speaking children and sick people were seen. Because the genies who made them speak told about things in distant countries or in ancient times, some people thought that these children had two souls or they bore another person's soul; that is, they thought it was metempsychosis. Our din explains clearly that it is wrong to think so. Of old, soothsayers used to hear something from genies and tell fortunes. Therefore, idolaters used to believe the existence of genies, and they used to fear them. Muslims did not learn the existence of genies, by hearing it from idolaters. They learned it from the Qur'an and from Muhammad 'alaihissalam'. Contrary to idolaters, Muslims are not afraid of genies. In addition to the protecting angels who protect men against genies, they cannot do any harm to those who trust themselves to Allahu ta'ala by saying ayats and prayers.]

As men were created from earth first, so genies were created from flames. Genies, too, are either male or female. Information about their marriages, homes, eating, drinking, multiplying, dying, the facts that Muhammad 'alaihissalam' is also their Prophet, that they listen to the Qur'an and gather in the blessed cities of Mecca and Medina, that Rasul-i akram 'sallallahu alaihi wa sallam' recited the Qur'an to them, that they worship and give alms, that their good deeds will be given thawab, that the disbelievers of genies will go to Hell and their believers will enter Paradise and they will see Allahu ta'ala in Paradise, the matters such as whether the namaz of those who perform namaz behind genies will be acceptable, whether the prayers of Friday or other prayers in jamaat with them will be acceptable and that it is permissible for them to pass in front of a person performing namaz are written in various books. Our savants have various writings communicating that marriage between human beings and genies is permissible that ghusl (ritual washing) is necessary when a male genie assaults a human woman, how the child born from the intercourse between a human being and a genie will be [e.g., Balqis, the Queen of Sheba], that it is permissible for a man to eat the animal (sheep, etc.) killed (by jugulation) by a genie, that genies ask questions to the savants of human being and take fatwa from them, that they preach to human beings, that they recite poems to human beings, and that human beings hear them, that they teach human beings how to cure diseases and how to make medicines, that they fear human beings and obey them. These books indicate the existence of genies. How to take precautions against genies' harm to human beings, how to defend against genies' harm, that the inferior genies obey their superiors, that they do favors in return for men's favors and evil and harm in return for their harm, that they enter an epileptic person's body and the epileptic's actions and deeds are the genies' actions, that for curing such diseased people it is necessary to exchange questions and answers with genies, that genies make fun of human beings, that genies, like human beings, cause illnesses by evil eyes, that genies make wars, especially in the month of Ramadan they become excessive, that genies worship human beings, that they enter discussions with human beings on the question of if some hadiths are sahih (see kinds of hadiths in the first fascicle), that they informed the inhabitants of Mecca with the news that Sarwar-i alam 'sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam' stayed as a guest in Umm-i Ma'bad's tent, that they informed that Umm-i Ma'bad had become a Muslim, that they informed about the combat of Badr, that it is permissible to ask genies about things in the past but not about things that will happen in the future, that genies will bear witness for the adhans said by muazzins on the Day of Resurrection, that genies wept and mourned upon the death of Abu Ubaida and his friends, that they recited eulogies upon the death of Hadrat 'Umar 'radiAllahu anh', that they wept and moaned when Hadrat Uthman 'radiAllahu anh' was martyred, that they reported the martyrdom of Hadrat Ali 'radiAllahu anh', that they wept and cried when Hadrat Husain 'radiAllahu anh' was martyred and reported the martyrdom of other Sahabis, that they reported the death of Hadrat 'Umar bin Abdulaziz, that they wept upon the deaths of Imam-i azam Abu Hanifa and Imam-i Shafi'i, that genies instill doubts into man's heart, and many other famous events and deeds are written in valuable books. All these show that genies exist. [They disguise themselves as goats and snakes, an event that has been seen many times. Also, disguising themselves as microbes, they travel in a person's blood vessels.]

