There was a burglary at my uncle’s house and the police failed to identify the burglar. Is it permissible to seek the help of Jinn in order to identify him?

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.

The unseen is what man can neither perceive nor realize. A part of the unseen is unknown to anyone but Allaah The Almighty, for He Says (what means): {Indeed, Allaah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allaah is Knowing and Acquainted.}[Quran 31:34]

Another part of the unseen is that which can be realized through various legal means, like for instance knowing where to find a stolen object through examination and investigation. A third part of the unseen cannot be realized through ordinary means, but must be revealed through a truthful intermediary, like for instance the events of the Day of Judgment, what will happen in the grave and things that have been revealed to the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Seeking the aid of Jinn to identify the thief who stole money is impermissible because it is a kind of divination and soothsaying that is strictly forbidden in Islamic Sharee‘ah (legislation).

Some of the wives of the Prophet narrated that he warned the one who goes to a soothsayer and believes him, that his prayers will not be accepted for forty days. [Muslim]

In another Hadeeth on the authority of Abu Hurayrah the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, informed us that whoever goes to a soothsayer and believes in what he says is considered a disbeliever. [Abu Daawood] In a third Hadeeth, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told us that whoever practices divination or magic, or goes to diviners or magicians and believes them is considered a disbeliever. [Al-Bazzaar and At-Tabaraani]

Al-Baghawi Ash-Shaaf'ii mentioned that the soothsayer is the one who claims to know things through certain deductions that lead him to know where a stolen or missing object can be found. Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that a soothsayer is the same as a diviner, astrologer, and geomancer who claim to know the unseen. Allaah The Exalted Says (what means): {And there were men from mankind who sought refuge in men from the Jinn, so they [only] increased them in burden.}[Quran 72:6]

And Allaah Knows best.