Zawba'ah is a spirit (jinn-king) in Islamic folklore, from Medieval Islamic world. Zawba'ah is a senior jinn-king in medieval Islamic talismanic lore, described as one of the oldest of the jinn kings and second in seniority only to Shamharush. He is associated with Friday, the planet Venus, the color green, the metal iron, and is depicted in the Kitab al-Bulhan with distinct four-headed iconography used in talismanic invocation.
Sources present Zawba'ah as a sovereign figure within a corpus of medieval Islamic esoteric and talismanic literature, notably appearing in the Kitab al-Bulhan. He is described as one of the oldest jinn kings and second in seniority only to Shamharush, a status that frames him as an elder ruler who now rarely wages war. He is also recorded among nine jinn who listened to the Prophet Muhammad recite the Quran, integrating him into Islamic narrative frames.
In the Kitab al-Bulhan illustration he appears as a four headed demon named Mazer, Tikal, Kummum and Qaswara; the heads combine hideous horned forms (the upper one with two inward-curving bovine horns) and more docile equine heads, with two heads turned in profile and two facing forward. He wears brilliant white robes and a crown topped by a large circle, sits cross-legged in a regal pose supported by ministers and broad armbands, and the image is surmounted by two talismans used for his ritual invocation. An epithet in the sources styles him 'Zawba‘ah the White,' placing him among a lineage termed the white jinn. A textual detail notes that when he smiles his face lights up, emitting an intense light between his teeth. The general anatomy is compared to the Div (monstrous human-bodied, animal-headed figures).
Zawba'ah is portrayed as deeply devout in some sources—specifically he 'was one of the nine jinn who listened to the Prophet Muhammad recite the Quran'—and is reported to habitually eavesdrop on angels' conversations regarding fate. Cosmologically he is mapped to Friday and the planet Venus and is associated with the color green and the metal iron; he is also said to be under the supervision of the angel Anya'il (Haniel) and to share a wind-related connection with ancient Mesopotamian demons. In esoteric and talismanic practice he 'is often invoked to send lesser spirits capable of arousing feelings of love or lust.' The tradition describes him as an elder king who now rarely wages war.
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Community Record
- [1]Zawba'ah — Wikipedia (summary of medieval talismanic materials, including Kitab al-Bulhan). Wikipedia, 'Zawba'ah' (article summarizes medieval talismanic sources and Kitab al-Bulhan iconography)wiki
- [2]Wikidata entry for Zawba'ah. Wikidata Q141502630 (modern classificatory summary: 'Green Devil in Medieval Islam')other
- [3]Kitab al-Bulhan (as cited in secondary descriptions). Kitab al-Bulhan illustration and description as summarized in secondary sources cited on the Wikipedia page (four headed demon named Mazer, Tikal, Kummum and Qaswara; talismans for invocation).literary