[1] Like humans, they are accountable for their deeds and can be either believers (Muslims) or unbelievers (kafir), depending on whether they accept God's guidance.

[5] Although usually invisible, jinn are supposed to be composed of thin and subtle bodies (Arabic: أَجْسَام, romanized: ajsām), and can change at will.

[8] Jinn is properly treated as a plural (however in Classical Arabic, may also appear as jānn, جَانّ), with the singular being jinnī (جِنِّيّ),[b] which the English word "genie" is derived from.

[3](p25) Supporters argue that both Roman genii as well as Arabian jinn are considered to be lesser deities inhabiting local sanctuaries, trees or springs, and persons or families.

[10] Aramaic ginnaya (Classical Syriac: ܓܢܝܐ) with the meaning of 'tutelary deity'[3](p24) or 'guardian' are attributed to similar functions and are another possible origin of the term jinn.

Another suggestion holds that the word is of Persian origin and appeared in the form of the Avestic Jaini, a wicked (female) spirit.

[11][12] Wensick advocates a purely Arabic origin of the term, asserting that according to the common Semitic view psychic and bodily affections are caused by spirits.

[17] Though not a precise fit, descriptive analogies that have been used for these beings in Western thought include demon, spirit, "sprite", and fairy, depending on source.

[22][21](p54) Julius Wellhausen observed that jinn were often thought to "inhabit or haunt desolate, dark and dingy places in the desert".

[25] Julius Wellhausen likewise agrees that in pre-Islamic Arabia it was assumed there are at least some friendly and helpful beings among the jinn.

[26][27](p 424) Despite being invisible, jinn are considered to have bodies (ajsām), as described by Zakariya al-Qazwini, they are among animals, along with humans, burdened beasts (like horses), cattle, wildebeests, birds, and reptiles.

[3](p164)[30] Although the power of jinn usually exceed those of humans, it is conceivable a man could kill a jinni in single combat, but they are feared for attacking without being seen.

[22][20](pp 1–10) The Arabian poet al-A'sha (d. after 3/625) is said to have gotten his inspiration for his poetry by a friend named Misḥal ("daʿawtu khalīlī Misḥalan") and further calls him his jinni-brother ("akhī ʾl-jinnī").

According to one famous Arabian story, the jinni Manzur fell in love with a human woman called Habbah.

[39] Medieval and modern scholars have studied the consequences implied by their existence,[40] legal status, the possible relations between them and mankind, especially in questions of marriage and property.

In contrast, the term jinn refers to foreign, invisible, or unknown anthropomorphic beings, which are nonetheless subject to the same considerations as the former.

This is considered to be part of the doctrines (aqidah) of the "people of the Sunnah" (ahl as-sunnah wal-jammah'a) in the tradition of Ash'ari.

[60] In his exegesis book of the Quran, Al-Kashshaaf, Zamakhshari discusses his rejection of the possibility that jinn can harm or possess humans.

Because of their similarities to humans, they function neither as a model to follow (like angels) nor tempters of the lower self (like Satan) and mostly feature in poetic anecdotes.

Some Ḥadīths, though considered fabricated (mawḍūʻ) by some muhaddith (hadith scholars), pushed the necessity for an explanation:[66]"The Hour will come when the children of jinn will become many among you.

[27] The jinn (also known as: Albanian: Xhindi, Bosnian: Džin, Turkish: Cin) were adopted by later Islamic culture, since the Quran affirms their existence.

[69] Islam allowed to integrate local beliefs about spirits and deities from Iran, Africa, Turkey and India, into a monotheistic framework without demonizing them.

[76][77] Mediha Esenel's studies in 1940 Anatolia mentions the belief that spiritually gifted people can act as intermediaries between humans and jinn.

[79][83][20](p149) Angered or straightforwardly evil mannered jinn, could hurt people by inflicting physical damage, causing illness, or taking control over a human's body.

[93] Though discouraged by some teachings of modern Islam, cultural beliefs about jinn remain popular among Muslim societies and their understanding of cosmology and anthropology.

[111] Contrary to the assumption that higher education is proportional to disenchantment, belief in jinn-possession may remain intact even after medical graduation.

[124](p141–142) According to al-Jāḥiẓ, ibn Hilāl is said to have the power to summon demons and jinn[124](p142) and further claimed to have married a daughter of Satan and begotten a child.

Al-Ṭabasī, who was considered a reliable muḥadīth (scholar of ḥadīth) and pious ascetic, wrote an extensive treatise (al-Shāmil fī al-baḥr al-kāmil) on subjugating demons and jinn.

[120] It contains artistic depictions of several supernatural beings (demons, jinn, the evil eye, fever (Huma, Arabic: حمى), devils, lilith, etc.).

[131] Jinn have also been compared to preternatural beings called gny' in inscriptions from Palmyra[132] as well as broader late antique demonologies.