Saturday, May 18, 2013

THE JINN THEORY

Throughout various ancient cultures, people believed that magical non-human spirits came to Earth as messengers, prophets, or wish grantors. Some believed these messengers were angels from heaven; some believed that the genie was both a helpful and a malevolent possessor of magic. In the Aladdin tales, when a person asked for their three wishes, the grant would be a literal or twisted version of the words used - - - resulting in unintended consequences and grief to the "lucky" person who found the genie.

The genie would grant wishes once he was "released" or "escaped" the confines of his prison. Only higher magic could keep a genie in his place.

The Prophet Muhammad reportedly divided jinn into three classes: those who have wings and fly in the air, those who resemble snakes and dogs, and those who travel about ceaselessly.

There were many mysterious things on the island. One mystery was the crying Hurley bird so that matches "wings and fly in the air" jinn;  Vincent is a dog who happens to arrive just as something (usually bad) happens; and the smoke forms of Smokey that "travel about ceaselessly" on the island like a prisoner trapped in a cage.

The island could be the lamp trapping the smoke monster (as Desmond called it a snow globe).

However, the island may provide other "containers" for a genie. Many people assumed that the ash ring around Jacob's cabin was to keep the smoke monster out. However, what if it was the opposite? It was meant to keep Jacob locked away.

Jacob was always inside the Cabin, like he couldn't get out.
Jacob is a powerful person, but seems to be a little devilish.
The Others are so scared about him because since he is a Genie, he can do whatever he wants to to them, so his followers actually fear him.
Jacob could grant certain wishes to a person (like Richard's immortality).
He can also heal people from mortal diseases, like cancer or paralysis.
He could get them back into the illness if he wanted to grant other people their wish or hope (such as Juliet wanting to leave the island but the only way that could happen is if Ben would die in surgery.)
It was not the Island that healed people, but Jacob.
Since Jacob spied on everyone he brought to the island, he had all their memories, wishes, desires.
He could use that information to control and manipulate people.

While some believe that the gods created genii just the same as human beings, others believe that they actually predated mankind. The island has been around for a long, long time and there seem to be beings that can live longer than the usual number of years.

So what are the basic properties of a genie?

In Islam, it is believed that there are three main creations. The first being Angels, who never commit sins and never disobey God. The second being human beings who are given freewill and are accountable for their choice in life. By the end of the day, only those who follow the righteous path will go to paradise. Lastly, you have the jinns. They are very much like human beings except from the fact that they cannot be seen. They are given freewill and choose their religion. Like human beings, they will be judged according to the lives they have led when Judgement Day arrives. 

There is disagreement over whether these creatures are a force of good or evil. Both Jacob and MIB play off the black v. white theme (which we interpret as good v. evil.). But recall, Jacob has allowed most of the people he brought to the island to be killed, injured or maimed.

There is a  belief that jinn are angry spirits born from smokeless fire whereas man was born of the earth itself.  Both Jacob and MIB were prone to spats of quick anger. It appeared that in their ghost forms they would taunt each other. The Dharma station people used the term Cerebus to describe the the smoke monster because its actions always seems angry or in a rage.

Just like man, however, the jinn were given free will. However, as man - - beginning with Adam - - struggled to bring out the best in his nature, the jinn preferred to give in to the dark side.  Some believe that the character of Satan describes a jinn - -  a powerful being who used to work for good but is now tasked to punish or manipulate man for a better purpose. Everyone on the island and major players off island are obsessed with the idea of free will and choice. A jinn cannot make you do something against your will, but a jinn can influence a person to make that decision.

Jinn live in a realm between earth and heaven. Their dimension makes them somewhat separate and distinct from the normal human realm which is an apt description of the Island. The root meaning of the Arabic word for genie translates into"hidden from sight."  Jacob could only be seen by a few select people. But he could see all humans, but humans could not see him.

Ancient tales state that god provided protection for unsuspecting humans in the form of a prayer that asks for refuge from the whisperings of the jinn. More than that, however, having a strong religious faith is also necessary to subvert the jinn's ability to influence humans. The constant missions the survivors were tasked with were means to break down their personal beliefs so that they could be more easily influenced by the jinn, whether it be Jacob and/or MIB. In the theme debate between science and faith, it is faith can protect people from the jinn.

There is also a belief that some humands can call forth a jinn to do their bidding. When Keamy attacks the barracks and kills Alex, Ben summons with water the smoke monster. (Later he would say that the smoke monster summoned him.) But the result was that Ben got his wish - - - instant violent revenge against Keamy's men.

It is also said that jinn could not reproduce. If jinns cannot breed with human beings, although there are many indications that they have wanted and tried to do just that in order to gain more permanent residence inside the earthly realm. This may explain why children could not be born on the island.

Jinns were only created to serve and praise god. So at one time there were considered "good guys," but lost their way while on earth. Jinn can make anything happen, travel in the blink of an eye and shape shift into any form. This could explain the island time skips, the ghosts of past memories roaming the island for the characters to see, and why some people (like Patchy) apparently died several times on the island.

However, it is believed that after shape shifting, jinns will have to abide to the laws of their physical form, which means that they will now be visible to human eyes. This may not be a good thing, as this would make them more vulnerable. It is believe that if the animal the jinn shape shifted into is killed, than the jinn too will die. The jinn can be killed with a gunshot or wounded with a knife. LOST was inconsistent in how Jacob and MIB met their demise. Jacob was stabbed then burned to ash, but later reformed to speak to the candidates before a separate (unexplained) fire would burn out. MIB in Flocke's form was shot but he did not die. It was only after Jacob's apparent demise and the stone cork reset of the island did MIB apparently die from Kate's gunshot wound and fall. But we do not know for certain whether these deaths were true, or an illusion to fulfill the final wishes of the main characters.

One could try to go back and see if any of the main characters were granted "three wishes" in the Americanized version of the genie tale.



One could argue that Locke made three wishes that the Island granted him:

- make me walk again
- give my father the punishment he deserves
- make me live again



Except, one could also argue that Jacob was the person who created all that pain and sadness in Locke. Jacob sent Richard to visit Locke as a newborn and as a young child. Jacob may have influenced Cooper to abandon his family, causing Locke to be raised in foster homes. Jacob may have had his hand in causing Locke to become paralyzed and so distraught to become a "viable" candidate (brain washed) to take over the Island guardian duties.


The jinn theory is like any other LOST fan theory. It has its good points to help explain the continuity errors and huge story line lapses. But it has its flaws as well because it would seem to be a massive white wash of what fans were led to believe what the story was truly about in Season 1.