Implication of false claim concerning dreams - DREAMS IN ISLAM

Implication of false claim concerning dreams

Then there was the grave warning from the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam concerning false claims of true and good dreams, such as a claim of a dream in which one saw the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, or to falsify a dream which came from the nafs and thus to mislead concerning the inner message conveyed by the dream:

Ibn Umar reported that the Prophet said: “The worst lie is that a person claims to have seen a dream which he has not seen.”

 (Bukhari)

Ibn Abbas reported that the Prophet said: “Whoever claims to have seen a dream which he did not see, will be ordered to make a knot between two barley grains which he will not be able to do; and if someone listens to the talk of some people who do not like him (to listen) or they run away from him, then molten lead will be poured into his ears on the Day of Resurrection; and whoever makes a picture, will be punished on the Day of Resurrection and will be ordered to put a soul in that picture, which he will not be able to do.”

 (Bukhari)

Let us now take a brief look at some of the dreams of the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and of his Companions.  Regretfully we cannot, at this time, undertake an analysis of these dreams.  We hope to do so, Insha Allah, in a subsequent edition of this book.

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

The third kind of Dreams: from the Nafs - DREAMS IN ISLAM

The third kind of Dreams: from the Nafs

In so far as the third kind of dreams is concerned, i.e., dreams from one’s own nafs (self), these, also, are of great importance since they constitute a very valuable yet private picture of the state of health (or lack of health) of our own inner being.  Such dreams function, in fact, as windows to the soul, and this was recognized by the Swiss Psychologist, Carl Jung, who made the analysis of dreams an important means of discovering the causes of mental illnesses etc.

Unfulfilled desires can lead to mental distress and can result in inner disequilibrium.  A dream often function as nature’s means of seeking to restore mental peace and equilibrium.  As such a dream can reveal the cause of the distress.  A little girl heard the ice cream truck passing in front of her house.  “Mummy! Mummy!” She cried:  “Ice cream!  Ice Cream!”  But Mummy had no money, and so the little girl kept gazing in sorrow as the ice cream truck passed her home.  There was an unfulfilled desire for ice cream lodged in her heart. It caused distress.  At night, while she was asleep, nature repaired the damage in a truly wonderful way.  She saw the ice cream truck in her dream.  Mummy had enough money and she bought lots of ice cream.  The little girl sat down and ate ice cream to her heart’s content.  The unfulfilled desire was fulfilled and her inner state had been restored to a state of equilibrium.  Praise be to Allah Most High Who created dreams as a medium through which the soul can not only see itself, but also heal itself.

Dreams which come from the nafs play an important role since they can be the means through which we can gain knowledge about our own moral and spiritual development (or lack of development). Thus an individual may be in a state of external conformity with the moral law in respect of his sexual conduct.  That is, he may not be misbehaving! But he may not have internalized the externally imposed moral law. He may be obeying the law only because it is binding on him. He may not as yet be at that stage of moral and spiritual development in which he conforms with the law because that is also his own inner conviction and desire. And so he finds himself in a dream engaged in sexual misconduct. That misconduct, regardless of what it involved, does not constitute a sin. Rather, it is a mirror of his inner being.  It is an indicator, conveyed in the most private way possible, of the need for the dreamer to make a greater effort  for achieving an inner conviction that would support his external sexual conduct of conformity with the moral law.

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

The second kind of Dreams: Evil dreams - DREAMS IN ISLAM

The second kind of Dreams: Evil dreams

An evil dream is a dream from Satan, and will almost certainly come our way if we were, for example, to eat so much in the evening meal that tiredness and sleep overpowered us and we went to sleep without performing our evening prayer.

An example of the phenomenon of evil dreams which can plague and distress the dreamer and make his life truly miserable would be that of a husband who continuously dreams of his wife’s infidelity.  If the husband does not exercise care it can result in the break-up of his marriage.  The Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam therefore took pains to explain that Satan can and does invade our dreams to plant such experiences which can have dangerous consequences if we do not know how to handle them.  “When any of you has an evil dream”, said the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, “he should spit three times to his left as soon as he rises from sleep, - and then refrain from narrating that dream to any one at all.  Then the dream would not harm him in any way.”

The spitting was meant to be a purely symbolic act with only the sound being emitted and no saliva actually leaving the mouth.  Its importance appears to be essentially psychological in the sense of impressing upon the self that the evil is being dispelled. Then by refraining from narrating the dream to anyone the dream is not activated, i.e., it does not enter into force.  One then ceases to think of it thus depriving the dream of the opportunity of making any kind of negative impact upon the conscious mind.

