Who were the jinn?
Jinn, the children of the smokeless fire, was a generic term for all the spirits and forces of nature. They were also a race of free-spirited, strong-willed elementals or beings within Islam (known as Genies or demons in the other scriptures). The Jinn were creations created before mankind.
It is very important to have some knowledge of the Jinn because this is the race of beings Shaytaan (i.e. the Devil) came from. In understanding the Jinn, we get some light shed on the story of Qabil (i.e. Cain) & Habil (i.e. Abel). We also start to understand the corruption that existed between the people of Idris (i.e. Enoch) through the people of Sodom & Gomorrah, even lasting up to the people of today.