ABSTRACT
Jinn possession is real for Muslims and it is possible for Jinn to possess humans. The signs and symptoms may vary from individual to individual depending on the nature and type of Jinn possession and the nature of the individual. Those with Jinn-related possession appear to suffer from intense fear, psychological disorders (for example, depression, anxiety), physical sickness, hallucinations, creating animosity between individuals (couples, friends, etc.), sexual problems and causing damage to material possessions (with fire, for example), hysteria, mania, Tourette syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder. Jinn possession can manifest with a range of bizarre behaviours and unusual movements which could be interpreted as a number of different psychotic and non-psychotic disorders. It is common for health professionals to misdiagnose Jinn possession for dissociative disorders and Jinn possession with psychotic states such as schizophrenia. The symptoms of these mental health disorders may correlate with some of the characteristics of a Jinn possession, such as hearing voices, seeing things, being paranoid, doing random out of character things and having irregular mood swings. There is no certainty or clear diagnosis that an individual has been possessed by Jinn until after the Qur’an has been recited over them, so these symptoms should not be taken as definitive evidence of Jinn possession. In this chapter, a brief overview of dissociative disorders is presented, the causes of humans being possessed by Jinn are examined, and Jinn-related effects and signs and symptoms of Jinn possession are identified.