Narrated Abu Salama:

I used to see a dream which would make me sick till I heard Abu Qatada saying: “I too, used to see a dream which would make me sick till I heard the Prophet saying: A good dream is from Allah, so if anyone of you saw a dream which he liked, he should not tell it to anybody except to the one whom he loves, and if he saw a dream which he disliked, then he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil and from the evil of Satan, and spit three times (on his left) and should not tell it to anybody, then it will not harm him.”

 (Bukhari)

 (Abu Salama narrated, in another hadith reported in Sahih Muslim, the following words of the Prophet: “And he should change the side on which he had been lying before.”)

Narrated Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri:

I heard Allah’s Apostle saying: “If anyone of you saw a dream which he liked, then that was from Allah, and he should thank Allah for it and tell it to others; but if he saw something else, i.e, a dream which he did not like, then that is from Satan and he should seek refuge with Allah from it and should not tell it to anybody for it will not harm him.” 

 (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Qatada Al-Ansari:

(a companion of the Prophet and one of his cavalry men) “I heard Allah’s Apostle saying: “A good dream is from Allah, and a bad dream is from Satan; so, if anyone of you had a bad dream which he disliked, then he should spit on his left and seek refuge with Allah from it, for it will not harm him.” 

 (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Qatada:

The Prophet said, “A good dream is from Allah, and a bad dream is from Satan. So whoever has seen (in a dream) something he dislikes, then he should spit without saliva, thrice on his left and seek refuge with Allah from Satan, and it will not harm him; and Satan cannot appear in my shape.” 

 (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Qatada:

The Prophet said, “A good dream that comes true is from Allah, and a bad dream is from Satan, so if anyone of you sees a bad dream, he should seek refuge with Allah from Satan and should spit on the left, and the bad dream will not harm him.” 

 (Bukhari)

Narrated Abu Qatada: 

The Prophet said, “A true good dream is from Allah, and a bad dream is from Satan.”

 (Bukhari)  

Narrated Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri:

The Prophet said, “If anyone of you sees a dream that he likes, then it is from Allah, and he should thank Allah for it and narrate it to others; but if he sees something else, i.e., a dream that he dislikes, then it is from Satan, and he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil, and he should not mention it to anybody, for it will not harm him.” 

 (Bukhari)

The Prophet also explained that “A dream sits on the wing of a flying bird and will not take effect unless it is related to someone.”  ²⁹ 

An example of an evil dream is this dream which was narrated to the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam by one of his companions:

“Jabir reported that a man came to Allah’s Messenger and said: Allah’s Messenger, I have seen in the state of sleep as if my head had been cut off.  (In another version of the hadith, also narrated by Jabir, the following is also mentioned: I saw my head rolling before me, and I saw myself running after it and seeking it in the dream).  Thereupon Allah’s Messenger laughed and said: When Satan plays with anyone of you while sleeping, do not mention it to the people.”

 (Muslim)

Additionally one may also recite the verse of the throne (ayah al-kursi) when going to sleep for protection from Satan while one is asleep.  We learn this from the following incident;

Narrated Muhammad bin Sireen: Abu Huraira said:“Allah’s Apostle put me in charge of the zakat of Ramadan (i.e., zakat al-Fitr).  Someone came to me and started scooping some of the foodstuff of (zakat) with both hands. I caught him and told him that I would take him to Allah’s Apostle.” Then Abu Huraira told the whole narration and added: “He (i.e., the thief) said: Whenever you go to your bed, recite the verse of “al-Kursi” (Qur’an: al-Baqara:-2:255) for then a guardian from Allah will be guarding you, and Satan will not approach you until dawn.” On that the Prophet said: “He told you the truth, though he is a liar, and he (the thief) himself was the Satan.”

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

How to qualify for good and true dreams? - DREAMS IN ISLAM

How to qualify for good and true dreams?

If a believer, male or female, wishes to be blessed by Allah with good and true dreams he/she should first take all necessary steps to ensure that life is lived in conformity with the laws of Allah  Most High.  The believer should remove hatred, enmity, malice, greed and lust from his/her heart, and must learn how to forgive.  Fasting and the prayer of the night-vigil can be of great help in this regards. The believer must fill his/her heart with love for all those whom Allah Most High loves, and must be charitable etc.  

 Anyone who wishes to see good and true dreams should eat less, sleep less and talk less.  Such people should dislike noise (which is what music is today) and should long for solitude.  Most of all they must acquire the consciousness of living continuously in the presence of Allah Most High. That is not possible without the Sufi epistemology.

