Magic, Miracles, and the Supernatural in the Qur'an: Difference between revisions

While miracles by definition are supposed to defy the laws of nature and scientific explanation, the examples of myths and legends briefly listed in the Qur'an illustrate the pre-scientific worldview with which the Qur'an was composed. Being a product of late antiquity, superstitious beliefs like jinn living among us and people using black magic form a sizeable part of the Qur'an, as does the idea of God interacting with the universe, controlling everything, rather than the universe operating off of scientific laws. Even inanimate things worship Allah, who is a corporeal, anthropomorphic being literally sitting on a throne in the cosmos. While there are many more examples of these found in Islamic literature such as hadith and seerah (biographical) material, the Qur'an is replete with such mythic and legendary accounts of supernatural beings and Allah's supernatural powers.  

{{Main|Jinn}}The Quran, Hadith and Sira all support the existence of supernatural, generally invisible creatures known as Jinn (جن‎ ''ǧinn'', singular جني ''ǧinnī'' ; variant spelling ''djinn'') living among us. In the [[Qur'an]], satan/devil(s) are also jinn ({{Quran|18|50}}), which like humans are sent prophets and have (''at least some, see [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Predestination]]'') free-will and will be judged accordingly alongside mankind ({{Quran|6|130}}). They can interact with us ({{Quran|6|128}}) and even possess humans ({{Quran|2|275}}) (which the main article elaborates on), and cause people to forget things ({{Quran|18|63}}). As well as create buildings/structures ({{Quran|34|12-13}}). These magical beings have roots in Arabian mythology and make appearences thereing. {{Quote|{{quran|72|1}}|Say, [O Muhammad], "It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened and said, 'Indeed, we have heard an amazing Qur'an.}}El-Zein (2009) notes the Qur’an mentions only three terms related to the species of jinn: the generic “jinn,” marid, and ‘ifrit. However, Arabic and Islamic literature provides extended descriptions of them as sub-types of jinn (and others not specifically mentioned in the Qur'an).<ref>El-Zein, Amira. Islam, Arabs, and the Intelligent World of the Jinn (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East) (p. 139). Syracuse University Press. Kindle Edition.</ref>{{Quote|El-Zein, Amira. <i>Islam, Arabs, and the Intelligent World of the Jinn (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East) (p. 142).</i> Syracuse University Press. Kindle Edition.|THE ‘IFRIT The term ‘ifrit is mentioned only once in the Qur’an, when the prophet king Solomon asked for the throne of the Queen of Sheba to be brought to him. One ‘ifrit from among the jinn consented to fulfill his request: “An ‘ifrit of the jinn said, ‘I will bring it to thee, before thou risest from thy place; I have strength for it and I am trusty” (Qur’an 27:39). The term ‘ifrit often presents a problem for the scholars trying to classify the jinn. Many commentators on the verse cited above maintain the word ‘ifrit is an adjective referring to a specific powerful jinni rather than a separate and distinct type among the jinn. Later the word came to describe any powerful and cunning man; in which case, it could refer to dark powers within the human psyche.¹⁷<br> THE MARID In the Qur’an, the marid is an unruly force always striving to predict the future by means of astrological hearsay. The term marid is mentioned only once in the Qur’an in the following verse “We have adorned the lower heaven with the adornment of the stars and to preserve against every [rebel satan (shaytan marid)]; they listen not to the High Council, for they are pelted from every side” (Qur’an 37:7–8). This kind of jinn is mostly found in popular medieval literature, in particular in the stories of The Nights dealing with Solomon. Finally, as with the term ‘ifrit, the term marid could also be applied to humans. Used as an adjective, it denotes a rebellious man.¹⁸}}

{{Main|Iblis (Satan)}}The Qur'an contains the well-known supernatural character of Satan (with a capital "S"), or "The Devil", (al-shayṭān); also called Iblīs, who tempts unbelievers into disobedience against god, furthering them in their sin, and generally causing evil on Earth.<ref name=":023">''shayṭān | devil al-shayṭān | the devil, Satan'' Sinai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (p. 451). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.</ref> Similar to later traditions on the book of Genesis (originally the serpent who tempts Eve to eat the fruit in the garden of Eden is not identified with Satan, only in the approximately 4 centuries preceding to the Common Era, known as the intertestamental period does this appear),<ref>Wray, T. J.; Mobley, Gregory. ''The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots (pp. 68-70, Chapters 5 & 6).'' St. Martin's Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.</ref> he originally lives in paradise. After refusing to obey God’s command to prostrate (sajada) himself to the newly created Adam, Iblīs is expelled from God’s retinue and subsequently retaliates against his nemesis Adam by persuading him and Eve to eat from the forbidden tree (e.g. {{Quran|2|34-39}}, {{Quran|7|11-25}} and {{Quran|20|115-124}}).<ref>''shayṭān | devil al-shayṭān | the devil, Satan'' Sinai, Nicolai. Key Terms of the Qur'an: A Critical Dictionary (p. 453). Princeton University Press. Kindle Edition.</ref>

The Qur'an relates a story where a servant of Allah ([[:en:Dhul-Qarnayn_and_the_Alexander_Romance|Dhul-Qarnayn]]) traps "Gog and Maggog" behind an iron wall where they will remain until judgment day (essentially making them creatures that live a beyond human lifespan, if not immortal), where they will then swarm the Earth. Most scholars say they are humans, for example Ibn Kathir says they are also descents of Noah through his son Yafith (Japheth), who was the father of the Turks; Turk referring to the group of them who were left behind the barrier which was built by Dhul-Qarnayn.<ref>Ibn Kathir (d 1373.) [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/21.95 ''Commentary on Verse 21:96 (95-97)'']</ref> Though others such as al-Idrisi (d. 1165) say they are monsters, with some 120 cubits high and the same length wide among other non-human descriptions.<ref>van Donzel, Emeri; Schmidt, Andrea. ''Gog and Magog in Early Eastern Christian and Islamic Sources: Sallam's Quest for Alexander's Wall''. Leiden: Brill. ''pp. 91-92''. [[International Standard Book Number|ISBN]] [[Special:BookSources/9789004174160|9789004174160]], 2010. The full book and their analysis of the journey taken by Sallam can be read on the ''[https://archive.org/details/gogandmagoginearlyeasternchristianandislamicsources/page/n109/mode/2up Internet Archive linked here.] (page 110 of 229 the PDF)''</ref> However regardless if they are monsters or humans they are still mythical as clearly they would have been found if trapped behind a giant wall until judgement day given we have explored all the land on Earth.{{Quote|{{Quran|18|94}}|They said, "O Dhul-Qarnayn, indeed Gog and Magog are [great] corrupters in the land. So may we assign for you an expenditure that you might make between us and them a barrier?"}}{{Quote|{{Quran|21|96}}|Until when [the dam of] Gog and Magog has been opened and they, from every elevation, descend}}