J is for Jinn....

There's probably very few people who haven't heard of Genies and their wish-granting powers--- Aladdin and his magic lamp has made its way into children's stories and even into a few cartoon/live-action movies. Who wouldn't want their very own Genie to grant their smallest...er, largest wishes?

Jinn or Djinn or Genies are spirits that inhabit dimensions outside the visible realm of humans. Jinn is an Arabic word that literally means, "hidden from sight."

In Islamic theology, Jinn are creatures with freewill, that are made from smokeless fire by Allah.

The stories and mythologies surrounding the Jinn are as varied and contradicting as the wishes you could ask for--- some say they're immortal, some say they're mortal. Some say they grant wishes, others say they don't. They have been likened to the same class of mythical/spiritual creatures as Angels.

There are several kinds of Jinn, including shape-sifters and winged jinn whose enormous wings can reach the barriers of the heavens. They can be enslaved, though the myths say this is a long and dangerous process.

Their size is also indeterminable as they can shrink down to fit in whatever vessel you carry or can stand a hundred feet tall.....

Suffice it say, the Hollywood image of a little, blue man who appears when you rub his varnished lamp--granting you 3 wishes-- isn't even the half of what the Jinn or Genies are.....

Think Well the Wishes You Would Ask

Think well the wishes you would ask,

I know you've a few more than three,

Try hard to see the lesson here,

Before you're blinded and can not see.

Desires and wishes and wiles of the heart,

claim fast all breath and sense as they are wont,

Blame not the beast you've chained before you,

You could just turn away, but you don't.

                                                                                                        ---e.a.s. demers