Written by: Aber Al-Awalem

I am Ali, and I live in the village of Al-Arroubiya, a district of the city of Quneitra. I lived a quiet, normal life with my parents, like any other family, until my mother passed away when I was fifteen. Three years later, my father died, leaving me to live alone in our house. I have an older sister who is married and lives in a remote city far from us.

A few days after my father died, my uncle visited me and said, “You have to leave this house.” I asked him, “Why?” He replied, “It’s not right for you to stay here alone.” My uncle lived in the same village, not far from us, and had many children. He added, “My family is large, my house is small, and this house of my brother’s is mine. As for you, you can look for another place to live.” I replied, “This house was built by my father, it belongs to me and my sister, and you have no right to it.” He became furious and left.

After a while, he returned with his sons, carrying sticks. I was shocked and asked him, “I still don’t understand. Is this how you treat your nephew? You want to take my rights and throw me out? Where should I go?” He answered me harshly, “That’s none of my business. Get out of the house and the village now, or this will be the last day of your life.” I had no choice, so I left the house and the village, my steps lost among the valleys and mountains.

I walked for seven days, sleeping outdoors, until one day I lay down under a tree on some farmland. I woke up to the sound of an old man with a white beard looking at me in surprise and saying, “Why are you sleeping here, my son? Don’t you have a home?” I got up, dusted off my clothes, and said, “I apologize for sleeping on your land. I’m just a passerby.” He asked, “Don’t you have a family?” I replied, “My family is all dead. I have no one left.”

The man said, “Do you want to work with me? I have a farm nearby. You can look after it and graze the cattle at night.” I had no other choice, so I agreed and went with him. The farm was large, with many sheep and cows. I worked at night and rested during the day. I asked him if I could stay there during the day since I had no shelter. He took me to a small hut nearby and said, “Here you can spend the day, and at night you can work on the farm.” I thanked him profusely and promised to do my best.

I started working at sunset and finished after dawn. Days, weeks, and months passed, and I got to know some of the area's inhabitants. The region had vast lands and large farmers, each busy with his own land and livestock.

One night, while I was watching the sheep, I heard a woman crying. I quickly ran out of the sheepfold and followed the sound until I reached a house adjacent to the farm. I stopped at the front door, and the crying was getting louder. I knew the house was empty except for a watchman who lived in a small hut nearby. I had seen him three times before and used to greet him at night, but he never answered. I approached the big door and found it open. I thought the watchman might be in trouble, so I went in to see what was going on.

The house was large and dark. I walked down a long corridor until I reached a closed room from which the sound of crying was coming. I called out, “Is anyone there? Do you need help?” The crying stopped suddenly, and a heavy silence fell. I hesitated, then decided to leave. As I walked towards the door, it opened behind me. I turned to see an elderly woman wearing a black dress, only her face visible in the darkness. “We need you, my son,” she said. “Come help us.” I approached her and entered the room, closing the door.

I wasn't afraid, maybe because of the cold or exhaustion. In the room, I saw three girls looking at me and laughing. I was surprised. How could they have been crying and then suddenly laughing? I asked them, "How can I help you?" They all laughed, and my tension increased. The old woman approached me holding a clay cup of water and said, "Drink this." Her face was frightening and ugly, and I felt that she wasn't human, but a jinn, and so were the girls. I shouted, "What do you want from me?" The woman and the girls suddenly disappeared, and darkness fell.

I ran out of the room screaming for help, and in the corridor I tripped and fell. I woke up in the morning under the blazing sun, lying in the garden behind the house next to an old tree. My head was aching badly, and I felt as if I had been beaten. When I reached the door of the farm, I saw a man who was shocked when he saw me and said, “In the name of God, where did you come from?” I reassured him and recounted what had happened that night.

The man, the guard, said, “I only guard this place during the day. I can’t stay at night because of the terrifying things I see and hear.” I asked him, “Then why do you work here?” He replied, “I’m an old man, over seventy, and I have no family or anywhere else to go.” I was surprised and said, “But I saw you once at night and greeted you!” He denied it and said, “That’s impossible. This place is haunted, and I don’t come at night.” I realized that the one I had seen was a jinn.

From then on, I started playing the Quran on the radio at night while I was working. One night, I heard a noise in the sheepfold. I ran there and found a woman sitting in the middle of the sheepfold, her head covered and her clothes ragged. The sheep were scared and moving nervously. I asked her, “Who are you? What are you doing here?” She raised her head and uncovered her face, her eyes shining in the darkness, and said, “I am a passerby, hungry. Do you have anything to eat?”

I froze, but went and got bread and milk. When I returned, I couldn’t find her. I searched for her in vain. The next night, I felt very tired and feverish, so I decided to go back to the hut. But I was surprised to find the door open, even though I had closed it. I entered and found the woman sitting on an old wooden chair. I asked her, “What are you doing here?” She replied, “That’s a long story. Please, my family is after me and wants to kill me.” I asked her, “Why?” But she refused to answer.

I gave her a glass of milk, and she drank it greedily. As dawn approached, she got up and said, “I have to go.” She quickly left without closing the door. I followed her to ask where she lived, but she disappeared without a trace.

I returned to the chair I had been sitting on and looked at the milk jug. It was full as if it had never been touched! I saw the woman drinking from it with my own eyes, but the jug looked as if it had never been used. I realized then, 100%, that the woman was not human, but undoubtedly a fairy. I suddenly remembered that I had left the farm unguarded, and that dawn was approaching. I rushed to the farm and sat there until daylight. The shepherds came, and then I returned to the hut and spent the day sleeping without any strange events.

