Guidelines For Those Who Have Dreams From Satan And Nafs Only

Differentiating Between Dreams from Allah سبحانه و تعالى, Shaitan and Nafs

Posted by Mohammad Awais Tahir

Set of References For Learning How to Differentiate between types of dreams

F- Guidelines For Those Who Have Dreams From Satan And Nafs Only

Behold! verily on the friends of Allah there is no fear, nor shall they grieve; Those who believe and (constantly) guard against evil;- For them are glad tidings, in the life of the present and in the Hereafter; no change can there be in the words of Allah. This is indeed the supreme felicity. 
(Surah Younus 10:64)

The glad tidings mentioned in the Ayat are the 'mubashiraat' that one has from Allah in dreams. This is a great blessing promised for those who are 'friends of Allah'. The type of dream that a person has depends so many variables that its not possible for us to control the types of dreams that we have. But, yes, the much we try to get close to Allah, and follow his commandment, and the more we suppress our Nafs, and seek Allah's refuge from the Shaitan, there are more chances of getting meaningful dreams. 

A m'omin wishes to see dreams from Allah, because this way he can get messages from Allah, which are directed to him. Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Men from the companions of Allah's Apostle used to see dreams during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle and they used to narrate those dreams to Allah's Apostle. Allah's Apostle would interpret them as Allah wished. I was a young man and used to stay in the masjid before my wedlock. I said to myself: "If there were any good in myself, I too would see what these people see." So when I went to bed one night, I said: "O Allah! If you see any good in me, show me a good dream." (Sahih Al Bukhari) 

Yet, one ought not make this a 'sign' of one's piety or disbelief, because it is dependent on other variables as well. It does indicate some lapse on his part, but that doesn't necessarily indicate his 'sins'. There have been non-muslims who have seen Prophet Muhammad dream and who turned to Islam on seeing such a dream. All praise be to Allah. I mentioned in the beginning that I'll be giving practical steps in the end for those who don't have any dreams of type 1.

1. Try and Sleep as Early as possible after Isha
2. Try not to sleep after Fajr
3. Sleep for half an hour or an hour in the afternoon
4. Read Surah Al Falaq and Surah An Nas and blow it over your body before sleeping and have a firm belief that now I'm in Allah's protection from the Shaitan
5. Perform Ablution before sleeping
6. Try and keep yourself busy in Islamic activities during the day
7. Try and contemplate as much as possible on Surah Yusuf
8. If you remain in 'self-denial', then improve your 'self-image'.
9. If you remain confused and sad always, try to remain in a happy mood as the Prophet Muhammad used to be the one who smiled the most.
10. When in front of people try to smile, and your tears, sadness etc should be before Allah only or some chosen loved ones.
11. Make the du'a of Ibn e Umar before sleeping : O Allah! If you see any good in me, show me a good dream.
12. Try not to eat just before sleeping
13. Lie down on bed only when you are really tired and ready to sleep In short : You have to keep yourself involved in matters that make you 'remember' Allah during the day, and remember that your Nafs and Shatain are with you and you've to try your best to supress them. 
14. Have a wish that Allah shows you signs in dreams. 
15. Don't make your life 'dependent' on dreams. 
16. Do wait for dreams from Allah, but never go into the slightest of discontent. 
17. Try and realize your 'self', your 'ruh' and your direct connection with Allah.

Before ending with du'aa, I would like to mention a blessing of Allah. He who has made this far, and read the article, would have done it for the love of Allah, and in order to try to be able to get and understand better messages from the loved one, Allah. And he who loves Allah, I love him too. 

About six years ago, I saw a dream that I am ending Masjid e Nabwi of old times. I am moving towards the minbar (though I cannot see it), and I am sure once I reach the minbar I would find Prophet Muhammad sitting there. After a while my vision started diminishing, and and I couldn't see anything. For few seconds, I couldn't see anything. Then I heard an azaan in beautiful voice, I was sure that it's the azaan of Bilal رضى الله عنه. Then I could see again, I started moving towards the minbar again. After a while again, my vision started diminishing, and everything was blank again. Again I heard the azaan and the vision came back and I started moving forward. This happened four or five times. The last time when my vision was gone, I didn't hear the azaan, and I woke up. As soon as I woke up, I jumped from my bed, there was great pain in my heart, and I wept. I was very sad that I didn't see the Prophet Muhammad even after reaching that close. Oh Allah! Forgive me if I said anything wrong in this article, and remove it from the minds of people and accept from me whatever I said right, and inculcate it in the hearts of the people. I request everyone who has benefitted from any portion of my article to say Aamin at this du'aa:

