Etymology of hinn and jann

There is an obscure Arabic folklore creature called a hinn. The exact meaning varies depending on which story you read.

• In the Alawi creation myth, the age of man was preceded by previous ages. These were the ages of beings called hinn, binn, timm, rimm, jann and jinn. Aside from being personifications of evil, no details are given about these beings.
• The Revelations of ʻAbdullah Al-Sayid Muhammad Habib present a model of four elemental beings similar to that proposed by Paracelsus. Earth is represented by humanity, fire by jinn, air by hinn and water by binn.
• The hinn and binn are extinct in that account. Ibn Kathir explained that they were exterminated by the jinn.
• According to Tabari, the hinn were created from "scorching fire" whereas the jinn were created from "smokeless flame." In this account, the hinn under Iblis supported the angels in a battle against the wicked jinn.
• In other folklore, hinn take the form of wild dogs. A hadith warns that should a wild dog (really a hinn) approach a muslim, he should throw food at it and chase it away.

The word jann is typically a variant spelling of the word jinn. However, sometimes it has a distinct meaning in obscure folklore.

• In some contexts, jinn refers to supernatural beings in general whereas jann refers to genies specifically.
• One account attributed to Mohamed (referenced in Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth by Carol Rose) describes different types of jinn: those that inhabit the depths of the earth and manifest as monsters like serpents, those that manifest as monstrous black dogs, hofafa that fly with wings, so'la that devour humans, the nocturnal ghoul, the aquatic ghawwas, etc.
• The first genie created from "scorching fire," and father of all others, is named Jann. He may be identified with Iblis or Azazel.
• A primitive kind of genie, or genie that normally takes the form of animals, is called jann. (This is similar to the definition of hinn as transformed wild dogs.)
• According to Encyclopedia of Spirits and Ghosts in World Mythology by Theresa Bane, a jann is the weakest class of genie. They are a type of familiar spirit (compare qarin or hamzaad) and steal animals from farmers.
• According to Encyclopaedia Iranica, the genies raise their own livestock. (These may or may not be the same as the bestial hinn/jann.)