The Jinn Explained: Legend, Fact, and Fiction
I’ve mentioned before that much of what is described in The Jinn actually exists in reality or in legend. In many ways, The Jinn is a story that was just waiting to be discovered and told. I was merely a scrivener, creating the fictional characters and linking them to the story that unfolded before me. The following paragraphs describe those realities or legends.
The story begins over three thousand years ago with a Jinn—the most feared demons of Islam—stealing the magical ring that King Solomon used to control the Jinn and nature’s elements. The Jinn, Sakhr, attempted to overthrow King Solomon, but was captured. King Solomon entombed the demon Sakhr in an iron chest using his ring, the Seal of Solomon. The King ordered the tomb to be cast into an abyss in a distant land. In the Bible, there is a vague reference to a demon who was sealed in a tomb, but the seal lasts only one thousand years. It is very possible that this is a reference to the demon Sakhr. Without the tomb being resealed, the demon Sakhr could be freed and rejoin his master, Iblis the Shaitan, one of the most powerful of the Jinn. If it is true that the tomb needs to be resealed every thousand years, the Seal of Solomon—King Solomon’s magical ring—would be needed for that purpose.
Coincidentally, the pentagram on the flag of Morocco comes directly from the Seal of Solomon. Why is it that the Moroccan flag is linked to this ancient seal? Is it possible that Morocco is that distant land identified by King Solomon as the place of exile for the demon Sakhr? Based on my research, that's very likely.
Oujda, Morocco was once a bustling border city on the Algerian-Morocco trade route, but the border was closed in the 1990s as a result of the centuries-long tense relationship between Morocco and Algeria. The ancient history of Oujda, however, is far worse. Despite the mostly hardscrabble life of Oujda’s current inhabitants, it is nothing compared to the centuries of human slaughter that Oujda experienced at the hands of warring Berbers, Arabs, and Turks. Since its founding in the tenth century as an "official" city, Oujda was destroyed by war so often that it became known as Madinat al-Hairah—the City of Fear—by lucky survivors. In Oujda, near one of the large souks, there is an ancient city gate nicknamed the Gate of the Heads. Until the French Occupation of Oujda in the 1940s, it was common practice for the decapitated heads of invaders and criminals to be displayed on this gate. I actually have a picture of an old postcard which shows heads being displayed on the gate.
Throughout the book, a certain Jinn named Asmodeus seeks to ensure that the tomb of the demon Sakhr is not resealed. Asmodeus is a particularly powerful Jinn and is known in both Islam and Judaism. The characters in The Jinn seek out certain information and clues contained in old magical texts, known as grimoires. Some of these grimoires were reportedly written by King Solomon, who is also an important figure in Islam known as Sulayman.
Sidi Yahia, an oasis on the outskirts of Oujda is the site of a mosque which reportedly contains the tombs of certain important religious figures in Islam. One is Yahia Ben Younes, better known in Christianity as John the Baptist. John the Baptist was reputed to be extremely humble, eschewing the wearing of linen and instead preferring a camel-hair tunic. It seems a little incredulous to think that the tomb of John the Baptist is at this modest place, however, it has long been rumored that the Sidi Yahia mosque was built atop the ruins of an ancient church. Interestingly enough, despite having lived almost exactly one thousand years apart, there is a strong connection between King Solomon and John the Baptist. This connection is now a secret known only to the Freemasons, who revere both King Solomon and John the Baptist.
Another interesting landmark near Oujda is Le Grotte du Chameau or “Cave of the Camel.” It is a large cave in the Beni-Snassen Mountains, approximately sixty kilometers from Oujda. A massive rock formation, which has an uncanny resemblance to a camel, sits atop the cave. The cave contains many unexplored caverns and deep abysses.
Almost exactly three thousand years after the time of King Solomon, the quest for the characters in The Jinn, should they survive the horrors of the Jinn, is to find the Seal of Solomon and the location of the demon Sakhr’s tomb. Even with King Solomon’s ring, the grimoires show that only a descendant of the King has the power to use the ring.
Will the Jinns be stopped in time or will Sakhr be freed from his tomb to unleash his revenge on the earth?
Get your copy of The Jinn and find out.
