Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (15/7)

The shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked about the noble verse in which Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, he and his tribe see you from where you do not see them.”

Does this apply universally, so that no one sees them, or do some people see them while others do not? Are the jinn and devils a single kind—the offspring of Iblīs—or two kinds: his offspring and those who are not his offspring?

Shaykh al-Islām Abū al-‘Abbās Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah—may Allah have mercy on him and be pleased with him, amen—replied:

Praise be to Allah. What the Quran states is that they see human beings from where human beings do not see them. This is true, and it means that they see human beings under circumstances in which human beings do not see them. It does not mean that no human being ever sees them under any circumstances. Rather, righteous people may see them, as may those who are not righteous; but they do not see them under all circumstances. The devils are the rebellious among humankind and the jinn, and all jinn are the offspring of Iblīs. And Allah knows best.

سُئِلَ الشَّيْخُ - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ -: عَنْ قَوْله تَعَالَى {إنَّهُ يَرَاكُمْ هُوَ وَقَبِيلُهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا تَرَوْنَهُمْ} الْآيَةُ الْكَرِيمَةُ. هَلْ ذَلِكَ عَامٌّ لَا يَرَاهُمْ أَحَدٌ أَمْ يَرَاهُمْ بَعْضُ النَّاسِ دُونَ بَعْضٍ؟ وَهَلْ الْجِنُّ وَالشَّيَاطِينُ جِنْسٌ وَاحِدٌ وَلَدُ إبْلِيسَ أَمْ جِنْسَيْنِ: وَلَدُ إبْلِيسَ وَغَيْرُ وَلَدِهِ؟ . فَأَجَابَ شَيْخُ الْإِسْلَامِ أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ أَحْمَد بْنُ تَيْمِيَّة - رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَرَضِيَ عَنْهُ آمِينَ - فَقَالَ: الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، الَّذِي فِي الْقُرْآنِ أَنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَ الْإِنْسَ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَرَاهُمْ الْإِنْسُ وَهَذَا حَقٌّ يَقْتَضِي أَنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَ الْإِنْسَ فِي حَالٍ لَا يَرَاهُمْ الْإِنْسُ فِيهَا وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ أَنَّهُمْ لَا يَرَاهُمْ أَحَدٌ مِنْ الْإِنْسِ بِحَالِ؛ بَلْ قَدْ يَرَاهُمْ الصَّالِحُونَ وَغَيْرُ الصَّالِحِينَ أَيْضًا؛ لَكِنْ لَا يَرَوْنَهُمْ فِي كُلِّ حَالٍ وَالشَّيَاطِينُ هُمْ مَرَدَةُ الْإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ وَجَمِيعُ الْجِنِّ وَلَدُ إبْلِيسَ. وَاَللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ.