The Five Types of Jinn
The Five Types of Jinn and Their Threat to Your Digital Security
Islamic belief divides sentient beings into three categories. In
order of creation, they are: the angels (malayka), the hidden ones
(jinn), and humankind (nas or banu adam). Angels are made out of light,
jinn out of fire, men out of earth (sometimes translated as mud or
clay). Angels are considered neither male nor female and have no free
will. Jinn, like humans, are gendered, and have free will. (This is why,
in Islamic thought, Satan is a jinn, not an angel; it would be
impossible for an angel to disobey the will of God.) Jinn may be
benevolent, evil, or neutral, but are generally regarded as less
trustworthy and more prone to trickery than people, even if they are
benign. In addition to the types of jinn mentioned here, there are many
lesser varieties of jinn that appear in local legends that vary from
place to place. For example, in Egypt, there are thought to be female
jinn who inhabit the canals and tributaries of the Nile and lure men to
their deaths, much like sirens, but they don’t appear elsewhere in the
Arab world.
Types of Jinn
MARID (pronounced MAA–rid)
Large and imposing, the marid are considered the most powerful tribe
of jinn. They are the classic genies of folklore, often portrayed as
barrelchested men with booming voices.
Originally sea-spirits, they are often associated with water, and
thought to take sanctuary in the open ocean. While marid are very
powerful, they are not technically minded and therefore unlikely to
infect your hard drive. However, there is at least one known case of a
marid being imprisoned in a flash drive and doing quite a lot of damage
to the operating system, attempting to free itself. Please be aware when
opening any unfamiliar attachments and if any of your
computer’s peripherals exhibit a telltale blue-gray cast, please
disconnect from your machine and take them to a qualified technician.
EFFRIT
(pronounced eff–FREET)
Intelligent and cunning, the effrit are thought to live in complex
societies similar to those of humans. They are said to prefer caves and
under ground dwellings. Though ostensibly demonic, they are portrayed
as changeable in nature, and capable of becoming pious and good. In
the Quran, King Solomon is said to have had power over a tribe of
effrit, who performed various tasks for him.
Effrit are the greatest risk for phishing scams and online
privacy violations, as they are natural schemers and also understand
human personality and social interaction the best. It is thought that
quite a few effrit amuse themselves sending Facebook messages to
attractive potential mates using the profiles of call center employees
and programmers in India, the Middle East, and the Philippines, who are
bewildered by the response. More seriously, however, some effrit have
the capability of writing code themselves, and it is thought that the
Conficker worm, which infected some fifty million computers worldwide,
may have been written by a group combining effrit and human members.
Effrit are not to be taken lightly, but they can only be guarded against
by the standard information safety protocols used with human threats—be
wary of unverified interlocutors and executable content, and if your
system slows or behaves oddly, conduct a thorough scan or contact your
IT professional.
GHOUL
(Arabic pronunciation uses a guttural gg sound somewhere
between an English G and a French R)
This tribe of jinn has traveled north and west to become a common
English- language term for “undead monster.” This is pretty close to
its original Arabic connotation; ghouls are thought to be zombie-like
jinn who haunt graveyards and prey on human flesh. They are strictly
demonic and incapable of goodness. Often portrayed as nocturnal. Given
their limited intelligence, ghouls are low risk in the information
technology world—but you really don’t want to run into one in a dark
alley.
SILA
Talented shape-shifters who are more tolerant of human society
than other tribes of jinn, sila are most often portrayed as female.
Thought to be extremely intelligent, sila are nonetheless the most
rarely seen of all the types of jinn, and appear only sporadically in
folklore. There is speculation that the term sila might be related to
seelie, a Middle English word for “a good faerie.” (This would make
sense, as sila does not appear to correspond to an Arabic root
pattern.) Sila are extremely rare, both on- and off-line, and while they
are intelligent and comfortable crossing back and forth between realms
seen and unseen/human and jinn, by their nature they do not usually set
out to harm or trick humans. Sila are, however, fond of meddling in an
attempt to help. That Livejournal community member who intervened when
you got overinvolved with that troll in the George R.R. Martin
community?
VETALA
The original vampires, vetala are semi-malevolent spirits from
ancient Indian folklore. They can possess human corpses and prevent
them from decaying, and in so doing trick human beings into believing
the vetala is an ordinary person. However, vetala can also change shape
at will. They are thought to be natural psychics, able to foretell the
future and gain insight into the past, as well as read the thoughts of
others. The most famous vetala appears in “The Vampire and King Vikram,”
a set of stories from the Baital Pachisi. Vetala are quite rare, and
while they are certainly intelligent enough to threaten your computer,
their superior mental and psychic abilities make technology somewhat
irrelevant to their needs. To the extent you are likely to encounter a
vetala online, it is likely posing brain-twisting rhetorical questions
that keep you on a messageboard well past your bedtime.
Always remember that the unseen can take on disproportionate
power —which goes for genies and online demagogues in equal measure.
If your blood pressure rises, step away from the computer and make a
cup of tea. Vetala are also extremely fond of Words With Friends—they
are excellent players and lots of fun to engage with, even if their
superior skill may prove frustrating.
Information technology specialists have been working for some time to
identify and profile the unique online habits of jinn, in order to
better protect human users. However, after the disastrous outcome of the
Tin Sari program, there is a general consensus that the likelihood of
abuse of this program to target benevolent jinn is too great a risk.
Until a better solution presents itself, surf carefully, and if you
believe your computer has been attacked by jinn, contact your IT
professional.
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