Jahd al-Muhtafi fi Amr al-Alam al-Mukhtafi
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Jahd al-Muhtafi fi Amr al-Alam al-Mukhtafi (Arabic: جهد المحتفي في أمر العالم المختفي, lit. 'The Striver's Exertion Regarding the Hidden Realm') is a treatise on the reality, nature, and rulings concerning the jinn and devils by the Saudi hadith scholar Marzouq bin Hiyas al-Zahrani .
Occasion of Composition
Al-Zahrani recorded that he decided to author the treatise after watching a televised interview on Al Jazeera on the night of Monday, 19 Jumada al-Ula 1423 AH . During the broadcast, a faculty member at Zarqa Private University, Jamal Abu Ghassan, denied that jinn can possess human beings, describing belief in possession as illusion and superstition, and asserted that the Sunnah must strictly be interpreted in light of the Quran without the reverse . Al-Zahrani composed the book to establish the textual proofs from revelation affirming the existence of the jinn and their potential afflictions upon humans .
Methodology and Sources
The author adhered to a methodology based strictly on scriptural evidence from the Quran and the prophetic Sunnah . In documenting hadith reports, he relied primarily on the two authentic collections of al-Bukhari and Muslim (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim), while citing other compilations with source documentation whenever necessary .
Structure and Contents
The work is organized into an introduction followed by ten thematic chapters (mabahith):
- Definition of the Jinn (ta'rif al-jinn)
- Origin of Their Creation (asl khalqihim)
- Their Forms and Shapeshifting (suwaruhum wa-tashakkuluhum)
- Their Resemblance [to humans] (mushabahatuhum)
- Their Life and Subsistence (hayatuhum wa-ma'ashuhum)
- Their Categories (aqsamuhum)
- Their Utility and Occupations (manafi'uhum wa-hirafuhum)
- Their Harms (madarruhum)
- Interacting with Them (al-ta'amul ma'ahum)
- Their Overpowering of Humans (tasallutuhum 'ala bani Adam) .
Publication
The book was published in Medina in 1425 AH (2005 CE) as the sixth title in the series Rasa'il Da'wah wa-Tawjih ("Tracts of Dawah and Guidance"), printed by Adwa' al-Muntada al-Islami press in Riyadh in a single 65-page volume . Al-Zahrani later referenced the treatise in his commentary on Sunan al-Darimi when discussing prophetic supplications against male and female devils .
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