" Oh Allah! After six long years, I still await the sight of Prophet Muhammad SAW. Oh Allah! I am not worthy of meeting the most blessed being of all times, but I ask you for your mercy. Oh Allah! If you see any good in me, show me good dreams, and show me your beloved Prophet. Oh Allah! Give me the knowledge of dream interpretation and open my mind to realize the marvels of the ruh. Oh Allah! Bless with you love and love of your loved ones. Oh Allah! These eyes weep and desire to see You and Your Prophet on the Day of Judgment. Oh Allah! Don't take away from me the greatest of all blessings, that is the sweetness of Your sight on the day of judgment, and don't take away from me the blessing of the sight of Your Beloved Prophet in dream " (Aameen)
Author: Mohammad Awais Tahir

The author may or may not have the same views on the topic and would not like to be quoted on what has been said above. The author, however, deems nothing wrong with changing opinions, hence, he does not wish to amend/remove posts that do not resonate with his current thinking. “Those who never retract their opinions love themselves more than they love truth.”

Copyright © 2011 Islam and Psychology. Feel free to spread.

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The Strategic Role of Dreams and Visions In Islam 

By Sheikh Imran Hosein

Mandatory Characteristics

Differentiating Between Dreams from Allah سبحانه و تعالى, Shaitan and Nafs

Posted by Mohammad Awais Tahir

Set of References For Learning How to Differentiate between types of dreams

Mandatory Characteristics

Characteristic # 1

From Allah THAT GIVES YOU A GLAD TIDING

Dreams that give a glad tiding are from Allah.So, if we see a dream that makes us happy in any way then probably it is a dream from Allah. Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri: The Prophet said, 
"If anyone of you sees a dream that he likes, then it is from Allah, and he should thank Allah for it and narrate it to others; but if he sees something else, i.e., a dream that he dislikes, then it is from Satan, and he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil, and he should not mention it to anybody, for it will not harm him." (Sahih Al Bukhari)



From Shaitan TRIES TO MAKE YOU WORRIED

If you have a dream that makes you worried, or that tries to inculcate some vain fear in your main then that dream is from shaitan. Jabir reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: There came to him (the Holy Prophet) a desert Arab and said: I saw in a dream that I had been beheaded and I had been following it (the severed head). Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) reprimanded him saying: Do not inform about the vain sporting of devil with you during the night. (Sahih Al Muslim)



From Nafs MIXED

Dreams that are a result of our thoughts might make us worried or might make us happy. It depends on the content that we embed in our mind that takes some haphazard shape in the dream. All sorts of emotions might come out as a result of a mixed dream.

Filter # 1 : Hence, it is easy to filter out false dreams. Any dream which is displeasing to you on the face of it, is either from shaitan or because of some fear that you have in the back of your mind (type 3). But, any displeasing dream will not be from Allah. Now, if one has a pleasing dream can one be sure that this is from Allah, it could also be some intense unaccomplished wish. To confirm whether it is a type 1 dream or not we should look at the other characteristics. And Allah Knows Best.



Characteristic # 2

From Allah HAVE MEANING AND INTERPRETATION

Allah gives us some glad tiding, or shows us some path, or gives us some future information. Also, the dream can be an encouragement etc. In short, the dream has some meaning, and if it is a 'coded' dream then it needs an interpretation.

From Shaitan MEANINGLESS

Dreams from Shaitan are meaningless and is a try of Shaitan to make us worried.

From Nafs MEANINGLESS

Dreams from Nafs do tell us about the nature and thoughts of the dreamer but they have no real information for the dreamer himself, and he ought not disclose such dreams to others. Hence, for the dreamer these dreams are meaningless.

Filter # 2 : Hence, one can make out from the content and guess whether it is a type 1 dream or not. It is not that difficult to guess which content is meaningful and which one is meaningless. And Allah Knows Best.




Characteristic # 3

From Allah RECURRING

It is the sunnah of Allah to repeat the important message, as we see in the Holy Qur'an the Ayaat of great value are repeated again and again. Similarly, important dreams from Allah are repeated again and again.

From Shaitan and Nafs SINGLE TIME

It rarely happens that a dream from Shaitan or Nafs is repeated as it is.

