Will Jinns go to Hell or Paradise? Do they pray like us and how? Why do they enter the human body?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

Allaah the Almighty created Jinns for the same purpose as man. Allaah the Almighty Says (what means): {And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.} [Quran 51:56].

Jinns are therefore charged with Sharee‘ah commands and prohibitions: whoever of them obeys, Allaah the Almighty will be pleased with him and admit him into Paradise, and whoever disobeys and rebels, Allaah the Almighty will send to Hell. Allaah the Almighty Says (what means):

Likewise, Ibn Muflih stated that Jinns are generally charged with Sharee'ah obligations: the disbelievers among them will enter Hell and the believers will enter Paradise. They will not be treated like animals which will all turn into dust, and their reward is to escape Hell.

In this regard, As-Suyooti stated: "There is no disagreement about the fact that the disbelievers among Jinns will enter Hell. However, there are different opinions about whether believers will enter Paradise and whether they will be rewarded for their good deeds or not. The sounder opinion is that held by the majority of scholars who base their evidence on the saying of Allaah the Almighty (that means): {But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens. So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?} [Quran 55:46-47] In these verses Allaah the Almighty addresses humans and Jinns and He shows His favor on them by mentioning the reward of Paradise and describing it to them. Indeed, He made them long for Paradise, which indicates that they will obtain the reward He mentioned if they believe.

Another opinion says that they will not enter Paradise and their reward is restricted to not entering Hell. A third opinion says that they will be on the Mountain of Al-‘A‘raaf." [End of quote].

To sum up, Jinns have obligations. The disobedient will enter Hell, without disagreement according to the scholars, and the obedient will enter Paradise according to the preponderant opinion.

As for the way they pray, there is no evidence in the Sharee‘ah to indicate this. The fact that Jinns are commanded to follow obligations and avoid prohibitions like humans does not mean that they are like humans in all matters. This was stated by Ibn Taymmiyah who stated that he knew of no disagreement between Muslims in this regard.

Jinns entering the bodies of humans is a fact proven in the Quran and Sunnah, and supported by real life experiences.

As for the reasons why they possess humans, there are many, the most important of which is the failure of humans to say the remembrances of Allaah the Almighty and the daily supplications. Ibn Taymiyyah explained that possession may be due to desire, love or passion for the possessed person in the same way a human loves another human. Another reason is that, and this is the most common reason, they detest a person and desire to punish him. This happens when someone harms them or when they think that someone deliberately wants to harm them, either by urinating on them, pouring hot water on them or by killing some of them, though the human may be unaware of this. Jinns are ignorant and oppressive so they may punish a person with a penalty more severe than what the person deserves. It may also happen out of play, frivolity or evil, similarly to what silly humans do.

It is well established that if a Muslim performs remembrances, as stated by the Sharee‘ah, in all his affairs, he will never be afflicted by such things unless Allaah the Almighty wills it.

Allaah Knows best.