The believer should regulate his day in such a way that he gets to take a little nap (of sleep) in the mid-afternoon.  He should take his evening meal either before or after the maghrib prayer (at sunset) and should avoid taking a heavy meal.  He should try to sleep early, i.e., after the Isha prayer.  He should recite surah al-Falaq (Qur’an: Chapter 113) and surah al-Naas (Qur’an: Chapter 114) before sleeping in order to seek protection from evil:

“Narrated Aisha:

When the Prophet used to lie, he would recite Surah al-Falaq and Surah al-Naas and blow upon his palms, and then wipe them all over his body.”

 (Bukhari, Muslim)

  

He should make wudu (ablution) before sleeping (if he is without wudu) and he should sleep on the right side.  He should then ask Allah Most High to give him a dream.  Such a person will experience deep sleep in the early hours of the night.  It would then be possible for him to rise in the early hours of the morning, before dawn, to worship Allah Most High.  If he has not as yet seen anything, and if he then goes back to sleep, or if he sleeps after the morning prayer (fajr prayer), he is more likely than not to dream, and to be blessed with good dreams and true dreams.

  

Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (ra) did precisely that and this is what happened: Narrated Ibn ‘Umar:  
Men from the companions of Allah’s Apostle used to see dreams during the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle and they used to narrate those dreams to Allah’s Apostle. Allah’s Apostle would interpret them as Allah wished. I was a young man and used to stay in the masjid before my wedlock. I said to myself: “If there were any good in myself, I too would see what these people see.”   
So when I went to bed one night, I said: “O Allah! If you see any good in me, show me a good dream.” So while I was in that state, there came to me (in a dream) two angels. In the hand of each of them there was a mace of iron, and both of them were taking me to Hell, and I was between them, invoking Allah: “O Allah! I seek refuge with You from Hell.” Then I saw myself being confronted by another angel holding a mace of iron in his hand. He said to me: “Do not be afraid, you will be an excellent man if you only pray more often.” So they took me till they stopped me at the edge of Hell, and behold, it was built inside like a well and it had side posts like those of a well, and beside each post there was an angel carrying an iron mace. I saw therein many people hanging upside down with iron chains, and I recognized therein some men from the Quraish. Then (the angels) took me to the right side. I narrated this dream to (my sister) Hafsa. Hafsa told me that she had mentioned it to the Prophet and he said: “Abdullah is a righteous man, if only he would pray more at night.” (Az-Zuhri said: “After that ‘Abdullah used to pray more at night.”) 

 (Bukhari)

In just the same way that dream changed the life of an already righteous Abdullah ibn Umar (ra) to make of him a stronger Muslim, so too can dreams change our lives.  Some of us are wayward Muslims who do not pray, or fast in Ramadan etc., and a dream can change our lives and restore us to the straight path.  In fact I just received a fax from an Egyptian friend in New York with an account of an extraordinary dream that changed his life.  It came just in time to be included in this book, and we thank Allah Most High for that.  He writes:

“I was a college student 18 years old when I saw this dream.  I was not performing my salaat (prayer) regularly at that age despite my father’s persistent appeals and warnings.  Then one night I saw in a dream what appeared to be the Day of Judgement.  It was incredibly scary. Innumerable horrified almost naked human beings of all races, colors and sexes were running in all directions seeking to escape from a destiny of fearsome divine punishment.  Their faces spoke of appalling panic.  Some fell in prostration beseeching their Lord for another chance.  Some were on their knees with their hands stretched upwards and begging for forgiveness.  Screams of horror ripped the air.  The sweeping feeling was that all were doomed.  No one would be spared. The sky was fearfully dark, and as I became aware of the significance of what was taking place around me, I, also, was terrified and overwhelmed with fear.  I sorrowfully  prostrated and cried out begging for another chance: ‘Give me just one or two or three days to return to you O Allah and to be a good Muslim.  I pledge never again to be negligent in the performance of my salaat (prayers), to do good deeds and to abstain from sinful deeds.’  Indeed the very thought of committing sins seemed at that moment to be totally out of question.  I then woke from sleep and experienced unimaginable relief and gratitude as I became aware that my horrifying experience had been a dream.  I realized that the dream was a warning to me from Allah Most High and I humbly thanked Him for that warning.

I left my bed and went out of the home to get some food.  I ate the food but still felt exhausted.  I tried to study but could not do so.  And so I went back to sleep and, surprisingly, I was taken back to the dream and, once again, saw the Day of Judgement.  That dream changed my life. Since that day I have never intentionally missed a salaat (prayer).  All praise is due to Allah Most High Who changed my life with a dream!”

How to respond if anyone says that he has seen a dream?

The Adab (Islamic manners) of responding when anyone says: “I had a dream,” and is about to narrate the dream, is for the listener to immediately say: “God willing, may it be glad tidings.” (Arabic: khair Insha Allah)

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