The Dangers of Scaring Children: A Warning from Sheikh Al-`Uthaymeen

The Harmful Effects of Frightening Children and the Risk of Jinn Possession

Scaring children

Sheikh Al-`Uthaymeen رحمه الله said:

“Some of the foolish, ignorant people, lacking intelligence, scare their small innocent children and frighten them by saying: so-and-so will come (and take you), or so-and-so will (do such-and-such to you). So the child gets scared and this fear and anxiety remains in his heart, and this becomes permanent in his heart so that he is constantly in anxiety, fear and distress.

Sometimes it is the father who scares his son and sometimes it is the mother who scares her son and daughter.

But the most foolish ones are those who tell us that when a child does something wrong (then as punishment) he should be locked inside his room, alone. And even when he shouts and screams they do not feel sorry for him nor do they open the door.

And this is one of the means by which a Jinn overpowers (and possesses) the child. This was conveyed by one of the Jinns who had possessed a child and said that he entered him when his father had locked him inside the room, and he began to shout and scream, and that’s when he possessed him.

So we should be alert and take precautions from the things which can become a means for the Jinn to overpower us.” 

[بيان حقيقة صرع الجن للإنس؛ مواعظ عامة ومواضيع متفرقة للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين رحمه الله تعالى]