The story begins over three thousand years ago with a Jinn—the most feared demons of Islam—stealing the magical ring that King Solomon used to control the Jinn and nature’s elements. The Jinn, Sakhr, attempted to overthrow King Solomon, but was captured. King Solomon entombed the demon Sakhr in an iron chest using his ring, the Seal of Solomon. The King ordered the tomb to be cast into an abyss in a distant land. In the Bible, there is a vague reference to a demon who was sealed in a tomb, but the seal lasts only one thousand years. It is very possible that this is a reference to the demon Sakhr. Without the tomb being resealed, the demon Sakhr could be freed and rejoin his master, Iblis the Shaitan, one of the most powerful of the Jinn. If it is true that the tomb needs to be resealed every thousand years, the Seal of Solomon—King Solomon’s magical ring—would be needed for that purpose.
Coincidentally, the pentagram on the flag of Morocco comes directly from the Seal of Solomon. Why is it that the Moroccan flag is linked to this ancient seal? Is it possible that Morocco is that distant land identified by King Solomon as the place of exile for the demon Sakhr? Based on my research, that's very likely.
Oujda, Morocco was once a bustling border city on the Algerian-Morocco trade route, but the border was closed in the 1990s as a result of the centuries-long tense relationship between Morocco and Algeria. The ancient history of Oujda, however, is far worse. Despite the mostly hardscrabble life of Oujda’s current inhabitants, it is nothing compared to the centuries of human slaughter that Oujda experienced at the hands of warring Berbers, Arabs, and Turks. Since its founding in the tenth century as an "official" city, Oujda was destroyed by war so often that it became known as Madinat al-Hairah—the City of Fear—by lucky survivors. In Oujda, near one of the large souks, there is an ancient city gate nicknamed the Gate of the Heads. Until the French Occupation of Oujda in the 1940s, it was common practice for the decapitated heads of invaders and criminals to be displayed on this gate. I actually have a picture of an old postcard which shows heads being displayed on the gate.
Throughout the book, a certain Jinn named Asmodeus seeks to ensure that the tomb of the demon Sakhr is not resealed. Asmodeus is a particularly powerful Jinn and is known in both Islam and Judaism. The characters in The Jinn seek out certain information and clues contained in old magical texts, known as grimoires. Some of these grimoires were reportedly written by King Solomon, who is also an important figure in Islam known as Sulayman.
Sidi Yahia, an oasis on the outskirts of Oujda is the site of a mosque which reportedly contains the tombs of certain important religious figures in Islam. One is Yahia Ben Younes, better known in Christianity as John the Baptist. John the Baptist was reputed to be extremely humble, eschewing the wearing of linen and instead preferring a camel-hair tunic. It seems a little incredulous to think that the tomb of John the Baptist is at this modest place, however, it has long been rumored that the Sidi Yahia mosque was built atop the ruins of an ancient church. Interestingly enough, despite having lived almost exactly one thousand years apart, there is a strong connection between King Solomon and John the Baptist. This connection is now a secret known only to the Freemasons, who revere both King Solomon and John the Baptist.
Another interesting landmark near Oujda is Le Grotte du Chameau or “Cave of the Camel.” It is a large cave in the Beni-Snassen Mountains, approximately sixty kilometers from Oujda. A massive rock formation, which has an uncanny resemblance to a camel, sits atop the cave. The cave contains many unexplored caverns and deep abysses.
Almost exactly three thousand years after the time of King Solomon, the quest for the characters in The Jinn, should they survive the horrors of the Jinn, is to find the Seal of Solomon and the location of the demon Sakhr’s tomb. Even with King Solomon’s ring, the grimoires show that only a descendant of the King has the power to use the ring.
Will the Jinns be stopped in time or will Sakhr be freed from his tomb to unleash his revenge on the earth?
Get your copy of The Jinn and find out.
Oujda and the east of morocco generally are known of having a lot of Jnoun(plural Jinn)stories.
in 89,as a child in ouarzazat,my mother told me one morning that she stand up night to pray,and found an old jnia(female)on my head,with long black nails,who wanted to pick out my eyes,after reciting some Quran sura´s,she looked angrily at her and disappeared.
I will never forget that.
lot of other stories are told in morocco,like the jinn with goats leg wich some people see in hammam,alone night or early morning...real horror stories
the stories of Aicha Qandicha also are very popular and often in discussion.
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Latif,
As-salamu alaykum. Thank you for your comment! Yes, performing Ruqya is effective against the Jinn. You mention the hammam--my book, The Jinn, has a chapter where two of the characters visit a hammam. Also, other characters must travel through a graveyard in the oasis of Sidi Yahia and they encounter Aicha Qandicha.
Stephen
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