Posted by Mohammad Awais Tahir
Probabilistic Characteristics
Characteristic # 9
From Allah - SYMBOLIC EVENTS
Dreams from Allah are mostly symbolic but they can also be direct. See Reference # 2, 3 and 4. All the dreams mentioned in Surah Yusuf are symbolic in nature. Dreams from Allah can also contain plain events, but those are so simple in their interpretation that they don't create any confusion. When one gets dreams that contain symbols, then he gets confused between type 1 and type 3.
From Shaitan - DIRECT EVENTS
Dreams whose source is Shaitan contain events rather than symbols and indications.
From Nafs - MIXED SYMBOLIC AND DIRECT
Dreams from the Nafs are mostly direct and it's very rare that they are of a symbolic nature. Symbolism in dreams from Nafs seems vague and irrelevant.
Filter # 9 : I don't have any other proof for it other than my own experience, that in the present world most of the dreams from the Nafs are of direct nature, and hence, a dream containing symbols is most probably from Allah. Also, symbols of type 1 dream are very clear, whereas symbols of type3 dreams seem meaningless and vague.
Characteristic # 10
From Allah - LOGICAL AND SEQUENTIAL
Dreams from Allah are logical and contain a valid sequence of events.
From Shaitan - RANDOM AND CONTRADICTORY
Dreams from Shaitan seem pretty random even when experiencing them. They contain many events that do not conform to our logical mind. One cannot imagine the ways how shaitan confuses us by inventing events that do not make any sense. So, any 'crazy' dream, as people call them, is definitely a work of Shaitan.
From Nafs - LOGICAL, BUT MIXED EVENTS
As dreams from Nafs are based upon our daily experiences, hence they tend to be logical in nature, but they are jumbled up (See the meaning of اضغاث احلام, explained above) .
Characteristic # 11
From Allah - SPECIFIC TOPIC AND BRIEF EVENTS
This characteristic is found in almost all the dreams of Sahaba and the dreams mentioned in the Holy Qur'an but Prophet Muhammad narrated long dreams to Sahaba as well.
From Shaitan - NO TOPIC AND A LONG STORY
Dreams from Shaitan have no topic and they contain long stories, just like horror movies.
From Nafs - MIXED SUBJECT AND MANY EVENTS
Dreams from Nafs contain jumbled up events and no main theme.
Filter # 10 : Hence dreams from Allah are almost always 'short' and they have a specific topic and brief events, whereas in other dreams it is hard to make out what the central theme or what the dream is trying to convey. They either contain long stories that do not make up any sense, or numerous jumbled up short events that do not match with each other.
Characteristic # 12
From Allah - URGENCY TO RETURN TO THE PHYSICAL WORLD
Ibn e Khuldun likes in his muqadma : " the person who has the dream vision wakes up quickly, as soon as he has perceived it. It seems as if he is in a hurry to get back to being awake and having sensual perception. Were he (to continue) to sleep soundly, the perception given him would weigh heavily on him. Therefore, he tries to escape from the state (in which he has supernatural perception) to the state of sensual perception in which the soul is always fully immersed in the body and the corporeal accidents. "(Muqamda ibn e Khuldun , Chapter: The Science of Dream Interpretation)
From Shaitan and Nafs - NO SUCH URGENCY
Urgency to return to the physical world is not found in dreams of type 2 and type 3.
Filter # 11: One experiences a certain jolt as he returns to the physical world, sometimes with a little pain in the heart, on seeing a dream of type 1.
Characteristic # 13
From Allah - CAN SEE ANY TIME
Scholars have mentioned different times during which a true vision is seen.
Ibn e Sireen has mentioned that they are seen during Spring or Fall. Few scholars mention that true dreams are seen during the fruit ripening season. There is no proof of these characteristics from the texts. As a general rule true dreams can be seen at any time of the day or night and during any portion of the year. But, one can expect to have visions from Allah during the last third of the night as during it Allah comes down to the Sky of the earth. Also, there is a weak narration regarding it (See Reference # 24). So, one expect dreams from Allah at holy times and in holy places (sleeping in Masjid e Haram etc). Also, one should not expect a dream from Allah when sleeping through the fajr salah etc.
From Shaitan - CAN SEE ANY TIME
Dreams from Shaitan can also be seen at any time during any portion of the year.
From Nafs - CAN SEE ANY TIME
Dreams from Nafs can also be seen at any time during any portion of the year.
Differences mentioned in books which don't seem logical
SIDE OF SLEEP Few books mention that if one is able to sleep on the right side only then he gets good dreams. But, that does not seem to have any proof. Rather the prophetic narrations suggest that on which side you sleep has no relation with the type of dream that you get. That is why we are ordered to change our side when we have a bad dream, regardless of the fact on which side we were before (See Reference # 33).
COLORS Few scholars have mentioned that dreams from Allah are dominated by brightness and colors, and those from shaitaan are predominantly dark and black. Although dreams from shaitaan seem to be of a dark nature, but one cannot differentiate on this basis between dreams that are of type 1 and type 3.
INTERACTION Few scholars have mentioned that when we cannot interact with dreams from Allah and we cannot change the course of events and one can interact with dreams from Shaitan and Nafs. But that doesn't seem to be a valid characteristic because there are numerous instances in which Prophet Muhammad or Sahaba interacted with the dream they had.
