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Kinds of jinn

أنواع الجن

Lexica and jurists sorted the jinn into kinds — marid, ifrit, ghul, si'lat, hallas — each with its dwelling and temperament: the marid the strongest, the ifrit of Solomon's hoopoe story al-Naml 39, and the ghul that haunts lonely places as in Umar's pre-Islamic encounter 1 2.

Depth

At a glance

Region
Global / Diaspora

Creed

In the Qur'an

The Qur'an does not sort the jinn into kinds, but mentions them collectively in many places, and names the 'ifrit' in Solomon's hoopoe story when an ifrit of the jinn told him 'I will bring it to you before you rise from your place' al-Naml 39.

In hadith and the Prophet's biography

Chroniclers and jurists listed kinds of jinn: the marid the strongest, the ifrit in old reports, the ghul that haunts lonely places, and the si'lat and hallas among their tribes; each kind was given a dwelling and temperament 1 2.

Among commentators and jurists

Jurists agree the jinn are accountable like humans, among them Muslim and disbeliever, and mention the etiquette of their dwellings in the books of fiqh 2.

Notes

The classification is largely literary and scholarly; it does not mean the Qur'an fixed these names — they come from books of lore, language and law 1.

Connections

Explore the connections

Related to
The jinn in Solomon's court· The jinn· The ghul
Mentioned in
Qur'an 27:39· Qur'an 37:47· Qur'an 37:7

People and things also explored

The jinn· The jinn in Solomon's court· The Friday hour: every creature prostrates save jinn and humans· An ifrit of the jinn seeks the Prophet on the Night Journey· The delegation of the jinn to the Prophet· Ka'b al-Ahbar warns Umar against going out to Iraq· The lone rider is a shaytan, two riders two shaytans, three a riding party· A woman touched by jinn healed by ruqya

Sources

  1. Muruj al-Dhahab — al-Masʼudi
  2. al-Mawsu'a al-Fiqhiyya al-Kuwaitiyya, Noor-Book copy (file named v3)
  • Sahih Muslim
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Kinds of jinn”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/jinn-anwa/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-10.

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Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

The jinn

The jinn in Islamic conception are a hidden, accountable creation; Ibn Kathir reports they inhabited the earth before mankind and that among them are disbelievers and believers. The Encyclopaedia of Islam describes them as intelligent beings of vapour or flame, made from smokeless fire and capable of salvation, and treats them under three heads: pre-Islamic Arabia, official Islam and folklore, with Turkish, Indian and Indonesian material.