Conclusion
Our conclusion is that Islam has attached great importance to
dreams and, in particular, to the true dream.
The true dream represents the only possible means for us to attempt in
this age in which new prophets will no longer be sent by Allah Most High, to
understand and explain the phenomenon of prophetic experience. That was the foundation of all great
religious moments in history. True
dreams and the good dreams, when they occur continuously, are a certain indication
of divine favor - that Allah Most
High is pleased with one and has, consequently, conferred blessings.
We live, today, in that age which has witnessed the fulfillment
of the ominous prophecy of the Prophet sallalahu
‘alaihi wa sallam concerning riba:
“There will come a time,” he said, “when you will not be able to
find a single person in the world who will not be consuming riba. And if anyone
claims that he is not consuming riba then surely the vapor of riba will reach
him.”
(Abu Daud, Mishkat. In another text “the dust of riba will reach him.”)
We also live in the age which has witnessed, or is witnessing
the fulfillment of another prophecy in which the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam declared that his followers will be divided in seventy three different
sects, all of whom will be misguided except one. Although this hadith is
not recognized as Sahih (most authentic), it nevertheless describes the
concrete reality with which Muslims now live.
A believer should naturally be concerned of whether or not he/she is
rightly guided. It is in this context that the phenomenon of
continuous ‘good’ and ‘true’ dreams comes to the rescue to provide a private and a certain indication from Allah
Most High Himself confirming
that one has been blessed by Allah Most
High and is, therefore, rightly
guided.
We also live today in the
age which was described by the Prophet sallalahu
‘alaihi wa sallam as the age of fitan and the last age before the end of
the world. This is the age which
witnesses the release of ya’jooj, ma’jooj and al-Masih
al-Dajjal. It is in this age that
mankind will experience the greatest evil from the time of Adam sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam
to the last day. This is also the age of great deception. Things will not be what they appear to
be. Unless the believer has a light with
which to see he will be deceived.
Already the overwhelming majority of Muslims have been deceived!
This is the age which will eventually witness the fulfillment of
many vitally important prophecies of Prophet Muhammad sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Among them the most important appear to be:
- the abandonment of the Hajj (Bukhari);
- the collapse of the international monetary system of paper, plastic and electronic money and the return of gold and silver coins as money (Ahmad);
- the emergence of Imam al-Mahdi: “How will you be when the son of Mary descends and your Imam is one of your number” (Bukhari, Muslim);
- the return of Jesus sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam (Bukhari, Muslim).
These will be events of tremendous importance. We wish to end
our work by directing attention to the fact that Allah (swt) will most certainly
communicate to the believers (and, perhaps, only the believers) informing them when these events are about to
take place. Allah will use the one remaining
part of nabuwwah (Prophethood) as
the means through which He will communicate that vitally important information
to the believers. It is therefore a matter of crucial importance that the
believers pay very careful attention to the dreams of those of the righteous
who have reached that stage of spiritual development in which they are blessed
with continuous good and true dreams. We
end, as we began, by reminding our readers of the words of the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam:
Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah said: “When the
time (of the end of the world) draws close, the dreams of a believer will
hardly fail to come true, and a dream of a believer is one of the forty-six
parts of prophethood.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)
It is a matter of crucial importance, however, that Muslims
recognize that the believers who will be blessed with continuous divine
communication through good and true dreams will be those who adopt the Sufi
epistemology and resist the scientific ‘Protestant’ version of Islam which has made
its ominous appearance in the world of Islam in direct consequence of the
impact of modern western materialist civilization on Muslim religious thought.
We pray that Allah Most
High may grant, both to this writer as well as to the discerning readers
of this book, the will and the determination to strive to conform in external conduct with
the way of life of Islam ordained by Allah Most High, and to pursue internal spiritual purification and growth
to such an extent that we may all be blessed by Allah Most High with good and true dreams.
Most of all, may Allah Most High continuously bless us with
dreams of our beloved Prophet, Muhammad sallalahu
‘alaihi wa sallam.
May Allah make it easy for us
to eat less, sleep less and talk less, to dislike noise (which is what music is
today) and to long for solitude. May Allah
cleanse and purify our hearts and bestow on us hearts filled with love, -
hearts which will shiver with awe when Allah’s name is mentioned, - hearts which will find solace
and comfort on rainy days in the remembrance of Allah. May Allah grant that if and when a stormy day
were to come in our lives, a day when our hearts are sorely tested:
When we must weep,
With a weeping beyond tears;
The day when our heart weeps,
That it will not weep alone!
And it will not weep in vain!
Ameen!
For the back cover:
=========================================================
Narrated ‘Ubada bin As-Samit:
The Prophet said, “The (good) dreams of a faithful believer is a
part of the fortysix parts of prophethood.”
(Bukhari)
=========================================================
Abu Huraira reported that the Messenger of Allah said:
“When the time (of the end of the world) draws close, the dreams
of a believer will hardly fail to come true, and a dream of a believer is one of
the forty-six parts of prophethood.”
(Bukhari, Muslim)
=============================================
“ If a believer, male or female, wishes to be
blessed by Allah Most High 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 music 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.
Believers should regulate their day in such a way that they get
to take a little nap (of sleep) in the mid-afternoon. They should take their
evening meal either before or after the maghrib prayer (at sunset) and should avoid taking a
heavy meal. Anyone who wishes to see good and true dreams should eat less,
sleep less and talk less. They should try to sleep early, i.e., after
the Isha prayer, and should
recite surah alFalaq (Qur’an: Chapter 113), surah al-Naas (Qur’an: Chapter
114) and ayah alKursi (Qur’an: al-Baqara:-2:255) before sleeping in order to seek protection
from evil. They should make wudu (ablution) before sleeping (if they are
without wudu) and should sleep on
the right side. They should then ask Allah Most High to give them a good dream. Such
people will experience deep sleep in the early hours of the night.
It would then be possible for them to rise in the early hours of the
morning, before dawn, to worship Allah Most High. If they have not as yet seen anything, and if
they then go back to sleep, or if they sleep after the morning prayer (fajr prayer),
they are more likely than not to dream, and, if Allah Most High so wills, to be
blessed with good dreams and true dreams.”
