the prophets, righteous people, angels, and others of whom the worshipper thinks well. But if he is someone who does not regard worshipping the jinn as forbidden, they tell him that they are jinn.

A devil appearing to him in human form may ask him to prostrate before it, engage in an illicit sexual act with it, eat carrion and drink wine, or offer carrion to them. Most of these people do not realize this. Rather, they imagine that those addressing them are either angels or men from among the jinn, whom they call “men of the unseen.” They believe that these men of the unseen are allies of Allah hidden from people's sight. Yet they are jinn who have assumed human forms or have been seen in nonhuman forms. Allah Most High says:

“And there were men among mankind who sought refuge with men among the jinn, but they increased them in transgression.”

Whenever someone stopped in a valley whose inhabitants he feared, he would say, “I seek refuge with the chief of this valley from its foolish ones.” Human beings thus sought refuge with the jinn, which became a cause of the jinn's transgression. They would say, “Human beings seek refuge with us!”

The same applies to incantations and foreign-language conjurations: they contain the names of men among the jinn who are invoked and called upon for help, and who are adjured by those whom they revere. Because of this, the devils obey those using these formulas in certain matters.

This is a form of magic and associating partners with Allah. Allah Most High says:

“They followed what the devils recited during Solomon's reign. Solomon did not disbelieve, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and what was sent down to the two angels at Babylon, Hārūt and Mārūt. The two would not teach anyone without first saying, ‘We are only a trial, so do not disbelieve.’ Yet people learned from them that by which they caused separation between a man and his wife. But they could harm no one by it except with Allah's permission. And they learn what harms them and does not