Genies eat and drink. Our Prophet 'sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam' stated, "Eat and drink with your right hands! For the Shaytan eats and drinks with his left hand." All the satans (shaytan) are disbelievers. They strive to deceive men. They try to make them forget about worships and to misrepresent sins as beautiful. They incite the desires of the nafs. Satans are made from fire and air, too. But in genies the air is in the majority and in satans the fire is in the majority. Genies and satans can go through the smallest opening and can penetrate into man, into his blood vessels.

It is written in 'Ayni Tarihi, "Genies are more than ten times as many as human beings. Satans are more than ten times as many as the total number of these two. And angels are more than ten times as many as the sum of these three." [Tarih-i 'Ayni, by Mahmud bin Ahmad, one of the interpreters of Bukhari, consists of nineteen volumes.] Each person has a companion from genies, who is kafir. But angels protect human beings against their harm. It is written in Ashbah that there have not been any prophets from genies. Imam-i Muqatil communicates that no prophet had come to genies before Hadrat Muhammad.

It is written in the second part of Ashbah and in its explanation called Hamawi, "The first man was created from soil. Bodies of all men are made up of earthen substances. But men are flesh and bones. They are not soil. So are genies. Though they are made from fire, they are not fire or air."

It is written in Tazkira-i Qurtubi, "A genie's death is its getting lost on the ground. Old ones do not die without getting young again. When they are about to die, they turn back to their childhood and then get lost on the ground. There are three groups of genies. One group is like the wind and the air. Another group is like the insects and the tiny animals on the ground. The third group is charged with commands and worship. They will be called to account and there will be torment for them."

Sayyid 'Umar said, "A genie girl came to me. She wanted to marry me. I asked Shamsaddin Hanafi what to do. He said it was not permissible according to the Hanafi Madhhab. I told her so. She took me to their house under the ground. She told her elders what had happened. Her elders said, 'We respect Sayyid Shamsaddin's answer highly. But a genie's marrying a human being is permitted in the Shafi'i Madhhab. We are not Hanafi; we are Shafi'i.' "

Men's multiplying is through semen. And genies' multiplying is through gas (air). That is, gas being transferred from the male genie to the female genie, the young gets born by the female genie. This means to say that a man's marriage to a genie is through the imagination. There is not a real marriage. But most savants said that there is a real marriage, that a ghusl (ritual washing) is necessary, and that Balqis was born from intercourse between a man and a genie. [The genie gets married by disguising itself in a human form.]

Man can see genies and satans when he is awake and in his dream; for, they can take any shape. Disguising themselves in very lovely appearances they cause nocturnal emission. Most prophets 'alaihimussalam' and Awliya saw Satan and spoke to him. No matter in what guise, if the person who sees a genie looks at him all the time, the genie cannot change his guise, nor can he disappear. He can ask him questions and get the answers. But if he looks at somewhere else for a moment, the genie returns to his own guise and disappears. Imam-i Shafi'i 'rahmatullahi alaih' said, "A person who claims to have seen a genie in his own appearance is not acceptable as a witness." For, people with strong imaginations suppose to see things that do not exist. They think of illusions as something. Also, bewitched people see such illusions and think of them as objects. Ugly things seem beautiful to fanciful people. Their ugly sides are not seen by them. Likewise, everything worldly seems so to those who are fond of the world. Ugliness seems beautiful to them. But those who are vigilant, keen-sighted see the truth of everything and do not get deceived.

