Dreams
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SUNNAH OF DREAMS
O Allah (The Exalted) bless our master Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and the family of our master Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) as he deserves.
What an amazing thing dreaming is. It is as if you are at the place in body and soul, but in reality, it is the soul that is there, but the body is in bed. As mentioned in the previous chapter, sleeping is like death and waking up is like rising after death. Dreaming is such that after death the soul of Muslim will be able to travel where it wishes; it will be like a bird being freed from a cage1. Allah (The Exalted) has given us many signs to reflect on, may we understand these signs and contemplate on them and praise Allah (The Exalted). There are three types of dreams; 1) a good dream is from Allah (The Exalted), 2) a bad dream is from Shaytan; and 3) psychic, basically fears of a person, thoughts and doubts. The dreams of the Prophets (upon them all be peace) are revelations from Allah (The Exalted) and the friends of Allah (may Allah have mercy upon them) are shown inspirations by Allah (The Exalted) and are true.
1 The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that “Verily the world is a paradise for the non-believers and a prison for the believer. When the soul of the believer leaves his body (i.e. when he dies), his soul can be likened to a person who has just been released from prison and who strolls about visiting places at leisure on the earth.” (Imam Ajal ‘Abd-Allah bin Mubarak, Abu Bakr, Abi Shaybah, the teacher of Imam Bukhari and Muslim ‘Abd-Allah bin Amru bin Anas, Imam Ahmed in his Musnad; and Tabarani in his Muajjam Kabeer, Hakim in his Sahih Mustadrak; and Abu Naeem in Haliya (may Allah be pleased with them all), with a strong chain.
A Good Dream is From Allah (The Exalted)
Abu Qatada (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), said, “Whoever sees something pleasing do not mention it but to one you like, and when you see that you do not like then seek Allah’s refuge from its evil and the evil of the devil. Spit (without saliva) and do not mention it to anyone it will not do any harm.” i
Abu Qatada (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “A good dream is from Allah (The Exalted) and a bad dream is from Shaytan.” ii
Abu Sa’eed Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) saying that, “A true dream is (seen) at the time of pre-dawn (Suhoor/Sehri). This is a blessed time as the Mercy of Allah (The Exalted) descends at this time.” iii
On Having a Good Dream
On having a good dream, recite ‘Alhamdulillah’ and relate it to an intimate contact of understanding who can interpret dreams, or a scholar. The scholars say do not tell your dream to an enemy. iv
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), said, “When one of you sees a dream that he likes, he should thank Allah (The Exalted) and make a mention of it.” v
Bad Dream
“When one of you sees in a dream that he dislikes, he must spit (without saliva) on his left three times and say ‘I seek refuge in Allah from the devil, (i.e. ‘A’oodhubillahi Minash shaito Nirajeem’), three times and should not make a mention of it to anybody.” vi “And turn from the side on which he was laying.” vii “Or get up and offer prayer.” viii
Narrating False Dreams
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said that, “It is a great sin to conjure a false dream and narrate it.” ix
Some people tend to relate false dreams to gain respect in the community, however, remember it is Allah (The Exalted) who gives respect and also degrades a person. One should not under any circumstances relate a false dream. 2 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
It was the Messenger of Allah’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) noble habit to sit cross-legged after having performed the Fajr Salaah and ask the companions about their dreams. 2 Whoever had seen a good dream, he would mention it. x
2 Also, in Bukhari narrated by Samura bin Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him).
3 Also known as Surma (eye colour).
Seeing The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates, I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), saying, “Whoever sees me in a dream will see me in his wakefulness, and the devil cannot imitate me in form.” xi
Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) Resembling The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
Kulaub bin Shiaab Al-Kufi says that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated to me the blessed saying of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), that whosoever sees me in a dream, has really seen me, because the devil cannot impersonate me. Kulayb says, I mentioned this hadith to ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) and also told him that I was blessed with the seeing of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), in my dream. At that moment I thought of Hasan bin ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). I said to ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that I found the image in my dream very similar to that of Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him). Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) verified my statement, that truly Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) was very similar to, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), in appearance. xii
Yazeed Al-Faarisi bin Hurmuz, who was a calligrapher of the Qur’an once saw, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), in his dream during the time of ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). He related his dream to ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him). Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), used to say that the devil cannot imitate him, that person who has seen him in a dream has really seen him’. After mentioning this he asked: ‘Can you describe this person whom you have seen in your dream?’ I replied: ‘Yes, I can, I will describe to you a man whose body and height were of a medium stature.
He had a wheat-coloured complexion with a bit of whiteness in it. Eyes like those that had khul3 on them. A smiling face. Beautiful and round face. A compact beard which surrounded his blessed face and spread on the fore portion of the chest.” ‘Awf ibn Abi Jamilah, (a narrator of this hadith) says: “I do not remember what other feature besides these, my teacher Yazeed, (who is a narrator of this hadith) described.” Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “If you had seen him while being awake, you would not have been able to describe him any further.” xiii
The devil can never come in the form of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), so whosoever see’s the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), in a dream is very fortunate. The devil can come in other forms but see how Allah (The Exalted) has created his beloved Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), in such a unique form. Not only this but the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), did not possess a shadow so no-one could stand on even the shadow of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and disrespect it in any way. Subhanallah!
When ‘Abdullah bin Zaid Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) heard about the death of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), he was very depressed. He lifted his hands and pleaded to Allah (The Exalted), O Allah! (The Exalted) The sight of your beloved has gone away from my sight, O Allah! (The Exalted) My eyes do not desire the sight of the world, O Allah! (The Exalted) The sight of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), is no more then take my sight away! At that moment he became blind. xiv 3 www.GardensOfSunnah.co.uk
i Bukhari. Anwar-ul-Hadith.
ii Bukhari & Muslim
iii Tirmidhi & Darmi
iv Nizam-e-Shariat
v Muslim
vi Bukhari
vii Muslim & Mishkat
viii Bukhari
ix Bukhari
x Aadaab-e-Sunnat, p. 216/7.
xi Bukhari, Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, Sharah Sunnah, Muajjam al-Kabir, Zawaid, Fatawa-e-Radhwiyya, Vol: 2, p. 224, Jam’i-ul-~Hadith, Vol: 4, p. 72
xii Shamail-e-Tirmidhi, Dreaming of the Prophet. p. 453
xiii ibid p. 454
xiv Madarijun Nabuwwah
xv Bukhari
xvi Muslim
xvii Mishkat
xviii Hisnul Hasin
xix Nizam-e-Shariat
xx Bukhari & Muslim
xxi Fatahul Baari, Sharh Bukhari.
Manners of Dreams
1. If you have a bad dream refrain from telling anyone. xv
2. If you have a nightmare, spit (without the saliva) on your left side three times and change your sleeping position. xvi
3. One should pray A’oodhubillahi…and Ayatul Kursi4 for protection.
4 Surah Baqarah: Surah No: 2. Verses 254-255
Supplication For a Bad Dream
4. Recite the following supplication three times after a bad dream and the dream will not cause any harm. xvii
‘A’oodh-bi Kal-ima Til-lahit Taa-mati Min-Ghda-bihi Wa’ifa-bi-hi Wa-Sharri ‘iba-di-hi Wa-min Hama-zatish Shya-teeni Wa-ay Yah-Duroon’
‘I seek protection in the perfect words of Allah from His anger and punishment and from the mischief of His servants and evil prompting of the devil and against their coming even near me.’
5. If one has experienced a pleasant dream praise Allah (The Exalted) by saying ‘Alhamdulillah’ xviii and if wishes to relate it to somebody then relate it to a learned and compassionate person so that it is interpreted correctly. xix
6. After a nightmare read: ‘A’oodhu Billahi Minash Shaito Nirrajeem’ once and spit (without saliva) on the left side thrice. Change the side of sleep and do not mention such dreams to anyone and Inshallah, no harm shall come. xx
7. Those who interpret dreams should not do so at sunrise, midday, sunset and after Maghrib Salaah. xxi The best time is after Fajr.