Interpretation of Dreams

‘Ā’ishah, Mother of the Believers, (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The first thing the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) started to experience from the revelation was the good vision in his sleep. He never saw a vision except that it came true like the break of dawn. Then seclusion was endeared to him, and he used to retreat to the Cave of Hirā’, where he would engage in Tahannuth-which is worship—for several nights before returning to his family and taking provisions for this. He would then go back to Khadījah to take provisions again for a similar number of nights until the truth came to him while he was in the Cave of Hirā’. The Angel came to him and said: Read! He said: "I do not know how to read." He said: "He took hold of me and pressed me forcefully until I could no longer bear it and then released me, saying: Read! I said: I do not know how to read. He took hold of me and pressed me forcefully for the second time until I could no longer bear it and then released me, saying: Read! I said: I do not know how to read. He took hold of me and pressed me forcefully for the third time and then released me, saying: {Read in the name of your Lord Who created, created man from a clinging clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous.}" [Surat al-‘Alaq: 1-3] The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) returned with these while his heart was trembling. He entered upon Khadījah bint Khuwaylid (may Allah be pleased with her) and said: "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him until the shock of fear was gone from him. Then he informed Khadījah of what had happened and said to her: "Indeed, I feared for myself." Khadījah said: No, by Allah, Allah will never fail you. Verily, you maintain kinship ties, help those in need, support the destitute, provide the guests with food and shelter, and assist those affected by calamities. Khadījah took him to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn ‘Abdul-‘Uzza, who had embraced Christianity in the pre-Islamic period and used to write the Scripture in Hebrew. He would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadījah said to him: O my cousin, listen to what your nephew has to say. Waraqah said to him: O my nephew, what have you seen? The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed him of what he had seen. Waraqah said to him: This is the same Nāmūs (i.e., the angel) whom Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live until the time when your people would drive you out. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Would they drive me out?" Waraqah said: Yes. No one has ever come with something like what you have brought without being treated with hostility. If I should live until that day, I would support you strongly. Soon after, Waraqah passed away, and the revelation paused.

Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The good vision is from Allah, and the dream is from the devil. So, if any of you has a dream of which he is afraid, let him spit on his left and seek refuge with Allah from its evil, for it will not harm him."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "If any of you sees a vision he likes, it is from Allah. So, let him praise Allah for it, and let him recount it. If he sees something else that he dislikes, it is from the devil. So, let him seek refuge from its evil and mention it to no one, for it will not harm him."

Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The good vision is from Allah, and the dream is from the devil. So, if any of you has a dream of which he is afraid, let him spit on his left and seek refuge with Allah from its evil, for it will not harm him."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported in that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "All that is left from Prophethood is the glad tidings." They said: "What are the glad tidings?" He said: "The true good dream."

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever has seen me in a dream will see me when he is awake – or it is as if he has seen me while he is awake; the devil does not take my shape."

Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The good vision is from Allah, and the dream is from the devil. So, if any of you has a dream of which he is afraid, let him spit on his left and seek refuge with Allah from its evil, for it will not harm him."

Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The good vision is from Allah, and the dream is from the devil. So, if any of you has a dream of which he is afraid, let him spit on his left and seek refuge with Allah from its evil, for it will not harm him."

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The worst lie is when a man claims to have seen something which he has not seen.”

Abu Qatādah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The good vision is from Allah, and the dream is from the devil. So, if any of you has a dream of which he is afraid, let him spit on his left and seek refuge with Allah from its evil, for it will not harm him."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "If any of you sees a vision he likes, it is from Allah. So, let him praise Allah for it, and let him recount it. If he sees something else that he dislikes, it is from the devil. So, let him seek refuge from its evil and mention it to no one, for it will not harm him."

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "I saw, in a dream tonight, a cloud from which butter and honey were dribbling; and I saw people collecting from these with their hands, some getting much and some little. And there was a rope extending from the earth to the sky, and I saw that you (the Prophet) held it and went up, and then another man held it and went up, and then another held it and went up. Thereafter, another man held it, but it was cut and then got connected again. Abu Bakr said: "O Messenger of Allah, I ransom you with my father, I ask you by Allah to let me interpret this dream." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him, 'Interpret it.' Abu Bakr said: "The cloud is Islam. The butter and honey dribbling from it are the Qur’an. Its sweetness dribbles, and people take much or little from it. The rope which extends from the sky to the earth is the truth which you (the Prophet) are upon. You follow it and Allah raises you high, and then another man follows it and rises up because of it, and another person follows it, and then another man follows it but [the rope] is cut, and then it is connected for him and he rises up with it. O Messenger of Allah, I ransom you with my father, am I right or wrong?' The Prophet replied: "You are right about some of it and wrong about some." Abu Bakr said: "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, tell me about what I was wrong." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not swear."

Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) often used to ask his Companions: "Did anyone of you have a dream?" So dreams would be narrated to him by those whom Allah willed to relate. One day he said: "Last night, I had a vision in which two men (angels) came to me, woke me up and said to me: 'Let’s go!' So I set out with them. We came across a man lying down and another man was standing over his head holding a big rock. He was throwing the rock at the man's head, smashing it. When it struck him, the stone rolled away and he (the thrower) followed it and picked it up. No sooner had he returned to the (first) man than his head was restored to its former state. The thrower then did the same as he had done before. I said to my two companions: 'Glory be to Allah! Who are they?' They said: 'Let’s go, let’s go!' So we proceeded on and came to a man lying flat on his back with another man standing over his head with an iron hook. He would put the hook in one side of the man's mouth and tear off that side of his face to the back (of the neck) and similarly tear his nose from front to back and his eyes from front to back. Then he turned to the other side of the man's face and did just as he has done with the first side. He had hardly completed that side, when the first returned to its normal state. I said to my two companions: 'Glory be to Allah! Who are these?' They said: 'Let’s go, Let’s go!' So we proceeded on and came across something like a Tannūr (a pit, usually clay-lined, for baking bread)." I (the narrator) think the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There was a lot of noise and voices in that oven." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: ‘We looked into it and saw naked men and women, and a flame was reaching up to them from underneath, and when it reached them they cried out loudly. I asked: 'Who are these?' They said to me: 'Let’s go, Let’s go!' So we proceeded on and came across a river.’" I (the narrator) think he said: “…red, like blood.” The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: "...and in the river, there was a man swimming, and on the bank, there was a man who had collected many stones. While the other man was swimming, the first man went up to him. The former (who was swimming) opened his mouth and the latter on the bank threw a stone into his mouth, he then went on swimming again. Then again, he (the former) returned to him (the latter), and every time the former returned, he opened his mouth and the latter threw a stone into his mouth; the process was repeated. I asked my two companions: “Who are these?” They replied: 'Let’s go, Let’s go!' We proceeded on until we came to a man with a repulsive appearance; the most repulsive appearance you ever saw a man having! Beside him there was a fire and he was kindling it and running around it. I asked my two companions: 'Who is this (man).' They said to me: 'Let’s go, let’s go!' So we proceeded on until we reached a garden of deep green dense vegetation with all sorts of spring flowers. In the middle of the garden there was a very tall man and I could hardly see his head due to his towering height. Around him there were children in such an enormous number as I have never seen. I said to my two companions: 'Who is this?' They replied: 'Let’s go, let’s go!' So we proceeded on until we came to a majestic, huge garden, greater and better than any garden I have ever seen. My two companions said to me: 'Go up!' So I went up." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added. "So we ascended until we reached a city built of gold and silver bricks, and went to its gate and asked (the gatekeeper) to open the gate, and it was opened. We entered the city and found there men with one side of their bodies as handsome as the most handsome person you have ever seen, and the other side as ugly as the ugliest person you have ever seen. My two companions told those men to throw themselves into the river. There was a river flowing across (the city) and its water was milky white. The men went and threw themselves in it and returned to us after their ugliness had disappeared, and they came in the best of shapes.’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) further added: ‘My two companions said to me: 'This place is Paradise of Eden, and that is your palace.' I raised up my sight and there I saw a palace, like a white cloud. My two companions said to me: 'That palace is your residence.' I said to them: 'May Allah bless you both! Let me enter it.' They replied: 'You will not enter it now, but you shall enter it (one day).' I said to them: 'I have seen many wonders tonight. What does all that I have seen mean?' They replied: 'We will tell you: As for the first man you came upon, whose head was being smashed with the rock, he was a man who learns the Qur'an and discards it, and who sleeps neglecting the enjoined prayers. As for the man you came upon, whose was having the sides of mouth, nostrils, and eyes torn off from front to back, he was a man who leaves his house in the morning and tells lies that are spread all over the world. Those naked men and women you saw in the oven-like construction, they are the adulterers and the adulteresses. The man who was given a stone to swallow was the eater of usury and the repulsive-looking man you saw near the fire, kindling it, and going around it, was Mālik, the gatekeeper of Hell. The tall man you saw in the garden was Prophet Ibrahīm (peace be upon him) and the children around him are those who died upon the Fitrah.'" According to Al-Barqāni's narration: “…were those who were born upon the Fitrah” The narrator added: “Some Muslims asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ‘O Messenger of Allah, what about the children of the polytheists?’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) replied: ‘And also the children of the polytheists.’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: ‘My two companions added: 'The men you saw who were half handsome and half ugly were these people who had mixed an act that was good with another that was bad, but Allah forgave them.'" According to another narration: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One night two men came to me and took me to a sacred land.” The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) told of the same incident as above and said: "After walking for a while, we came upon a pit, like an oven, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom with a fire raging in it. When the flames rose up (the people in it) also rose up until they were about to come out of it, and when the fire subsided they too would go down with it. In it were naked men and women.” In this narration, we also find: "We came upon a river of blood,” and the narrator was not doubtful: “...a man was in it, and another man was standing on its bank with stones in front of him facing the man standing in the river. Whenever the man in the river wanted to come out, the other one threw a stone into his mouth which made him retreat to his original position. So, whenever he wanted to come out, the other would throw a stone into his mouth and he would retreat to his original position.” In this narration, we also find: "They made me climb the tree and they made me enter an abode so beautiful, the like of which I have never seen before...There (I saw) old men and youths.” In this narration, we also find: “As for the one whose cheek you saw being torn away, he was a liar and he used to tell lies, and the people would report those lies on his authority until they spread all over the world. So he will be punished like that until the Day of Resurrection...The one whose head you saw being crushed is a man whom Allah had given knowledge of Qur'an, but he used to sleep at night (meaning: he did not recite it then) and he did not act upon it (meaning: act upon its orders, etc.) by day. So this punishment will go on until the Day of Resurrection. The first house you entered was the abode of the believers in general and the other house was the abode of the martyrs. I am Jibrīl, and this is Mikā'īl. Raise your head.” I looked up and saw something like clouds. They said to me: “That is your abode.” I said: “Let me enter it.” They said: “You have not completed your life term yet. When you do, you will certainly enter it."