It was narrated[1] that the Messenger of Allâh, peace and blessings be upon Him, said:
« Whoever has seen me in a dream, has in fact seen me, for Satan does not appear in my form. The dream of a believer is one of the forty-six parts of prophethood »
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In this chapter, I will deal with the help of Allah the Almighty, the four questions below:
- Is it permissible in Islam, to dream of the Messenger of Allâh, peace and blessings be upon him?
- Is Satan endowed with the faculty of incarnating the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?
- How the believer must be sure of having actually dreamed of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?
- What are the traits, appearance and look of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?
- Should we execute the instructions received in a dream from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him?
Section 1: Is it permissible in Islam, to dream of the Messenger of Allâh, peace and blessings be upon him?
Contrary to what is unfortunately widespread, it is clearly recognized in Islam, to dream of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
Indeed, in the Sunnah[2] of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, there are several words showing that it is possible to dream of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and it is even recommended to see to live and feel this matchless pleasure in the life of a believer!
Some identified remarks strictly regulate this category of dreams, while others see them as a blessing from the Almighty; thus overwhelming with happiness the believer who is eager to meet in the hereafter the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
The comments raised, reported in major books dedicated to the Tradition of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, are numerous and expressed in different ways according to the different situations and circumstances having been the causes of their occurrence.
In addition, given the large number of reporters about these remarks, showing that, the subject in question has always attracted a close attention from the companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, their followers and the Ulema who eventually took over.
In some situations, there is a diversity of the words reported. Nevertheless, these words all agree to further confirm the existence of this category of dreams: «Dreaming of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him », which was discussed by the Ulema in its finest details!
Do you know a human being in this universe, whose the fact of dreaming of him has attracted such importance and requires such attention from people who believe in him without seeing him? Yes, there's only one person: Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him!
The close examination of the various words raised, reported by Muslim scholars in their famous works devoted to the tradition of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, led me to group them together as follows:
- « Whoever sees me in a dream, it is really me … »[3] ;
- « Whoever sees me in a dream; has seen the truth (or has made a true dream)… »[4] ;
- « Whoever sees me in a dream; has seen me as in a waking state … »[5] ;
- « Whoever sees me in a dream; will see me in a waking state … »[6] ;
- « Whoever sees me in a dream; it is as if he has seen me in a waking state … »[7].
From what precedes, it appears that dreaming of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, is a legitimate event, commonly accepted by Muslim scholars. We will further see the provisions regulating this class of dreams when they occur in the life of a believer.
The words reported above, were widely discussed and deeply examined and commented by the Ulema. Given the abundance of relevant texts relating to it, I have chosen to expose to the reader only some cases among the most famous ones:
«It appears from the review about the foregoing sayings that dreaming of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him could be commented as follows:
- What we have seen in a dream might be a representation or assimilation of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, because he said, peace and blessings be upon him « … as if he has seen me in a waking state … » ;
- It could be about a true dream that comes true as he has seen it in a waking state or in accordance with the predictions of an oneiromancer to whom it has been submitted for interpretation;
- This type of dreams could be reserved to his contemporaries, peace and blessings be upon him, who believed in him before joining his cause later and saw him closely;
- The dreamer could see him in a waking state on the same mirror he used when he was alive, peace and blessings be upon him. Nevertheless, this is far from being considered in reality;
- The dreamer would be brought closer to him in the afterlife, peace and blessings be upon him;
- The dreamer would meet him and talk to him. However, this cannot be considered in a waking state».
« The symbols that we dream of are only representations of what is known in the waking state. However, what we see in dreams may actually occur in the waking state as it could be in another form in the case the dream requires an interpretation to identify the symbols contained therein.
- For the first case, let us refer to the dream of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, in which he saw his future wife Aicha may the Almighty be pleased with her, even before asking for her hand[10] ;
- For the second case, we quote the dream in which the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, saw « a slaughtering of cows»[11].
Among the benefits that would be overwhelming the one who dreams of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, is to become further motivated to stay on the right path, resisting to temptations and passions that could lead to debauchery and misguidance. Thus, it would be rewarded in the waking state by meeting him in the hereafter, peace and blessings be upon him. This favor is granted only, of course, to those who are obsessed by his love, peace and blessings be upon him.
In addition, dreaming of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, could symbolize the state of faith or Islam. Thus, whatever the message, positive or negative, conveyed in a dream, its interpretation should be reported to faith and Islam. »
« It was reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, has said: « Whoever has seen me in a dream will see me in waking state … », as well as « He who has seen me in a dream, it is as if he has seen me in a waking state … ». The Ulema said:
- The versions « … it is as if he has seen me … », « … he has actually seen me … » and « … has seen the truth … », have the same meaning;
- The versions « … will see me in a waking state … », could be commented as follows:
- This concerns his contemporaries, peace and blessings be upon him. That is to say, those who had entered Islam before seeing him, had to really meet him when joining him where he settled after the exodus[13],peace and blessings be upon him;
- This could mean that the dreamer could meet him in the hereafter, peace and blessings be upon him. This is also legitimate for all the believers who had never met him here on earth;
- This could also mean that the dreamer would meet him in the hereafter with in addition, the privilege of being closed to him and benefiting from his intercession, peace and blessings be upon him»
It follows from the foregoing that, despite the multitude of sayings and the diversity of opinions of Ulema about their meanings, they all agree to confirm the legitimacy of dreaming of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
Also, this diversity is very useful to build the framework in which the Muslims oneiromancers[14] have drawn afterwards the basic rules of their developments as far as the interpretation of this class of dreams is concerned. This is what we will see in the next sections of this book.
[1]Quoted in « Sahih Al Bukhari ».
[2] that is to say everything that has been reported about the sayings and acts of the Messenger of Allah upon Blessings and Salvation.
[3] Quoted by Imam Ahmed, Al Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Maja, Addarami and Attarmidi.
[4]Quoted by Imam Ahmed, Al Bukhari.
[5] Quoted by Muslim and Ibn Maja.
[6] Quoted by Muslim and Ibn Maja.
[7] Quoted by Muslim and Ibn Maja.
[8] Quoted in « Fath Al Bari, commen of Sahih Al Bukhari », in « le livre de l’interprétation des rêves ».
[9] Quoted in « Fath Al Bari, comment of Sahih Al Bukhari », in the book « Interprétation des rêves ».
[10] Al Bukhari reported what follows,according to Aïcha may Allahbe pleased with her: «the Messenger of Allah,peaceand blessings be upon him said :Before marrying you,i saw in a dream, twice,that i was married to you.An angel held you in a piece of silk. I asked him «Unveil! », and it was you! I said then: I can only accept what has been decided by Allah the Almighty ».
[11] Al Bukhari reported what follows, according to Abu Mussa : « the Messenger of Allahpeace and blessings be upon him said : I saw in a dream that I was traveling from Mecca to a land where there were palm trees, I first thought it was Al Yamama or Hajar, before being sure after that it was Medina. I saw cows, what is good news. This dream symbolizes the situation of believers - fighters-day Ohod, as well as the blessings the Almighty has filled us after the day of Badr ».
[12] Quoted in « Comment of Sahih Muslim », by the Imam Annawawi.
[13] Exodus: Hégira. Moving of the Messenger of Allah peace and blessings be upon him as well as his companions may Allah be pleased with them, from Mecca to Medina.
[14] Muslims oneiromancers: « Ahl Att’Abir », the scholars who devoted their work to the Islamic interpretation of dreams.
