When a Muslim Has a Bad Dream
When A Muslim Has A Bad Dream
By: Zaaynab Le’Von
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/phareannah/2513456937/
There are times when our brains remain active even though our bodies are not. There are times when we experience places, people, concepts, and things in our minds without having ever experienced them physically. There are times when we awake feeling like we’ve been somewhere or done something but we can not recall all the small details – we just have that feeling. Sometimes that feeling causes worry, laughter, or calm. Sometimes that feeling leads to confusion, fear, or insight. Sometimes that feeling brings clarification to a pending issue, answers a vital question, or at least gives a clue. These times happen often for some, seldom for others, or never for a few. These times have been studied, interpreted, and re-told. These times are when we dream.
According to a hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (RA), the Prophet (Salaallahu Alayhi wa Salaam) said: “When the time [of the Day of Resurrection] draws near, a believer’s dream will hardly be false. And the truest vision will be of one who is himself the most truthful in speech, for the vision of a Muslim is the forty-fifth part of Prophecy, and dreams are of three types:
[1] The good dream which is glad tidings from Allah (SWT)
[2] The bad dream which causes distress, which is from the shaytaan
[3] The dream which represents what a person is thinking about. [Sahih Muslim, Hadeeth # 2263]
Type-1 is Rahmaani and is considered as Ru’yaa, which means positive dreams from Allah (SWT), type-2 is Shaytaani and is considered as Hulum, which means negative dreams from the shaytaan, and type-3 is considered Nafsaani which means these are dreams from your lesser self. The third dream type is the same as the workings of the subconscious mind. Let’s say you have been thinking hard about something all day. These thoughts are stored in your subconscious mind, the part of the mind that allows one to act or exist without conscious awareness or perception. Have you ever heard someone say, It was in the back of my mind? They are referring to an idea or thought they forgot because it was mostly a part of their subconscious mind.
When thoughts are constantly controlled by one idea or concept the brain stores these thoughts similar to the way a librarian shelves books – by category. The thinker will probably have a dream about their constant thoughts or the dream may contain fragments of those thoughts mixed with other ideas or experiences.
When dream type-2 and type-3 from the above hadeeth are intertwined one has had a so-called bad dream and the shaytaan is attempting to frighten the dream and/or lead them away from the straight path. It is best not to mention negative dreams to others because mentioning the dream or thinking too much of it gives it more validity. Instead of harping on a bad dream the believer should do all or some of the following:
[1] Ignore the shaytaan’s attempts and seek refuge with Allah
[2] Spit or blow (without releasing saliva) to the left of their resting place three times
[3] Turn over and sleep on the opposite side of his body
[4] Not tell anyone about it
[5] Get up and pray.
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InshaaAllah by performing these acts the believer will not be harmed. These acts are recommended from the following ahadeeth.
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (RA) that the Prophet (Salaallahu Alayhi wa Salaam) said: “Dreams are of three types: glad tidings from Allah, what is on a person’s mind, and frightening dreams from the shaytaan. If any of you sees a dream that he likes, let him tell others of it if he wishes, but if he sees something that he dislikes, he should not tell anyone about it, and he should get up and pray.” [Saheeh Sunan Ibn Maajah, Hadeeth #3154]
It was narrated that Abu Qutaadah (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (Salaallahu Alayhi wa Salaam) said: “Good dreams come from Allah and bad dreams come from the shaytaan. If anyone sees a bad dream that scares him, let him spit drily to his left and seek refuge with Allah from its evil, then it will not harm him.” [Al-Bukhaari, Hadeeth #3292 & Muslim, Hadeeth #2261]
It was narrated from Jaabir (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (Salaallahu Alayhi wa Salaam) said: “If any one of you sees a dream that he dislikes, let him spit drily to his left three times and seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan three times, and turn over onto his other side.” [Muslim, Hadeeth #2262]
Good dreams require prayer as well if one seeks to have the dream become a reality. It could be that Allah (SWT) is showing you something good that has already happened or about to happen because it is in your divine decree – all you need to do is remain steadfast and patient. Whenever confused about a dream, whether good or bad, praying istkhara (the prayer for guidance) will bring clarity to the situation.
SALAT UL-ISTIKARA
Transliteration: Allahumma inni astakhiru-ka bi-’ilmi-ka wa astaqdiru-ka bi-qudrati-ka wa as’alu-ka min fadli-ka ‘l-’azim fa-inna-ka taqdiru wa la aqdiru wa ta’lamu wa la a’lamu wa Anta ‘Allamu ‘l-ghuyub.
Allahumma in kunta ta’lamu anna hadha ‘l-amra khairun li fi dini wa dunyaya wa akhirati wa ‘aqibati amri wa ‘ajili-hi wa ajili-h fa-’qdir-hu li wa yassir-hu li thumma barik li fi-h wa illa fa-’srif-hu ‘an-ni wa yassir liya ‘l-khaira haithu kana ma kuntu wa raddi-ni bi-qada’i-ka ya Arhama ‘r-rahimin
English: “O Allah, I ask You to show me what is best, through Your knowledge, and I ask You to empower me, through Your power, and I beg You to grant me Your tremendous favor, for You have power, while I am without power, and You have knowledge, while I am without knowledge, and You are the One who knows all things invisible. O, Allah, if You know that this [insert the issue/dream here]undertaking is in the best interests of my religion, my life in this world, and my life in the Hereafter, and can yield successful results in both the short term and the long term, then make it possible for me and make it easy for me, and then bless me in it. If not, then turn it away from me, and make it easy for me to do well, wherever I may happen to be, and make me content with Your verdict, O Most Merciful of the merciful.’” (Source for Salatul Istikhara: www.al-baz.com)
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~Zaaynab Le’Von is a journalist from Houston, TX whose passion is to write pieces beneficial to those who practice Islam as well as those who have interest in what she calls a “peaceful and structured way of life”. She is a spoken word artist, crochet designer, aspiring Special Educator, & a devoted wife. She’d love to connect with you on YRAC and/or Facebook.
