Spirit possession and exorcism in Islam

In Islam, the belief that spiritual entities—particularly, jinn—can possess a person, (or a thing or location),^[1] is widespread; as is the belief that the jinn and devils can be expelled from the possessed person (or thing/location) through exorcism. This practice is called al-'azm^[2]^: 98 or ruqya (Arabic: رقية, romanized: ruqya, spell, charm, magic, incantation),^[3] and exorcists are called raqi.

Belief in the supernatural—witchcraft, sorcery, magic, ghosts, and demons—in the Muslim world is not marginalized as eccentric or a product of ignorance, but is prevalent among all social classes.^{[citation needed]} Belief in the supernatural creatures known as Jinn is both an integral part of Islamic belief,^[4] and a common explanations in society "for evil, illness, health, wealth, and position in society as well as all mundane and inexplicable phenomena in between".^{[citation needed]} Jinn are thought to be able to enter and possess people, with evil jinn causing various maladies in the humans they possess.^{[citation needed]}

^ Jacobs, Louis (1999). "Exorcism". A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. doi:10.1093/acref/9780192800886.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-280088-6.
^ Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis.
^ Wehr, Hans. Dictionary of Arabic (PDF). p. 302. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
^ Amira El-Zein, Islam, Arabs and the Intelligent World of the Jinn (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2009), p. x.

[1] Jacobs, Louis (1999). "Exorcism". A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. doi:10.1093/acref/9780192800886.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-280088-6.

[MagicAndDivination-2021-2] Magic and Divination in Early Islam. (2021). Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis.

[Wehr-302-3] Wehr, Hans. Dictionary of Arabic (PDF). p. 302. Retrieved 8 March 2024.

[4] Amira El-Zein, Islam, Arabs and the Intelligent World of the Jinn (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2009), p. x.

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