Thread by @aaolomi

The djinn are said to be an invisible race living alongside humankind. While some inhabit our cities & even our homes, stories also tell of legendary lands & remote locations where they reside.

A thread on the realms and kingdoms of djinn in Middle Eastern and Islamic folklore

Mountains and caves are said to be regular haunts for the djinn. In particularly the legendary Mount Qaf.

Believed to be a mountain at the edge of the world, it is the home of many djinn kingdoms and mythic creatures

The mighty Roc lives on Mount Qaf while the Simurgh has its nest on its crags.

The djinn monarchs Malik Gatshan and Shahpal bin Shahrukh both host their court on Mount Qaf and the mythic mountain is said to be home to countless tribes of djinn

Some have associated Mount Qaf with the Caucasus Mountains but other descriptions place it as a range that encircles the edges of the earth, fashioned of glistening emerald

So bright is the emerald that its glint tints the sky

The idea of a distant mountain range also appear in Islamic eschatology as the barrier that holds back the apocalyptic horde of Yajuj and Majuj

Mount Qaf is occasionally associated with Paristan, home of the Pari—fairy-like creatures from Persian mythology viewed as semi-angelic or as goodly djinn.

Other times Paristan is a separate land. There is also a South Asian/ Himalayan village named after this land of fairies

The djinn are also said to live on islands, particularly those found in the Indian Ocean and China sea

One such island is WaqWaq, rich and abundant in gold. It is said only djinn and women reside on the island which is ruled by a queen. On it grows a mighty tree

And upon this tree grows babies who mature and they fall as full grown adults with a cry sounding like “wak wak.”

This is how the islands’ inhabitants reproduce

In other tellings the tree births men and women alike

Another island is the home of the djinn king, Sakhr upon which is a great apple tree and the giant, Sharahiya, guardian of the tree.

On a different island and it’s cave one can find the Queen of Serpents, whose body is that of a snake but face of a beautiful woman

On the Island of Zaneh, winged djinn of multiple colors make their home. Some of them human-looking with wings and others more bestial

Colors aren’t just used to depict djinn visually but also used to describe their kingdoms

The red djinn reside in a palace of copper ruled over by their martial king, Al Ahmar

The blue djinn live in a vast city made of carnelian, brass, and gold, ruled over by Barqan

The green kingdom of djinn live in a palace made of emerald and decorated with bronze and copper. They are ruled over by Zawba

The kingdom of the black djinn is said to reside among the clouds as they have mighty wings that let them fly. Their palace is made of obsidian & gold

The colored kingdoms of the djinn are also associated with the djinn kings of the days of the week

The djinn also make their home in ruins and desolate places. The Quran references Iram with its Pillars, a lost city of legend. In folklore it gains a reputation as the place where djinn make their home now

They also make their home in historic ruins visited by pilgrims

Anand Vivek Taneja writes, in India the ruined Tughlaq fortress, Feroz Shah Kolta is believed to be the home of saint-like djinn who are petitioned by locals to intercede in various matters

While the Berber village of Aroumd is home to a shrine of the djinn, Chamharouch

Flags decorate his shrine while supplicants make sacrifices to him in the hopes that he will work miracles.

Among the Berber near Meknes, wells are the abode of the djinn mistress, Mimouna

In Mecca, there is the Masjid al Jinn, a mosque built on the spot where the djinn reputedly gathered to hear Prophet Muhammad recite the Quran and converted to Islam

Additionally we find natural formations as home of the djinn

The Bab el Mandeb, a strait in the Red Sea known as the Gate of Tears is said to have been been hewn by an ancient king and now is the home of tumultuous marids and ifrits

In Iran the great sand dunes of Rig e Jenn is home to countless djinn who lead travelers astray

Similarly the red dunes of Egypt are home to Ifrit who appear as sudden sandstorms and twisters of dust

There’s a claim that so ferocious were the ifrits of Egypt that Napoleon warned his colonial forces to be wary of the desert and its guardians

Finally whole countries are said to be haunted by djinn. Oman, Yemen, & Afghanistan are all home to vast scores of djinn

In Yemen, trickster djinn govern the water flow of Wadi Daw’an, while other djinn forged the gates of Aden under King Solomon’s orders for the Queen of Sheba

In the Red Sea, Kudummul is a small volcanic island formed from the petrified body of three giant djinn

In Afghanistan the mountains and caves are believed to be the home of many djinn and beasts. Some of the mountains are said to be the petrified bodies of mighty dragons

Other legends say the original inhabitants of Afghanistan’s mountains were djinn and pari, long before humans lived there.

One must take extra care not to disturb the mountains and ruins of Afghanistan lest you provoke the ire of the djinn

While many of these stories speak of a mix of legendary lands and real places, there’s another theory that states djinn live in a mist-like mirror world and cross over at certain times and places