Have you ever wondered what is the reality of dreams in Islam? As Science states that dreams are the result of our daily tasks, our subconscious minds, our fears of past or future incidents and our unsatisfied desires, Is that the case? As a Muslim, I should believe in my dreams or not?
We often say or listen that I had a dream or a bad dream last night, but we don’t know what they are; Are they a sign of future incidents? Are we having bad dreams as a warning to get back on the right path or are they just illusions?
If you are wondering about all these factors, you will receive the answers to your questions about the reality of dreams in Islamafter reading the well- researched information bellow:
What is a dream in Islam?
According to the Quran, when a person sleeps his body is detached from his sleep for the period until he wakeup, so when we sleep it is like we experience short term death.
According to the Quran:
“It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death; and those that die, not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death, khwab ki tabeer He keeps back (from returning to life), but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed verily in this are Signs for those who reflect. [39:42]”
So, we dream in a state of mini death, and our soul experiences different incidents that come to us like a dream.
In Islam there is a significant status of dreams, The reality of Dreams in ISLAM as our prophets dreamed about different incidents and that events always come true or the prediction of future events, for instance, prophet Ibrahim dreamed about sacrificing prophet Ismael, his son and the dream of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) about the victory of Muslim in the conquest of Mecca.
But now the question is, are the dreams of common people are also true? The answer is no, in Islamic there are three categories of dreams. We can understand the reality of dreams in Islamic by this saying of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):
“Dreams are of three types: a dream from Allah, a dream which causes distress and which comes from the Shaytan, 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)
Haditun Nafs/ Self Talk:
These dreams are the result of our daily routine tasks, our imaginations, fears and unfulfilled desires like if you are trying to get a position in your exams you will dream that you have got your desired position. These dreams are easily forgotten by a person, usually in five minutes after a person is awake, and hold no certain meanings as they are the result of a person’s thinking and imaginations.
Hulm/Dreams from Shaytan:
These dreams are usually disturbing and become your nightmares. Shaytan tries to trouble us with these dreams; usually, these dreams are scary like you will see that you got into an accident or died, your loved ones are dead or in great trouble. The reason devil for doing this is to not only terrified us but also to weaken our belief on faith and Allah.
In these reality of dreams, we also saw ourselves committing sins that are against morality and our religious teachings, the purpose of shaytan for sending them, is to attract us towards sin and take us away from the right path. These dreams are not true and just a seed of sin and fear that devil try to sow in our hearts, that’s why our prophet (PBUH) said that don’t tell these dreams to anyone, as they are just to make us terrified and after watching them, we usually wake up due to extreme fear and anxiety The reality of Dreams in ISLAM.
Mubashhiraat or Ru’Yaa /Dream from Allah:
These dreams are always true and come from Allah, the signs of these dreams are you will never make up due to fear and anxiety and you will remember them correctly with every little detail.
It is stated in al-Bukhaari, 6472; Muslim, 4201
Our Prophet (PBUH) said, “True dreams are one of the forty-six parts of Prophethood.”
But these dreams are very rear and depends upon the sincerity of person towards Allah, as stated in al-Bukhaari, 6499; Muslim, 4200:
Our Prophet (PBUH) 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. The reality of Dreams in ISLAM”
These dreams always hold certain meanings and to understand these dreams we need interpretations. They can be the prediction of future happenings or a warning against evil.
Types of Mubashhiraat or Ru’Yaa:
Clear dreams and truthful dreams:
These dreams are predictions of future events. Allah will show you a glimpse of the future but you need a proper interpretation to understand these dreams khawab ki tabeer, these dreams are a test of your faith in Allah as they are not due to a person own rightfulness but Allah choose the person on his own will.
Not very clear dreams:
They are also true and come from Allah but are not very clear and you need an interpretation to understand the meaning of these dreams. But only a person with great taqwa knowledge about religion can interpret these dreams, for example, the dream of the king of Egypt about future and prophet Yousaf interpreted it. In the Quran, it is stated that:
“Thus will thy Lord choose thee and teach thee the interpretation of stories (and events) and perfect His favor to thee and the posterity of Jacob – even as He perfected it to thy fathers Abraham and Isaac a foretime! for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.”
If we have a true dream, we should share them with the persons and should be happy about that, but a person should never lie about these dreams, as it is stated by our Prophet (PBUH):
“Whoever tells of a dream that he did not see will be commanded [on the Day of Resurrection] to tie two grains of barley together, but he will never be able to do it.”
So, in Islam reality of dreams is that dreams are real and hold significant meanings but sometimes to understand them we need proper interpretation.