The Unseen Nexus:

 A Comparative Ontological and Textual Analysis of Jinn, Shaytan, Ghosts, and Makhluk Ghaib Across World Cosmologies

Abstract

This conceptual paper presents a comparative ontological and textual analysis of unseen entities across diverse global cosmologies, with a primary focus on Islam. The analysis establishes that the realm of the unseen (Al-Ghayb) is broadly segmented into two distinct taxonomic categories: the Created/Parallel Species and Residual Human Souls. Entities such as the Jinn (created from smokeless fire, possessing free will) and their analogues (like the Álfar or Orang Bunian) represent sentient, parallel civilizations that primarily function as agents of moral testing. Conversely, Ghosts (such as the Yūrei or Pontianak) are derivative entities—human souls trapped by unresolved trauma, violent death, or unfulfilled karmic debt.

            The comparison reveals that the role of the Adversary often reflects the core theological mandate of the culture. In Abrahamic traditions, Shaytan/Iblis is an external, absolute, and unredeemable foe (a rebellious Jinn) necessary to test human obedience and free will. In Dharmic traditions, the antagonist like Mara is more often an internal, redeemable manifestation of attachment and greed, emphasizing that conflict and suffering are transient, self-generated karmic conditions.

            Ultimately, the paper argues that the core function of the meta-category Makhluk Ghaib across cultures is to manage and provide explanatory frameworks for the limits of human knowledge, moral failure, and uncontrollable tragedy. It also examines how the process of syncretism in Southeast Asia actively reclassifies local spirits (like Hantu) as sub-species of Jinn or Shaytan, a theological strategy to ensure adherence to monotheism.

Keywords: Jinn, Shaytan, Al-Ghayb, Makhluk Ghaib, Ontology, Mara, Hantu, Comparative Religion.

Full Article: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17445519