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139 Appendix The Different Classes of the Jinn 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 preposterous descriptions of many others it claims belong to the jinn’s species. Allegedly, the jinn’s realm is filled with numerous eerie and alarming beings. The Ghoul Its remarkable shape shifting characterizes this second category of jinn. In fact, the Arabic word ghoul is defined as “every supernatural creature that is capable of taking on infinite forms.”1 It is used in poetic language as “a general synonym for anything perpetually changing.”2 The pagan Arabs of pre-Islamic period thought the act of shape shifting is an indication that ghouls want to kill. It is mostly in the darkness of the night and in the desert, far from civilization, in the bottomless human fear, that ghouls manifest themselves, luring and seducing their victims by constant metamorphosis until they bring madness or death upon them. This has given rise to the idea of the ghoul being associated with inevitable destruction.3 The term ghoul comes in fact from an Arabic root (gh-w-l) that means “to annihilate” or “to assault.” The phrase, “A ghoul carried him off” is sometimes used in Arabic metaphorically to refer to death. Arab poets before Islam gave free reign to their imaginations in their descriptions of ghouls. The pre-Islamic poet of the sixth century ‘Ubayd ibn Ayyub, for example, wrote of his various encounters with ghouls.4 He narrated a story about a ghoulah (a female ghoul) who was drawn to the fire he had kindled, and assaulted him one night in the desert. He managed, however, to behead her. Similar stories can be found in odes of pre-Islamic poets such as Ka‘b ibn Zuhayr and Imru’ al-Qays (d. 540), who penned images such as “arrows sharp as the canine teeth of a ghoul.” The poet ‘Antarah ibn Shaddad al-‘Absi (d. 615), portrayed the suddenly appearing and disappearing nature of the ghoul in the 140 | Appendix following verse: “Like the flickering flame of a torch, the ghoul / sometimes appears and sometimes disappears in my hands.”5 The best known poems about ghouls, however, are undoubtedly those of Thabit ibn ‘Amir al-Fahmi, known as Ta’abbata Sharran (d. 540), which literally means “he carried evil under his arm.” This refers to a ghoulah he contended to have encountered in the night and killed, carrying her body with him under his arm to show his people the following morning .6 Ta’abbata Sharran wrote that he met the ghoulah one night while he was traveling in the desert, hunted her down, and finally killed her without even getting a good look at her. Then he recited the following lines: I spent the night bearing down on top of her, Waiting for morning to see what I had caught. Then I found two eyes in an ugly head, Similar to the head of a cat, but with a forked tongue.7 Poetswerenottheonlyoneswhowouldseemtohaveencounteredghouls.Well-known pre-Islamic figures also appear to have found themselves face to face with ghouls. Some of the companions of the Prophet maintain ‘Umar [the second caliph of Islam] encountered before Islam a ghoul one day on his way to Damascus, and killed it with his sword.8 Many extravagant legends circulated in Medieval Islam about this kind of jinn, especially regarding its long life span and its supernatural resistance to death. It was believed the ghoul dies with one blow, but can come back to life if it is struck a second time. After that it remains alive forever, even if it is wielded a deathblow a thousand times over.9 The most intriguing stories are those that speak of ghouls’ conversion to Islam. As with other classes of jinn, ghouls were invited to convert to Islam, seem to have obeyed the call, and joined the new religion. The story of “The King’s Son and the Ogress” from The Nights tells about a young prince who encountered a ghoulah in the forest, and how she attempted to seduce him. The young prince prayed to God for help. At first, the ghoulah mocked him for worshiping God and sarcastically asked him: “Aid thyself against him with thy father’s monies and treasures. He whom I fear will not be satisfied with wealth. Ye hold that ye have in Heaven a God who seeth...

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