Genie is a word often used in English for jinni (plural, jinn), a type of demon of Arabian mythology. According to Arab and Muslim tradition, the jinn are intelligent beings made of air or fire. They were created out of smokeless flame. Human beings, according to tradition, are made from clay, and angels are made from light. Although invisible, jinn could appear as either human beings or animals. They could be either good or bad. Jinn appear in many Eastern fables. They also appear in the Arabian Nights, a collection of folk tales. In one story, Aladdin’s jinni comes to help him whenever he rubs a magic lamp (see Aladdin).
See also Jinni.
