In Middle Eastern and Islamic lore, the jinn are associated with dreams. As subtle, invisible creatures they were treated as a separate race of beings and as a type of spirit-life.

A thread on jinn and dreams-

Jinn were said to have a special capacity to psychically influence humans through whisperings. These could fill the mind of people with doubt, fear, and lust

They could also sway the dreams of humans.

Some jinn like Kabus were described as a type of winged shadow which stalks humans at nighttime.

Slipping in through cracks, he perches on your chest causing paralysis as his icy fingers seep into the mind inducing nightmares and terror.

Meanwhile Qarinah, a jinn queen, uses her sexuality to influence dreams.

Appearing before the unsuspecting she penetrates the mind with lust, causing wet dreams, and draining her victims of their vitality.

Qarinah as a type of succubus, draws heavily from older Jewish lore on Lilith.

Qarinah is also linked to the legends of King Solomon.

The qareen, a jinn-companion each of us has, is said to cause angry dreams and to try to lead people astray or into temptation through dreams.

Jinn who fell in love with humans would visit their paramours in their sleep, arranging dreamy trysts in a realm of mist.

As subtle creatures, the jinn were connected to the hidden realms and thus one could meet them in dreams.

There are charms and invocations which can be used to arrange dream meet ups. Such meetings were used for the purposes of knowledge, to enter pacts, or for sex.

Jinn dreams were generally described as disruptive and having a deleterious effect on health.

Various remedies were used to treat them.

One could place a cup of water near the bedside to cool the hot influence of the fiery jinn.

Recitation of the Qur’an is also common with Surah Naas, Falaq, and Ayatul Kursi said before bed-time.

Traditional healers also use various herbal baths to remove jinn influence and craft talismans to be worn on the body during sleep

Detecting the influence of jinn in dreams is tricky.

Sudden temperature changes, uncharacteristic visions, and phantom smells were all generally seen as markers of their presence.

Sages interpreted jinn in dreams as having special meanings.

Ibn Serin advised if you see yourself turning into a jinn it means you’ve begun to believe your own lies, or will develop bad qualities.

If you do battle with a jinn in your dreams it means you are righteous.

If you see a jinn enter your house in a dream it means thieves are coming, and if you meet a jinn who appears pious then you will gain knowledge and become a leader.

The jinn could also be deliberately invoked to enter a person’s dreams.

If someone breaks an oath or promise, the offended party could take it up with the jinn who will then enter the dreams of the person and harass them until they make good their promise.

In turn jinn familiars could teach a mage how to enter the dreams of others in order to influence them.

The jinn kings of Mercury and the Moon were said to be skilled in dream magic.

The jinn queen Bidukh could also teach one to influence dreams, but you had to first enter into a pact with her.

When she appears in the dreams of humans, she usually is seen standing near a shoreline

Other jinn prefer taking the form of talking animals when they appear in dreams.

A talking cat or talking dog is most common.

The relationship between jinn and dreams sits as the intersection of mysticism, magic, and early medicine.

The treatment of disturbed sleep and the noting of significant dreams were part of a body of medieval psychoanalytic and mental health practices

Jinn and dreams are also deeply connected with communion with spiritual life, with invisible forces that exist alongside humans

Whether deemed disruptive or auspicious it was a reminder for many Muslim thinkers that we are not alone.

I'm covering jinn-human love, relationships, and sex more in depth in my latest podcast episode on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headonhistory 

We'll continue to explore the jinn in future threads