This, then, is what the Shaykh meant when he said that Allah “created them for it and commanded them to do it.” He brought the two ideas together in his words: “And with that Allah commanded all people and created them for it,” just as the Exalted One says: “I did not create the jinn and humankind except that they worship Me” (51:56).

His saying, exalted be He, “I did not create the jinn and humankind…” makes it clear that Allah alone is the Creator, the One who brought everything into existence—among them the jinn and mankind. He endowed both with intellects and charged them to worship Him alone, without partner. He singled them out for this command because He granted them minds and the ability to discern benefit from harm and truth from falsehood. Furthermore, He created all things for their welfare and benefit, as He says: “He has subjected to you everything that is in the heavens and everything that is on earth, all of it, as a favor from Him” (45:13). Everything has been placed at the service of the children of Adam so that they might use it to fulfill the purpose for which they were created—namely, the worship of Allah. “I did not create the jinn and humankind except that they worship Me.”

The jinn are a realm of the unseen; we do not see them, yet they are commanded to worship and forbidden to commit shirk or any act of disobedience just as the children of Adam are, even though they differ from humans in their created form. In terms of commands and prohibitions, however, they are like the children of Adam—both commanded and forbidden. The jinn are a realm of the unseen; we do not see them, but they