Man's knowing genies or making friends with them is not something valuable, but it is harmful. Speaking with them is like making friends with sinners. Not a single person who has known them has benefited from them. Muhyiddin-i Arabi 'Quddisa sirruh' says in the fifty-first chapter of his book Futuhat, 'Not one person has acquired any information concerning Allahu ta'ala from genies. For, genies have very little knowledge of the din. A person who thinks of acquiring worldly knowledge from them is wrong, too. For, they will cause him to waste his time on useless things. Those who make friends with them become arrogant. And Allahu ta'ala dislikes an arrogant person." Abdulghafur-i Lari, the Khalifa of Hadrat Molla Jami, says in Rashahat that Muhyiddin-i Arabi said as follows in one of his booklets: "The first father of the genies is not Iblis [Satan]. Satan is from a tribe of genies. Genies are very fine because they are created from fire and air. They act quickly. When man strikes at them slightly, they die immediately. For this reason, their lives are short. Their knowledge of the din is quite limited. Because they are arrogant, they always fight with each other. They are not affected by fire. Those genies who will go to Hell will be tormented in Zamharir, which is the cold Hell. Iblis and his children will inspire you to do right, thawab deeds, too. But when doing these there will be hypocrisy, ostentation in your nafs, or they will cause you to miss the fard (obligatory) actions, and thus you will be sinful." We should not have the fancy to make an acquaintance with genies, but we should try to benefit from the exalted souls of Awliya. The souls of Awliya, without being seen or by appearing in their own figures, are useful to those whom they love and protect them against disasters. We should try to know them, to love them and to be loved by them.

The hadith written in the chapter on the disasters of the whole body in Al-Hadiqat-un- nadiyya says, "One who commits tatayyur or is regarded as tatayyur, who is a kahin or goes to a kahin, and who works magic or sorcery or has it practiced, or who believes them is not among us. They do not believe in the Qur'an." Tatayyur is belief in ill omen. Kahin is a person who has made friends with a genie to whom he asks about past and future events and tells what he learns to others. In this group of people are those fortunetellers acquainted with genies and those who answer every question by looking it up in a book of constellation. To visit them, or to believe what they or other sorcerers say or do, means - even if it proves true occasionally - to believe that someone other than Allah may know everything and do whatever he wishes, which means unbelief.

Ibn Hajar-i Haitami wrote on page one hundred and twenty of Fatawa-yi hadithiyya, "If some men of Tariqa perform feats of skill such as cutting someone's arm and then replacing it or thrusting long knives into their own mouths, and if they do them in the name of magic (sihr) and claim to work miracles, the (Islamic) judge is to order them to be killed. If they do so in a different manner, they are not killed but heavily punished. In his book Ithbat-u karamat-il-Awliya, Abdullah ibni Abi Zaid Kayrawani 'rahmatullahi 'alaih', one of the scholars of the Maliki Madhhab says that if somebody's magic does not contain anything that causes disbelief and is merely a feat of skill, and if he claims it to be miraculous and of Tariqa, he is punished. It is not permissible to go to or watch such men of Tariqa. Once, a woman told her husband that she practiced sorcery so that he should lose his affection for her or someone else. She was not killed. She was punished. Ibni Abi Zayd said, "If somebody claims that he, by looking in a book, speaks with genies and, by commanding them, exorcises the wicked genie which causes epilepsy, or that he breaks spells and kills wicked genies, he should not be believed." One who claims to be a friend of genies or to have served the leader of genies is to be taken as a sorcerer. Hakim bi-Amrillah Mansur, the sixth Fatimid ruler in Egypt, taken in by Dirar and his disciple, Hamza, became acquainted with genies, served the ruler of genies, deviated into heresy and became a toy of devils. He later claimed divinity. Ibni Abi Zayd said, "It is not permissible to believe a man of Tariqa who has friends among genies or to pay him money believing that he will rescue you from genies. It is not permissible to pay a person who removes sorcery." It is permissible to write - free of charge - an amulet containing prayers from the Qur'an and recommended by the Salaf-i salihin for a woman so that her husband will love her and will not abuse her. It is haram to write, read or have someone read things that are not known or to make an amulet or to cast a spell with them." Birghiwi's words, "One who says that he knows what is stolen and one who believes him become unbelievers. If the former says that he knows it because genies reveal it to him, he again becomes an unbeliever; for, genies do not know the unknown, either. Only Allahu ta'ala knows the unknown. No one else knows," are explained by Qadi-zada in the annotation of Birghiwi Vasiyetnamesi as follows: "Those who are sent wahy or ilham (inspiration) by Allahu ta'ala do know. Genies do not know everything. They know what Allahu ta'ala makes them know or what they see. If the genie discloses what it has learned through either way, there is nothing wrong with saying that the genie has let you know. Prophets are alive in their graves in a life we do not know. Allahu ta'ala revealed unknown and secret things through wahy, ilham and kashf. He discloses the actions and states of the living men to them and to the souls of those Believers He chooses." It is jaiz that He reveals to faithful genies. Nevertheless, one must be on the alert lest one should drift into perdition by being trapped and misled by the lies fibbed by men of bidat, sinful men of Tariqa and heretical and impious bigots. See the book Al- munira!

It is written in the last sections of the last volumes of Durr-ul-mukhtar's explanations by Tahtawi and Ibni Abidin: "It is makruh to dispute on what a person does not have to know. It is not permissible to ask about things you are not commanded to know. For example, 'Were Luqman and Zulqarnain prophets, or not?' 'How did Jabrail come to prophets?' 'In what guise do angels and genies show themselves to men?' 'When they appear in human form, are they still genies and angels?' 'Where are Paradise and Hell?' 'When will Doomsday happen?' 'When will Isa 'alaihissalam' descend from Heaven?' 'Who is better, Ismail or Ishaq? Which was sacrificed?' 'Who is higher, Fatima or Aisha?' 'In which din were Rasulullah's 'sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam' parents and Abu Talib?' 'Who was Ibrahim's 'alaihissalam' father?' One should not ask questions like these. We are not commanded to know them."

It is written in the book Khazinatulasrar: Let us give the hadiths concerning the exorcization of spirits from the epileptic person and his healing:

Imam-i Baihaki says in his book Dalail-un- nubuwwa and Imam-i Qurtubi in his book Tazkira that Abu Dujana said, "I was lying down, when I heard a noise like the noise of a mill or that of the leaves of a tree and saw a flash like lightning. I raised my head to see something black that was rising in the middle of the room. I felt it with my hand. It was like a porcupine's skin. It began to throw things like sparks at my face. At once I went to Rasulullah and told him what had happened. He said, 'O Aba Dujana! May Allah give your home goodness and abundance!' He asked for a pen and a piece of paper. He had Ali 'radiAllahu anh' write a letter. I took the letter to my home. I put it under my head and went to sleep. A yelling voice woke me up. It said, 'O Aba Dujana! You have burned me with that letter. Your owner is certainly much higher than we are. There is no way of escape for us, except that you remove that letter. We shall no longer come to your home or your neighbors.' We cannot go to places where the letter is.' I told him that I could not remove the letter without getting my owner's permission. The night seemed very long to me because of the crying and wailing of genies. After performing the morning prayer in the mosque, I told Rasulullah what the genie had said. Rasulullah 'sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam' said, 'Remove the letter. Or else they will suffer the letter's pain till the Resurrection.' "

It is written in the book Majmu'a-tul-fawaid by Kafawi and also in Damiri's book Hayat- ul-haywan, in the entry 'Qunfaz' in the letter "Q," "If a person carries this letter with himself or has it in his home, genies will not come to him, to his home, or to his neighborhood, and also those genies who have been haunting and harming him will go away." The letter is written in Khazinatulasrar and in Hayat-ul-haywan. The Persian version of Hayat-ul-haywan exists at number 2912, and its Turkish version at number 1913, in the Ayasophia section of the Library of Sulaimaniya. With a view to serving Muslims, the book has also been appended to the book Tahsil-ul-manafi', which is available at Hakikat Kitabevi.

Also, frequent reciting of the suras of Ayat-al- kursi, Mu'awizatayn, Ikhlas and Fatiha protects one against genies. Those who want to utilize these ayats by reciting them, by carrying the letter, by reciting the ayats for healing or by writing them on a piece of paper and drinking the water in which the piece of paper is put, should have an iman agreeing with the belief of the Ahl as-sunnat. If the belief of a person who writes them or who uses them is not correct, or if he uses those things which are the signs of disbelief, or if he commits the haram, they will not be useful.