Filter # 3 : Filtering out satanic dreams, which either have an immodest content or try to make us worried, is easy. A dream from Nafs repeating itself as it is, is something whose probability is near to impossibility, considering the randomness of dreams of Nafs. Hence, a dream which is recurring is of some value and is a dream of type 1. And Allah Knows Best.




Characteristic # 4

From Allah LOOKS AS IF EVENTS ARE REALITY IN THEIR PORTRAYAL

Dreams from Allah are a 'reality' of some higher order, hence one feels them a reality during the dream. This leaves a long-lasting effect on one's mind he remembers the dream in a better with the minute details. He remains fully immersed in the dream and it seems like a reality to him.

From Shaitan LOOKS LIKES THOUGHTS, NOT CONSISTENT WITH FACTS

Dreams from Shaitan, look like a movie-scene more than a reality. They have so many loop-holes, so many happenings that are not consistent with the facts. Many a times, one makes it out during the dream that this is not a reality, I must be dreaming and at the very same instant the dream ends.

From Nafs COMBINE REALITY AND FANTASY TOGETHER

Dreams from Nafs are a combination of reality and fantasy. It depends on the intensity of the dreams from 'Nafs' because sometimes the dream is very clear, and sometimes it is vague. Nevertheless, a careful insight into the dreams shows that the events don't seem like a reality in portrayal like the dreams from Allah are.

Filter # 4: Once again, one can easily ignore the dreams from shaitan. It's not difficult to make out a movie-scene from a reality. It can become difficult some times to differentiate between dreams from Nafs and dreams from Allah, on based of this characteristic alone. But if one combines other characteristics with it then it becomes easy. Filter # 4 and Filter # 5 should always be used together for a better analysis.




Characteristic # 5

From Allah REMEMBERS DETAILS OF DREAM

Dreams from Allah seem just like a reality. As compared to other types of dreams, in the computational language, dreams from Allah have a very high 'quality'. One can remember the minutest details of the dreams from Allah.

Ibn e Khuldun writes in his Muqadma : "Another sign is that the dream vision stays and remains impressed with all its details in the memory of (the person who perceived it). Neither neglect nor forgetfulness affects it. No thinking or remembering is required, in order to have it present (to one's mind). The (dream vision) remains pictured in the mind of (the dreamer) when he awakes. Nothing of it is lost to him. This is because perception by the soul does not take place in time and requires no consecutive order, but takes place all at once and within a single time element."(Muqamda ibn e Khuldun , Chapter: The Science of Dream Interpretation)

When Allah sends us a message directly, then it is not on us to remind ourselves of it continually so that we remember it, instead Allah's message has the in-built capacity that one remembers its minute details, until Allah wishes to wipe it off from one's mind for one reason or the other. As Allah said to Prophet Muhammad in Surah Al Qiyamah : " Do not set your tongue in motion to make haste with (the revelation of the Qur'an). It is up to us to put it together and to recite it. And when we recite it, follow its recitation. Then, it is up to us to explain it."

From Shaitan FORGET DETAILS AND MIXES IT

One tends to forget dreams from Shaitan as soon as he wakes, not if he 'forcefully' reminds himself of it.

From Nafs MAY FORGET DETAILS AND MIXES DETAILS

Dreams of type 3 have a better retention than type 2, but one cannot remember the minute details of the dream."Confused dreams, on the other hand, take place in time, because they rest in the powers of the brain and are brought from the power of memory to the common sense by the imagination, as we have stated. (The process is an action of the body,) and all actions of the body take place in time. Thus, they (require) a consecutive order, in order to perceive anything, with something coming first and something else coming later.Forgetfulness, which always affects the powers of the brain, affects (them). That is not the case with the perceptions of the rational soul. They do not take place in time and have no consecutive order. Perceptions that are impressed in (the rational soul) are impressed all at once in the briefest moment. Thus, after (the sleeper) is awake, (his) dream vision remains present in his memory for quite some time. In no way does it slip his mind as the result of neglect, if it originally made a strong impression. However, if it requires thinking and application to remember a dream vision after a sleeper is awake, and if he has forgotten many of its details before he can remember them again, the dream vision is not a true one but a confused dream." (Muqamda ibn e Khuldun ,Chapter: The Science of Dream Interpretation)

Filter # 5 : Dreams that are useless do not have good retention, they do not have a good 'quality'. One tends to forget the details of such dreams as soon as he wakes up. Dreams from Allah on the other hand are those which are just like reality. So, if you have to 'struggle' to remember the details of the dreams, or you 'fill-up' the missing-links of a dream by yourself then it is surely not a dream from Allah.




