Читать книгу A Dictionary of Islam. Being a cyclopedia of the doctrines, rites, ceremonies, and customs, together with the technical and theological terms, of the Muhammadan religion онлайн

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To complete this sketch of Arabian mythology, an account must be added of several creatures generally believed to be of inferior orders of the Jinn. One of these is the G͟hūl, which is commonly regarded as a kind of Shait̤ān, or evil genii, that eats men, and is also described by some as a Jinn, or an enchanter, who assumes various forms. The G͟hūls are said to appear in the forms of various animals, and of human beings, and in many monstrous shapes; to haunt burial-grounds and other sequestered spots; to feed upon dead human bodies; and to kill and devour any human creature who has the misfortune to fall in their way; whence the term “G͟hūl” is applied to any cannibal.

An opinion quoted by a celebrated author respecting the G͟hūl is, that it is a demoniacal animal, which passes a solitary existence in the deserts, resembling both man and brute; that it appears to a person travelling alone in the night and in solitary places, and, being supposed by him to be itself a traveller, lures him out of his way. Another opinion stated by him is this: that, when the Shait̤āns attempt to hear words by stealth [from the confines of the lowest heaven], they are struck by shooting stars, and some are burnt; some falling into a sea, or rather a large river (baḥr), become converted into crocodiles; and some, falling upon the land, become G͟hūls. The same author adds the following tradition: “The G͟hūl is any Jinn that is opposed to travels, assuming various forms and appearances; and affirms that several of the Companions of the Prophet saw G͟hūls in their travels; and that ʿUmar among them saw a G͟hūl while on a journey to Syria, before Islām, and struck it with his sword.”