"THE DREAMS & THE DREAMERS" _خواب اور خوابیدہ

Dreams & Interpretation

Dreams and dream interpretation

True dreams are a part of Prophethood, as it was reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“True dreams are one of the forty-six parts of Prophethood.” (al-Bukhaari, 6472; Muslim, 4201)

Dreams marked the onset of Revelation (al-Bukhaari, 3; Muslim, 231).

The truthfulness of the dream is related to the sincerity of the dreamer. Those who have the most truthful dreams are those who are the most truthful in speech. (Muslim, 4200)

Towards the end of time, hardly any dreams will be untrue. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“That will be because the Prophethood and its effects will be so far away in time, so the believers will be given some compensation in the form of dreams which will bring them some good news or will help them to be patient and steadfast in their faith.” (al-Bukhaari, 6499; Muslim, 4200)

The same may be said of the miracles which appeared after the time of the Sahaabah. This did not happen during their time because they did not need them, due to their strong faith, but the people who came after them needed them (the miracles) because their faith was weak.

Dreams are of three types:

Rahmaani (those that come from Allaah),

Nafsaani (psychological, they come from within a person)

And Shaytaani (those that come from the Shaytaan).

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Dreams are of three types: a dream from Allaah, a dream which causes distress and which comes from the Shaytaan, and a dream which comes from what a person thinks about when he is awake, and he sees it when he is asleep.” (al-Bukhaari, 6499; Muslim, 4200)

The dreams of the Prophets are wahy (revelation) for they are protected from the Shaytaan. The Ummah is agreed upon this. This is why Ibraaheem set out to fulfil the command of Allaah to sacrifice his son Ismaa’eel when he saw that in a dream; may peace be upon them both.

The dreams of people other than the Prophets are to be examined in the light of the clear Wahy [i.e., the Qur’aan and Sunnah]. If they are in accordance with the Qur’aan and Sunnah, all well and good; otherwise, they should not be acted upon. This is a very serious matter indeed, for many of the innovators among the Sufis and others have gone astray because of this.

Whoever wants to have true dreams should strive to speak honestly, eat halaal food, adhere to the commandments of sharee’ah, avoid that which Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have forbidden, sleep in a state of complete purity facing the Qiblah, and remember Allaah until he feels his eyelids drooping. If he does all this, then his dreams can hardly be untrue.

The most truthful of dreams are those that are seen at the time of suhoor [just before dawn], for this is the time when Allaah descends and when mercy and forgiveness are close. It is also the time when the devils are quiet, unlike the time of darkness just after sunset, when the devils and devilish souls spread out.

(See Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/50-52)

Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said:

All dreams are either of two types: