Visions And Dreams

By Imam, Sheikh DR AbdulKadir Al-Salman

Guiding the Common Folk Concerning Visions and Dreams

The First Khutbah

Praise be to Allah, Creator of creation with perfection and precision, and Disposer of the universe with wisdom and inspiration. I praise Him, Glorified be He, for His abundant favour; and I bear witness that there is no god but Him alone, with no partner, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, Who taught man what he knew not, without any ambiguity. Glorified be He; He does not disclose His unseen to anyone save those of mankind whom He is pleased to choose. And among the signs of His power is what the servant beholds in sleep, of visions and dreams — some of which are for glad tidings, for warning and for announcement, as a mercy to His servants and the establishment of proof against them as the days pass by. And I bear witness that our master Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, the best of those sent to mankind, who set forth the reality of visions in the finest exposition and laid down for them the finest rulings, dividing them into three categories: the righteous vision, a glad tiding from Allah, Possessor of bounty and favour; a vision of intimidation from Satan directed at those weak in faith and in Islam; and a vision of self-talk arising from whisperings, anxieties and confused dreams. May Allah’s blessings and salutations be upon him, and upon his family and his noble, righteous companions.

To proceed: O servants of Allah, set before you today is a subject to which Islam has accorded the greatest attention, on account of the ruggedness of its paths and the dangers and pitfalls that surround it — among the common folk and the elite alike, between relatives and strangers, between a husband and his wife, between children and their parents, between a merchant and his partner, and between the learned and the ignorant. It is a subject that charlatans and sorcerers have exploited as an opportunity for profit and trade, for exaggeration and for stirring confusion within society. In it, both the learned and the ignorant have gone astray and led others astray — save those into whose hearts Allah has cast the light of knowledge and of interpretation, so that each like joins its likes, and each similar joins its similars.

It is visions and dreams, O servants of Allah; a journey into their interpretation and expression, and into what has been reported concerning them of etiquette and of rulings of the Sacred Law. Our resolve is to impart to the common folk something of this, given the well-known earnestness of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) concerning it — so much so that it is reported of him that, when he had performed the dawn prayer, he would turn his face to his Companions and say: “Did any of you see a vision last night?” (Reported by Muslim.)

O servants of Allah, it is not hidden from anyone what a great station visions occupy in our pure Law; the sacred texts follow one upon another concerning this matter. Had there been no regard and attention for them, the vision of the Companion Abdullah ibn Zaid (may Allah be pleased with him) would not have found acceptance with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the story of the call to prayer, when he said: “When morning came, I went to the Messenger of Allah and told him what I had seen, whereupon he said: ‘It is indeed a true vision, if Allah wills. Go with Bilal and convey to him what you have seen, that he may call the adhaan with it, for his voice is more resonant than yours.'” (Reported by Ahmad.)

And the most conclusive of them all, O servants of Allah, is His saying, the Exalted: “Indeed, Allah has fulfilled for His Messenger the vision in truth: you shall surely enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, in security, with your heads shaven and your hair shortened, not fearing. For He knew what you knew not, and He has appointed, besides that, a victory near at hand.” (Sūrah al-Fatḥ, 48:27)

Praise be to Allah, Creator of the universe, its earth and its heavens, Disposer of the affair in its height and splendour; with Him are the keys of the unseen, which none knows save those whom He approves. He revealed to His servant Muhammad (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) both in wakefulness and in his visions. May the blessings of my Lord and His peace be upon His beloved, His intimate friend, and His chosen one.

O servants of Allah, what the sleeper sees, according to the authentic hadiths, is but three things. The first is the righteous vision, which delights the believer without deluding him; it is a part of prophethood, and it is the glad tidings that remain after prophethood — that to which His saying, the Exalted, points: “For them are glad tidings in the life of this world and in the Hereafter.” (Sūrah Yūnus, 10:64) This belongs to the prophets and the messengers, and to the believers, in measure of their increase in faith and their purity from defilements.

As for the second, it is the opposite of the first: dreams from Satan, by which he seeks to grieve the servant and to frighten him. It is through this that chaos has spread through our Nigerian society, sparing none of its affliction — neither small nor great, learned nor ignorant, rich nor poor, husband nor wife. And in this category, O servants of Allah, you see the truthfulness of the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) in his saying: “Whoever sees me in a dream has truly seen me, for Satan cannot impersonate me.” And in the doings of dreams you see the impersonation of the devils, who appear to the children of Adam in manifold forms. Concerning this satanic impersonation of human forms there are several authentic narrations: among them, the devil’s taking human form in the teaching of Abu Hurayrah of the Throne Verse (Aayat al-kursee); among them, what Ibn Isḥaaq, Ibn Jareer, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥaatim, Abū Nuʿaym and al-Bayhaqee, in al-Dalāʾeel, reported from Ibn ʿAbbaas— that the devil appeared in the form of a venerable elder in the company of the nobles of Quraysh in Daar al-Nadwa; and what occurred of the devil’s taking the shape of a human being at a pledge of allegiance given to Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddeeq. And how many, how many narrations there are attesting the jinn’s appearance in the form of Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him.

The Second Khutbah

O servants of Allah, if you would wonder, then wondrous indeed are the doings of dreams — more concealed in their beginnings than the creeping of an ant upon a hard rock, and more manifest in their endings than the sun at the height of day. For how many friendships built upon obedience to Allah and sincerity have dreams rent asunder, so that enmity and hatred broke out between their members! How many married lives established upon a firm covenant of affection and mercy have dreams turned into a hell! How many bonds of fatherhood, motherhood and sonship, whose atmospheres were serene and whose pillars stood upon piety and Allah-consciousness, have been overturned by dreams into disobedience, rebellion and far-spreading evil! How many kinships and blood-ties, nurtured upon connection, mutual compassion, kindness and the exchange of benefits, have reverted through dreams to severance, division and torment! And how many businesses, whose owners were loving, loyal and profitable beneath their shade, have been transformed by dreams into a field of war, sorcery and charlatanry!

O servants of Allah, that the matter may appear clear to you, I shall set before you some real-life examples, in which you may touch the doings of dreams with your own hands, and through which you may perceive how firmly the devil is able to impersonate the forms of the children of Adam — to grieve them and to cast enmity and hatred between them.

The devil impersonated the form of a friend to his friend in a dream, holding in his hand a white handkerchief with which he meant to wipe the head of his intimate friend. The man awoke in alarm and hurried to a sorcerer, or an astrologer, or a charlatan, who interpreted his dream for him as meaning that his friend wished to exchange his own livelihood for the man’s livelihood. And so the rope of affection between the two was severed, and each became to the other a bitter enemy — purely on account of evil interpretation.

Likewise, the devil took the form of a mother to a daughter, barring the way between them; the daughter fled in terror to the astrologer, seeking the interpretation of her dream, and the astrologer said to her: “Your mother is behind your failure, your disappointment and your childlessness. Abandon her, both alive and dead, and you shall attain relief and a way out!” And there is the story, not hidden from you, of the son to whom the devil appeared in the form of his mother in a dream, with a black dove in her hand, and it was interpreted for him that he would never succeed in life so long as his mother remained alive — so he brought his mother’s life to an end.

O servants of Allah, among the forms of the devil’s impersonation of the children of Adam in dreams is what has been reported of his taking the form of a husband tying the hands and feet of his wife with a red rope, and then proceeding to shave her private parts. The wife’s journey ended at one of the sorcerers, who said to her: “Your husband wants to use you to increase his provision and his wealth, and he wants to keep you in perpetual captivity for the sake of his own life.” The consequence of her affair was divorce and the disintegration of the family.

And the last example, O servants of Allah, is a satanic impersonation in a dream in the form of a merchant: he showed his business partner that he was urinating in front of his shop. The partner awoke in fright and made his way to his astrologer and told him what he had seen, whereupon the astrologer said: “He wants to bring ruin upon your trade; keep away from him.” And with that, the rope of love was severed, and each of them became the other’s fiercest adversary.

O servants of Allah, my believing sisters, beloved ones in Allah: what you see of dreams in your sleep is nothing but satanic doings and impersonations; by them the devils seek to cause division between you and your mothers, your fathers, your children, your loved ones and your families. O servants of Allah, hold fast, all of you, to the way and the guidance of your Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) concerning these matters, and cling to them with your molars, and you shall be happy and at ease. Desist and refrain from carrying them to soothsayers, charlatans, astrologers and sorcerers, who exploit you by magnifying them, exaggerating them and making them seem great in your eyes.

O servants of Allah, your beloved Muhammad (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) has taught you etiquettes pertaining to the righteous vision:

• that one knows it is from Allah, and praises Him for it;
• that one rejoices in it, and relates it to none but those one loves.

And of the etiquettes of evil dreams:

• seeking refuge with Allah from their evil, and seeking refuge from Satan;
• spitting or blowing thrice to one’s left;
• turning over from the side upon which one was sleeping;
• rising and praying;
• not relating the dream to anyone, nor seeking its interpretation.

O servants of Allah, the third type of visions is the talk of the self — as when the sleeper sees that which occupied him while awake, be it a journey, a trade, or a quarrel he had been pondering before sleep. This belongs to the confused jumble of dreams, which have no interpretation.

Conclusion

And in conclusion, O servants of Allah, it befits us — standing in this blessed station — to remind you of what may earn a man righteous visions, as the scholars (may Allah the Exalted have mercy on them) have stated:

Truthfulness in speech, as the Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “The most truthful of you in vision are the most truthful of you in speech.” (Reported by Muslim.)

Eating lawful provision.

Sleeping in a state of purity.

Abounding in the remembrance of Allah the Exalted, for it bequeaths to one the light of the heart.

Persisting in Allah-consciousness (taqwā) and shunning forbidden things.

And Ibn al-Qayyim says: “Whoever wishes his visions to be true, let him be meticulous in truthfulness, in eating lawful food, and in observing the commands and prohibitions; let him sleep in complete purity, facing the qiblah, and let him remember Allah until his eyes overcome him — for then his visions will scarcely ever prove false at all.”

O servants of Allah, adhere to this blessed supplication established from the Mother of the Believers, ʿĀʾishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who, when she wished to sleep, would say: “O Allah, I ask You for a righteous vision, true and not false, beneficial and not harmful.”

• Imam, Sheikh Dr AbdulKadir Al-Salman, the Ubandoma of Ilorin Emirate, Imam and Khatib of the National Mosque of Nigeria, Abuja