Qareen
Also called Qarīn.
In Arabian and Islamic tradition, this jinn spirit-double is said to be born paired with every human being. It is defined by its intimate, lifelong bond to its human counterpart, whispering temptation while remaining invisible to ordinary sight.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Islamic mythologyArabian folklore
- Region
- Arabia (place of origin)
- Kind
- Arabian jinn
- Trait family
- The Song-Binders
Near this figure
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Made of smokeless fire
why
beings the Quran describes as created from smokeless fire
- Born paired with every human
why
In Arabian and Islamic tradition, this jinn spirit-double is said to be born paired with every human being.
- Shadow self-inner double
why
In some tellings the Qareen is described as a shadow-self or an inner double, a spirit that knows its human as intimately as the human knows themselves, since it has been present since the moment of birth.
Behaviour
- Resistible through piety and prayer
why
Hadith accounts, including reports attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, describe every person as having a jinn companion charged with inciting them toward wrongdoing, though the same accounts note that a Qareen can be overcome or made to submit through piety and remembrance of God (dhikr), so its influence is regarded as resistible rather than absolute.
Utility powers
- Emotional manipulation
why
The Qareen's defining power is whispering, waswasa in Arabic, a term used in the Quran for the subtle suggestion of evil or doubt into a person's heart and mind.