Likewise, once these marvels were corroborated by truthful reports, their causes were investigated. Exactly the same must be said about every matter whose existence others have established through eyewitness testimony and sound narration. Whoever has personally seen the jinn—living, speaking beings distinct from humankind—or whose certainty about them rests on reliable reports, or who has reached that conviction through decisive proofs, as Allah grants to whom He wills, knows with certainty that the jinn are not merely psychic forces. He also understands that some wonders arise from the deeds and communications of the jinn.

This fact is acknowledged by all peoples—Arabs, Turks, Indians, and others—and the recurrent reports transmitted among nations about soothsayers are beyond counting. In our own time we have encountered individuals whom the jinn carry aloft through the air; they steal for them various kinds of food—sweets and the like—bring it to them, and inform them of matters hidden from them. The instances are so numerous that describing them in detail would unduly prolong this discussion.

As for the angels, their affair is higher and greater still; reports concerning them are mutawātir among the People of the Scriptures, and their effects in the world are known by direct sight and observation. Therefore, for anyone after all this to claim that miracles, saintly wonders (karāmāt), and sorcery are nothing but psychic powers is the starkest falsehood. Much sorcery is in fact carried out with the aid of devils, as the Exalted says:

“They followed what the devils used to recite during the reign of Solomon. Solomon did not disbelieve, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people sorcery—and what had been sent down to the two angels in Babylon, Hārūt and Mārūt. Yet the two taught no one until they had said, ‘We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve.’” (to the end of the verse).