But when night fell, I went to the farm to work as usual. That night, I started hearing knocking on the large front door. Every time I went to check, I couldn't find anyone. I realized it was jinn, so I decided not to knock and not check again until morning. I spoke to one of the shepherds about these events, and he said, “Everyone here knows that these lands and farms are haunted by jinn. Don't be afraid, and try to live with it.”

At that moment, I decided to confront these jinn, most likely demons. The most powerful weapon against them was the Holy Quran. I began reading the Quran morning and night, and although I sometimes felt heavy, I persevered. Months passed without seeing anything, neither jinn nor jinn. But over time, I gradually reduced my reading. I carried a small radio that played the Quran wherever I went.

One night, while I was out on guard duty, I looked for the radio but couldn't find it. I remembered I'd forgotten it in the hut. I decided to go get it quickly. I opened the hut door, took the radio, and on my way back through the crops and trees in the darkness of the village, I felt as if something was following me. I turned around and didn't find anyone, but I heard the hut door being slammed shut. I ran to the hut, opened the door, and saw a woman with a very white face and long hair that reached the ground, standing on a wooden table. I jumped out and stepped back. I was so scared, I couldn't speak. She said to me, "Hello, Mr. Ali." I asked her, "Do you know me? Who are you?" She laughed without answering. I realized she was a genie.

I tried to seek refuge in God, but I felt as if two ice-cold hands were holding me from behind, and I couldn't speak. I fell unconscious. I woke up at dawn, my body exhausted and my legs swollen. I went to the sheepfold and found the shepherds had arrived and were surprised by my absence. I told them what had happened, and one of them said, "It seems that the jinn have taken control of you. You have been possessed."

The shepherds took the cattle out to pasture, and I spent the day sleeping in the barn, refusing to return to the hut. I began to think about my father's house, which my uncle had taken. I decided to return there to live in peace. Before sunset, the shepherds returned, brought the cattle in, and then went home. I was left alone that dark night.

As I sat in front of the barn door, I saw the big door slowly open with no one there. Suddenly, four people entered, followed by others until it was like an entire tribe of jinn. The place was filled with them, and I could hear their voices overlapping as if I were in a marketplace. I couldn't understand what they were saying; perhaps they were discussing how to kill me. Suddenly, there was silence, and I felt as if my hands and feet were free. I got up and stepped among them like motionless statues, and ran until I reached a neighboring farm.

There, I saw the night watchman, whom I knew was a jinn. He looked shocked and said, “What’s wrong? Why are you running?” I told him the farm was haunted and a tribe of jinn had attacked me. He tried to calm me down and took me into an abandoned house, sitting me in a corner. He brought me water, but he was smiling in a way that terrified me. Suddenly, we heard a noise at the farm door. He said, “They’ve come looking for you.” He took me to a room, closed the door, and said, “Stay here and don’t make a noise, I’ll take care of it.”

I stayed in the dark room thinking: Is this guard human or jinn? Is he in league with them? Suddenly, a small candle was lit in the corner of the room. I looked and saw a woman lying down. She got up startled as if she was afraid of me. I asked her: “Are you jinn?” She replied: “It doesn’t matter.” I tried to open the door to escape, but she moved quickly and stood between me and the door. She said: “Everyone is outside looking for you. Don’t put your life in danger. You are a safe guest here.”

She approached me with heavy steps and said, “Ali, don’t you want to go back to your father’s house?” I was shocked. How did she know my name and my story? “How do you know me?” I asked her. She laughed and said, “I know everything about you. I’ll offer you a deal that you’ll thank me for: I’ll take you back to your father’s house that your uncle took, and no one can get you out of it, but on one condition.” I asked her, “What’s the condition?” She said, “You marry me and obey my orders.”

I hesitated. How could a fairy marry a human? Was this a real marriage or a fantasy? She said, “What do you think?” I agreed, but I asked her, “How will I get the house back when my uncle lives in it?” She replied, “Leave that to me. Stay in this abandoned house for four days, and on the fifth day, return to your village and go to the market, not home.”

I did as you asked. I stayed in the abandoned house for five days, and on the sixth day, I returned to our village. It was market day. The people were happy to see me and said my uncle had been looking for me for five days. I went to the house my uncle had taken, but he wasn't there. The neighbors said he had returned to his old home. I went to him, and he was surprised to see me. He ran toward me, his face pale, and said, “Finally I found you! I've searched for you so much!”

“Are you looking for me now that you threw me out?” I asked him. He looked exhausted and said, “I haven’t slept in four days. The jinn set fire to the houses. I ran away the first night. I came back but found no sign of the fire. The next night, we heard frightening laughter shaking the house. The third night, terrifying creatures dressed in black, with long hands and terrifying faces, came and said to me, ‘Get out of the owner’s house, or you will know your fate.’ I left the house yesterday.” He apologized profusely.

“Okay, no problem,” I told him. I returned home after months of suffering, guarding the farm, and sleeping in the hut. Finally, I could rest.

I lived with that fairy for years without anyone knowing. My older sister would always ask me, “Why aren’t you married?” I would answer, “I haven’t found the right girl yet.” The fairy would visit me at night and leave before dawn. One night, I was at a wedding in the village. Suddenly, I felt her take over my body. I started dancing frantically, to everyone’s surprise, as I had never danced at weddings before. I fell unconscious.

I woke up to the voice of the faqih, the imam of the mosque, reciting the Quran to me. He said with a smile, “Thank God you are safe. You have been freed from the jinn in love that had been possessing you.” I felt a weight lifted from my chest. I realized that the infidel jinn doesn’t give you anything for free, and that it usually leads you astray from religion and the path of truth.