Jinn (genies) are nonhuman creatures in Islamic cosmology who were often enslaved for their magic. The existence of jinn was not only outlined in the Qur’an, but also in fiqh (Islamic legalistic) manuals that included guidelines on lawfully interacting with these creates, including tracts on enslaving, marrying, praying with, and even having a child with a jinn parent. These same fiqh manuals would have had guidelines delineated for all other aspects of life: including proper prayers, permissible sexual relations, and preferred means of food preparation. They would have also had extensive sections on the enslaving and manumitting of people. After abolition, however, the sections on the enslavement of people fell out of use and were removed. Around the same time, the sections on interactions with jinn were also removed.
Since the purging of these sections from religious manuals, the concept of enslavement in Iran has been relegated to an impossible or unrealistic realm – that is, the realm of the mythic. The oft-repeated false refrain that Iran never had slavery became common knowledge amongst Iranians. In turn, jinn, who were once depicted as colorful beings distinctly nonhuman in form, came to be illustrated as more human, blurring the lines between person and creature. Through an examination of religious texts, portraiture, oral histories, and other sources, this paper delves into this blurring of myths and memories around enslavement in the twentieth century.