this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2024
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Funny: Home of the Haha
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In Islamic/pre-Islamic mythology (over simplifying greatly) genies are actually trapped demons forced into servitude long ago by human sorcerers. They must comply with your wish but use any ambiguity they can as a form of malicious compliance. It's also worth noting that the idea of genies granting 3 wishes is mostly a western invention and is also likely influenced by Christian ideas of "deals with the devil" (see Foust for how that usually works out for the wisher)
Isn't it also that originally captured genies had more superhuman abilities rather than unlimited power? As in they could perform a human could if they were not bound by physical limitations, but materializing stuff out of thin air is impossible for them.
Another thing I heard is that the entities that could actually do that had a witch-like deal to them, meaning that refusing a request from such a spirit most likely had some dire consequences for you.