Djinn as depicted in Golden Sun.
Also refered to as Genie, Jinni or Jinn.
Islamic Djinn[]
The jinn are said to be creatures with free will, made of smokeless fire by God (the literal translation being "subtle fire", i.e. a fire which does not give itself away through smoke), much in the same way humans were made of a metaphorical clay.
Jinn are beings much like humans, possessing the ability to be good and bad. They have the power to transform into other animals and humans, and they are known to prefer the form of a snake. Jinns also have the power to possess humans, have much greater strength than them, and live much longer lives.
According to the majority of Islamic scholars, clear evidence exists in the Qur'an that the Devil was not an angel (as thought by Christians), but a jinn, citing the Quranic verse "And when We said to the angels:'Prostrate yourselves unto Adam.' So they prostrated themselves except Iblis (The Devil). He was one of the jinn..." Surat Al-Kahf, 18:50. According to Islam, angels are different physical beings, and unlike the fiery nature of jinn, they are beings of goodness and cannot choose to disobey God, nor do they possess the ability to do evil.
In Islam-associated mythology, the jinn were said to be controllable by magically binding them to objects, as Solomon most famously did; the Spirit of the Lamp in the story of Aladdin was such a jinni, bound to an oil lamp.
It is said that one could kill a jinn with the Inwa, a manner of throwing the stone of a fruit so hard so it could, in fact, kill something. The jinn's power of possession was also addressed in the Nights. It is said that by taking seven hairs out of the tail of a cat that was all black except for a white spot on the end of its tail, and then burning the hairs in a small closed room with the possessed—filling their nose with the scent—this would release them from the spell of the jinn inside them.
In the Qur'an, Solomon had members of his army belonging to the race of jinn. Solomon had the ability to communicate with all creatures, which allowed him to communicate with the jinn as well.
Evil beings from among the jinn are roughly equivalent to the demons of Christian lore. In mythology, jinn have the ability to possess human beings, both in the sense that they persuade humans to perform actions, and like the Christian perception of demonic possession.
Djinn in Golden Sun[]
Djinn are the elemental entities that bolster the Psynergy capabilities of the Adepts. The singular form of Djinn is Djinni. They originated from Mt. Aleph and were spread across Weyard when the mountain erupted.
The Ifrit, the Marid and other Elements[]
Ifrits in contemporary popular mythology are jinn spirits that embody fire, where the Marid is a Djinn associated with the sea and open water.
They consider themselves superior to all races because they supposedly "came first," and they resent deeply that humans have found magical ways to take control over them. Even when tasked, they show an ironic and malicious attitude, tending to subvert their masters' orders every time they can.
They often appear as individuals of superhuman beauty and strength, but are very difficult to deal with.
As there are both Djinn associated specifically with fire, and Djinn associated specifically with water, it would be unwise to assume there are not other types.