Welcome to Gaia! ::

I'm sorry that none of us addressed your question. I'm afraid these few days the guild has been rather quiet (I don't know too much about this since I'm fairly new here).


Can you please explain how you found "the theistic shaping offensive"? You see, English is not my mother tongue. So I would like you to clarify this with me.

And I would appreciate greatly if you do not use "myths" in addressing what we believe in. It would be more pleasing and respectful to us if you used "beliefs, or your beliefs". 3nodding



The djinn are generally considered as creatures that are "ghaib" or cannot be seen/sensed by normal human faculties. But we believe in the existence of djinns, based on the Qur'an:

We created many of the jinn and mankind for Hell. They have hearts they do not understand with. They have eyes they do not see with. They have ears they do not hear with. Such people are like cattle. No, they are even further astray! They are the unaware. (Surah al-A`raf, 179)

He created man (Adam) from sounding clay like the clay of pottery. And the jinns did He create from a smokeless flame of fire. (Surah Ar-Rahmaan, 15)

Here are some descriptions of djinns:



So, in response to your question about ghouls, if people have reported seeing them, perhaps they are Jinns who manipulate their own form. Wallahu'alam (Allah knows best). But no, in the Qur'an or Hadeeth there are NO mention of ghouls, or ghosts.

And I am sorry, but I am not familiar with the book you requested. And really, it is a book of fables, from what little I know about it. So it is not wise to ask for it here.

I hope what little I can share is to your satisfaction.

All the best comes from Allah, and all errors are from my weakness biggrin

Whitemagesarah, I thank you very kindly for the information and I also want you to know that I really appreciate the civility with which you address me. There are few people that I have met in my culture that appreciate manners as much as I do.
I believe that the comment that caused me to bring up "Theistic shaping" isn't one that I'm able to find right now, but if it inseparable from the idea that such beings are fictional and if this is a point of contention then perhaps it's best forgotten.
I am afraid that I cannot meet your request in regard to calling them myths. I am sorry, but I consider things to be one of the following; History, current events, and fiction. Unless there is copious evidence that certain things happened and that certain creatures existed to the point where it is commonly accepted in the scientific community, I regard all such things as myth. Please try and understand where I am coming from in this regard and I will similarly try to limit my use of the word as much as possible.
I do appreciate the offer to respect my beliefs, but I have none. The type of agnostic that I am (as it can mean several different things) is the one that simply questions the existence of a deity. As to whether or not any sort of God, god, goddess, Allah, or any deity of any name exists, I have no opinion. The only belief that one could say that I have is that if such a deity exists, then they probably didn't do most of the things that they are credited for. I guess you could say that my only belief system is science, though this is hardly faith as proof of itself is quite irrefutable and omnipresent.
Additionally, I don't mean to sound superior and when I say that I hate religion that does not mean that I hate all those who practice it.
I'll say no more about that, as I don't want to derail the thread. As I said, I will try to limit my use of the term "myth," but when it does come up please understand that it is the generally accepted scholarly term for all religious history and that I am only hear to look at histories and creatures as a scholar would.

Now, getting back to the issue, djinn, shaitan, aftreet... All of these terms are familiar to me, at least insofar as I have heard them. I have rechecked my sources and found that I have misspoke. Ghouls are related to djinn, but not necessarily djinn themselves. They were, however, invariably shape shifters.
Let me offer forth a few more terms from my source. Algol is one term that seems to be somewhat synonymous with the term "ghoul." Al-ghul is the Arab name given to a particular star of ill-omen. Another name for this star is Rhas al-Ghul (which many of us may be familiar with from the fairly recent Batman film, that which preceded Dark Knight). Are any of these familiar?
Unfortunately, my book doesn't name a religion afterall, but since all of the related creatures were from your... Tales, I thought they were likely to be part of your belief system. Sadly, they only say that they are of Arab origin and mention that there are some Jewish beliefs that relate to ghouls in some way or other, though I'm not sure if they are of Semetic origins or not.
Have you or any others any further insight?

Well, it seems that that seals it. It would seem that ghouls aren't cohesive with your religion, much less a part of it. I'll have to look further into the matter and find out precisely where their origins lie. Thanks for the information.

I'm afraid that as I said, the only thing that interested me theistically was the creature element. My feelings about religion in general are unchanged, but the courtesy that I've seen here reflects well on this particular community as a whole and you once again have my thanks and while I may not run into you again or elsewhere, I shall recall our interactions fondly.

i think i hav seen so many news about dajjal had been born~~
is it true?

Dajjal is scary... Because Dajjal has his own heaven... He will ask you to choose between his heaven and his hell... if you choose his heaven, it's as good as you choose Allah s.w.t's hell...

if you choose Dajjal's hell, does that mean it is just like you chose Allah s.w.t's Jannah?? question question