The Muslim Supernatural
Recently, Netflix released the supernatural Indian series “Ghoul”. Tackling the tricky subject of nationalism and state-sponsored oppression of minorities, the series very seamlessly blended supernatural elements from Arabic mythology in its narrative. Ghoul, the title, refers to a pre-Islamic demon or monster. The monster is believed to be a fiendish creature that dwells in cemeteries and preys upon the corpses. The series portrayed the ghoul as an undead character that kills someone and takes her or his shape. The lead characters call the ghoul by trading their blood with it, thereby inviting them to come and take their shape and fulfilling something they want.
While Muslim cultures across the world end up adopting some small parts of traditional supernatural folklore due to regional influences, there is a part of the supernatural that Islam itself embraces. Please note that by virtue of accepting these things, the things cease to be supernatural as per Islamic belief. I am still going ahead and calling them supernatural because of their perception outside the Islamic world.
The most popular and mystifying of the Islamic supernatural are the jinns — they are considered creatures made of smokeless fire. In Islamic creationism, Allaah has created creatures out of mud or fire. While things humans can perceive — themselves — are made of mud, there are creatures like angels and jinns that are created of a form of fire. The jinns are considered much stronger and much faster. They are also believed to possess human beings. While jinns possessing powers that can be considered supernatural seem to fit with Islamic beliefs, the modern conception of them living in bottles and granting wishes is due to the intermingling of cultures in the lands spread.
Similarly, like jinns, we also believe in angels. Angels are created like jinns but they cannot disobey Allaah. Thus, whereas humans and jinns have free will and their acts will be judged and they will go to heaven or hell, the same is not true for angels. Some angels have very specific purposes and are generally seen as being instrumental in carrying out God's will on earth.
Apart from angels and jinns, there are other elements of Islamic belief too that might appear supernatural to many people. These are stories mentioned in the Quran and Hadith, many of them present in the Bible as well. Perhaps, we can narrate them on this platform some day.
