Answering a child's question on 'rasuk' and 'hantu'

My son sat beside me with a serious look on his face. He asked me if it is true that there are ghosts in his school. He said that some students were possessed (rasuk). I asked him if he saw it and he said no but his friends told him.

I was like..."Kau percaya la kawan2 kau tu..." (and you believe your friends!)
He was saying "Diorang kata diaorang nampak dengan mata kepala diorang sendiri" (they said they saw it with their own eyes on their own heads)
So I said with a half serious sounding voice "Ye lah. Ade ke sesiapa yang nampak dengan mata kepala orang lain." (of course, does anyone see with other people's eyes on other people's head?)
He looked slightly confused. I like teasing my kids sometimes or my students. It is cute to see their reaction and the look on their faces.

Anyway, the serious bit came. I said
"Look! these things exist. All these ghosts Pochong, Momok, etc...etc...they are all Jinn or Syaitan. They just want to disturb us and scare us but we must remember that everything that exists in this universe belongs to Allah, is created by Allah so, the only One we should fear is God."

I continued...
First of all, we must believe (have Yakin) that God is the Most Powerful. Nothing else have Power but Him.

Secondly, try to avoid all these things as much as we can. Don't look for them, don't try to find them because even though they live in this world but they are in a different dimension so, don't look for trouble but if you do come across these things then....

Thirdly, seek protection from Allah SWT. We can seek protection by reciting Ayatul Qursi.

ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلۡحَىُّ ٱلۡقَيُّومُ‌ۚ لَا تَأۡخُذُهُ ۥ سِنَةٌ۬ وَلَا نَوۡمٌ۬‌ۚ لَّهُ ۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشۡفَعُ عِندَهُ ۥۤ إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِهِۦ‌ۚ يَعۡلَمُ مَا بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡ‌ۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىۡءٍ۬ مِّنۡ عِلۡمِهِۦۤ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ‌ۚ وَسِعَ كُرۡسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ‌ۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُ ۥ حِفۡظُهُمَا‌ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِىُّ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ
  
and wherever you go, before you leave the house or in your journey or whenever you feel afraid, you can read "bismillahillazi la yadurru (arabic)..."

بِسـمِ اللهِ الذي لا يَضُـرُّ مَعَ اسمِـهِ شَيءٌ في الأرْضِ وَلا في السّمـاءِ وَهـوَ السّمـيعُ العَلـيم 
In the name of Allah, by whose name nothing is harmed neither on the earth or in the heavens. And He is the All Hearer, All Knowing.
 
then he said that even though these boys read Qur'an, they read what they knew but they were still affected by the possession.

I replied, "Don't be afraid. Always read with yakin (conviction) and you must have confidence that Allah is the Most Powerful and nothing else is more Powerful. If you fear Allah, you will not fear anything or anyone but if you do not fear Allah then you will fear everything and everyone."

However, if these things still harm you or if anyone harms you, it means that Allah SWT is testing you. It doesn't mean that these things have any power because nothing can help you nor harm you without the permission of Allah. So, don't be afraid but don't go looking for trouble either.

Besides, you are a man. You will be the protector. Men are supposed to fight against oppression, to protect their family. You cannot be afraid when you are in the battlefield. Look at the sahabah (companions of the Prophet) they were not afraid of anything or anyone. So, we want to be like them inshaAllah. 

The best part was he hugged me and said 'thank you mom' Alhamdulillah...:-)