331. All About Dreams

By Asma Bint Shameem

Dreams can be of three kinds 

1. The good dream- that’s from Allaah 

2. The bad dream - the nightmares, the ones you worry about- that’s from the Shaytaan 

3. The thoughts that we’ve been thinking about - that’s from the person’s own subconscious mind. 

So for example, if we’ve been cooking all day and preparing for a special dinner, we might dream about it too Or a student studying hard might dream of himself taking an exam etc. 

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

“Good dreams come from Allaah and bad dreams come from the Shaytaan.” 

(al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

What to do when you see bad dreams?

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

A)”If any one of you sees a bad dream which makes him afraid, let him spit drily to his left and seek refuge with Allaah from its evil, then it will not harm him.” (al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

B) “If any one of you sees a dream that he dislikes, let him spit drily to his left three time, and seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan three times, and change the side on which he was sleeping.” (Muslim)

C) “If any one of you sees something that he dislikes (in a dream), let him get up and pray, and not tell people about it.’” (Muslim)

So if you see a bad dream, you should do the following:

1. Know that this dream is from the Shaytaan, so don’t pay any attention to it. 

2. Spit daily to your left side three times. 

3. Say Aa’oodhu Billaahi min ash-Shaytaanir-Rajeem 

or you can say

أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللهِ التَّامَّاتِ مِنْ غَضَبِهِ وَعِقَابِهِ، وَشَرِّ عِبَادِهِ، وَمِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَنْ يَحْضُرُونِ

 ‘A’oothu bikalimaatil-laahit-taammaati min ghadhabihi wa ‘iqaabihi, wa sharri ‘ibaadihi, wa min hamazaatish-shayaateeni wa ‘an yahdhuroon.

“I seek refuge in the Perfect Words of Allah from His anger and His punishment, from the evil of His slaves and from the taunts of devils and from their presence.” (at-Tirmidhi -hasan by al-Albaani)

4. Ask Allaah to protect you from the evil of this dream.

5. Don’t tell anyone about it.

6. Turn over from the side on which you were sleeping.

7. If you can, then get up and pray. 

If you do this then In Shaa’ Allaah this bad dream will not harm you or affect you in any way. 

A person MAY see a deceased loved one in his dream. 

But no one can guarantee what he’s seeing is true. 

Shaykh ‘Abd Al-Rahmaan Al-Barraak said:

“When a person dies, he moves from this world to another realm, and his soul does not come back to his family and they do not feel anything of him. What is mentioned (in the question) about the soul coming back for forty days is a myth that has no foundation. 

Similarly the dead person does not know anything about the circumstances of his family, because he is absent from them, in a state of bliss or torment. 

But Allaah may inform some of the dead of some of the circumstances of their families, but this is not necessarily so. 

There are some reports, which cannot be relied upon, that say that the deceased may know something about his family’s circumstances. 

With regard to dreams, some of them are true and some are the playing of the Shaytaan. 

The living may come to know something of the circumstances of the dead via true dreams, but that depends on the sincerity of the one who sees the dream, whether the dream is a true dream and the ability of the one who interprets these dreams. 

Yet despite that we should not be certain of what the dream says, unless there is some evidence to indicate that. 

For a living person may see his deceased relative in a dream, advising him to do things or saying some things to him which he may know are true if they match reality. 

There have been some cases in which dreams matched reality and others where there is no evidence to suggest that the dreams are true. 

And some dreams are known to be untrue. 

So dreams are of three types. We must pay attention to that when dealing with news, reports and stories that have to do with the circumstances of the dead.”

(Islamqa Fatwa # 13183)

As for true dreams, Shaikh Salih al-Munajjid said:

“True dreams are a part of Prophethood, as it was reported that the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam said: 

“True dreams are one of the forty-six parts of Prophethood.”

(al-Bukhaari, 6472; Muslim 4200)

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 Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam 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)

Shaikh Salih al-Munajjid also said:

“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 Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam 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)

And Allaah knows best.