1st Dream in the Qur’an - DREAMS IN ISLAM

1st. Dream:

The Prophet Joseph (Yusuf) had a dream in which he saw the sun, the moon and eleven stars prostrating themselves before him. His father, the Prophet Jacob (Yacub), immediately understood the significance of the dream and warned him not to disclose it to his brothers for fear that they might harm him:

“Behold, Joseph said to his father: father, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars and the sun and the moon; I saw them prostrating themselves before me.  He said: O my son, say nothing of this dream to your brothers, lest they should plot evil against you: the devil is the sworn enemy of man.”

(Qur’an: Yusuf:-12:4-5)

Joseph sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam could not as yet interpret his dream, but his father did.  Both in the Biblical and in the Qur’anic accounts of the dream Jacob sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam immediately interpreted the dream to mean that his son was destined for future greatness, with the eleven stars symbolizing his brothers and the sun and moon his parents. There is an important difference, however, in the two accounts to which Asad directs attention:

“Whereas the Bible quotes the father as “rebuking” his son (Genesis xxxvii, 10) in the obvious assumption that the dream was an outcome of wishful thinking, the Qur’an makes it clear that Jacob - who was himself a prophet - at once realized its prophetic quality and its deeper implications.” ¹³

Not only did Jacob sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam interpret the dream but, just as important, he also recognized the possibility that his less-than-righteous eleven other sons also had the capacity to interpret that dream.  Thus both religious as well as irreligious people may be able to interpret a dream.  Hence the warning from Jacob sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam concerning the indiscriminate public disclosure of dreams.  And Prophet Muhammad

sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam  also advised: 

“ . . . so if any one of you sees that which he likes he should not disclose it to any except to one whom he loves . . .”  

(Narrated by Abu Salama and reported in Sahih Muslim)

The dream of Joseph sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was eventually fulfilled some twenty or thirty years later when his father, mother and all eleven brothers came to Egypt many years later:

“Then when they entered the presence of Joseph, He provided a home for his parents with himself, and said:  Enter ye Egypt (all) in safety if it please Allah.

And he raised his parents high on the throne (of dignity), and they fell down in prostration (all) before him. 

He said: O my father! This is the fulfilment of  my dream of old! Allah has made it come true!”

(Qur’an: Yusuf:12:99-100)

The significance of the above is that the Qur’an has confirmed that a dream can prophesy future events.  Events seen in a dream may belong even to the distant  future, and such dreams may employ symbols which require interpretation.  Some dreams can be interpreted even by ordinary people and, as a consequence, one should exercise adequate care to whom one discloses the contents of a dream.

Of even greater importance to the believers is the indisputable fact that the modern secular epistemology of today’s dominant western civilization has no means of explaining the phenomenon of a true dream such as this.  Truth, however, which is preserved in its authentic form in Islam, has an explanation for the phenomenon of a true dream.  We shall soon provide that explanation Insha Allah.

Source: Dreams in Islam by Imran Hosein
To be continued ....