The book Aqam-il-Marjan, by Qadi Badruddin Shabli, is in Arabic and it is great. It is wholly about genies. At one place it says, "It is permissible to ask genies about past things. It is not permissible to ask them about the things that will happen in the future. They know past things by seeing and hearing them. It is not permissible to do things that cause disbelief in order to rescue epileptic people or those people who have been paralyzed by genies from genies. Here we are writing the best ten remedies for getting saved from genies [briefly]:

1 - Say A'udhu-Basmala and recite the sura of Fatiha.

2 - Say A'udhu-Basmala and recite the sura of Qul-a'udhu.

3 - Say A'udhu-Basmala and recite the sura of Baqara.

4 - Say A'udhu-Basmala and recite the Ayatalkursi.

5 - Say A'udhu-Basmala and recite the final ayat of Baqara Sura.

6 - Say A'udhu-Basmala and recite the sura of Ha-mim Mumin from the beginning up to 'masr,' and also Ayatalkursi.

7 - Recite the prayer, "La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah lahul-mulku wa lahul- hamdu wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadir."

8 - Say (Allah) very often.

9 - Be with your ritual ablution all the time, never omit the fard and the sunnat actions.

10 - Avoid looking at na-mahram women, eating much and being in crowds." The book Barakat, after telling about Muhammad Said, writes that in order to protect himself from genies, Imam-i Rabbani used to say the prayer, "La hawla wala quwwata illa billah-il- 'aliyyil'azim." Hadrat Imam-i Rabbani advised saying this prayer in his 174th letter for repelling genies. This prayer is called "kalima-i tamjid."

Also, in the book Tazakkur-u-Asar-ul-warida by Shaikh-ul-Islam Ibni Hajar-i Haitami 'rahmat Allahi ta'ala 'alaih', there are prayers to protect one from genies. The book exists with number 1150 at the Rais-ul-kuttab Mustafa Effendi section of the Library of Sulaimaniyya. Hakikat Kitabevi has reproduced this book and appended it to the book Minha.

There is valuable information about how to protect yourself against incantation, evil eye and genies in the book Kitaburrahma fit-tibb-i wal'hikma by Jalal-addin-i Suyuti 'rahmatullahi alaih'. He says in the hundred and fiftieth chapter, "For ridding the harmful doubts caused by Shaytan, say every day the prayer, 'Ya Allah-ur- raqib-ul-hafiz-ur-rahim. Ya Allah-ul-hayy-ul-halim- ul-'azim-ur-rauf-ul-karim. Ya Allah-ul- hayy-ul-qayyum-ul- qaimu 'ala kulli nafsin bima kasabat, hul bayni wa bayna aduwwi!' " He says at the end of the hundred and seventy-fourth chapter, "Genies will not come to the person who carries the gum called asafoetida with him. If an epileptic person smells it he will recover." The gum asafoetida is a dark, badsmelling resin, and it has been used an as antispasmodic, that is, as a sedative of the nerves, in powder, pills or liquid forms, to remove tension from the muscles and nerves, in Europe. It is written in Hayat-ul-haywan and Qamus that genies do not enter the house where there is citron.

Imam-i-Rabbani 'rahmat-ullahi alaih' and his disciples set out for a long journey. On their way they stopped at a hotel to spend the night. He told his disciples that a catastrophe was going to befall the inn during the night and advised them to recite the following prayer: "Bismillah-il-lazi la-yadhurru ma'asmihi shay'un fi-l-ard-i wala fi-s-sama' wa huwa-s- sami'ul- 'alim." That night a great fire broke out, burning everything including the lodgers' belongings. Yet those who had said the prayer suffered no harm. This prayer is written in the books Umdat-ul-Islam and Barakat. On the other hand, it is stated in the book Targhib- us-salat that it is a hadith ash-Sharif. For protection against anxiety, disasters, mischief and diseases, you should remember the Imam's advice and say this prayer daily, three times in the morning and three times in the evening. It should be recited also when ayat-i-hirz [ayats for protection] are recited.