What is a jinn? How do they relate to angels? Are there any scholarly works in English that can clear this up for me?
What is Jinn? Jinns are one of the creatures of Allah , like we have human beings, we have animals, we have plants , we have creatures living in sea.
Jinns are closely related to human , they are made from fire , Like humans they have will power that is they can make decision of their own , and like humans their are good jinns and bad jinns , they also are Muslims and non-Muslims jinns.
In addition to these when we study about these jinns they are some other powers also like they can put some thinking in your mind some try to guide you towards good path some to bad , and just like humans this earth is a place to be tested whether a person follows the commandment of Allah or not , jinns also have to follow the same that is if they follow the commandment of Allah they go Jannat (Heaven) and if not then (hell).
How do they relate to angels? Well, they are not related to angels , angels are separate creatures of Allah and jinns are separate. Just as you cannot relate plants to human , plants are separate creature and humans are separate. All have different characteristics.
Hope this will help you.