Characteristic # 6

From Allah CHASTE NOT INDECENT

Allah never commands what is shameful. (Surah Al A'araf 7:28)

From Shaitan INDECENT

For he (Shaitan) commands you what is evil and shameful, and that ye should say of Allah that of which ye have no knowledge. (Surah Al Baqarah 2:169)

From Nafs BY NATURE OF DREAMER AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION

"Nor do I absolve my own self (of blame): the (human) soul is certainly prone to evil, unless my Lord do bestow His Mercy: but surely my Lord is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."(Surah Yusuf 12:53)

Those who desire indecent acts and involve themselves in them during are expected to see the same in dreams.

Filter # 6 : Any indecent dream can easily be disregarded as a false dream (type 2 and type 3). Of course decency in dreams is not exactly what decency means in this world. For example : if someone dreams of the end times, and everyone is running naked, that might not be counted as a indecent dream. Also, those who involve themselves in indecency throughout the day, might find modesty in the most impure of dreams. He who abides by the Islamic ruling of modesty, will not see an immodest dream, and if he does so will immediately realize it to be a game of shaitan or the nafs.




Characteristic # 7

From Allah DOES NOT OCCUR BECAUSE OF WET DREAMS See characteristic # 6

From Shaitan MAY OCCUR BECAUSE OF WET DREAMS See characteristic # 6

From Nafs MAY OCCUR BECAUSE OF WET DREAMS

Wet dreams after a certain time period. At that time, shaitan or the nafs takes up the opportunity to show indecent images to a person in dream. Of course, that does not hold true for everyone. There are those who have wet dreams without even the slightest of indecency. Hence, it depends on the piety of the person, his age, his marital status as to what sort of wet dream he normally experiences.

Filter # 7 : Any wet dream is to be disregarded as a meaningless dream.




Characteristic # 8

From Allah DEAL WITH PRESENT OR NEAR OR DISTANT FUTURE

Dreams from Allah are either a live experience or they give some direct or indirect message or glad tiding for near and distant future. Example of live experience, can be meeting with dead. For examples of dreams that deal with future see Reference # 2, 3 and 4.

From Shaitan NO RELATION WITH PAST, PRESENT OR FUTURE

Dreams from Shaitan are meaningless and have no relation whatsoever with past, present or future.

From Nafs AS A RESULT OF SOME HAPPENING IN NEAR OR DISTANT PAST

Dreams from Nafs are a result of some feeling deposited in the brain as a result of some happening in near or distant past. For example : A child wishes to eat an ice-cream, but his parents don't fulfill his wish during the day, then the child's wish might be fulfilled in the dream. Also, dreams from Nafs might express the general behavior, mentality or actions of the dreamer. Hence, one is advised to tell dreams only to the one who loves, because telling a dream of Nafs by mistake to someone not appropriate, might reveal some of your secret to him.

Filter # 8 : It is pretty tough to differentiate between dreams on this characteristic, as this is a hidden characteristic not evident to the dreamer. Any extreme pending wish taking some shape in the dream can be mistakenly take as a glad tiding for future. Dreams that come from Allah are of vital importance, hence, fulfillment of an ice cream wish can easily be identified as type 3 dream, and fulfillment of one's wish for umrah can be taken as a glad tiding from Allah (See Reference # 9).

Copyright © 2011 Islam and Psychology. Feel free to spread.

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The Strategic Role of Dreams and Visions In Islam 

By Sheikh Imran Hosein

Dreams of Sahaba

Set of References for Learning How to Differentiate between types of dreams

Posted by Mohammad Awais Tahir 

This is a list of Ayaat of Holy Qur'an and the Ahadith of Prophet Muhammad SAW. This set of references will aid us in understanding the subject of dreams better. This set of references has been collected in order to understand better how to differentiate between the different types of dreams.

The Main article can be found here:

Differentiating Between Dreams from Allah, Shaitan and Nafs

 

Dreams of Sahaba

(41) Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Some people were shown the Night of Qadr as being in the last seven days (of the month of Ramadan). The Prophet said, "Seek it in the last seven days (of Ramadan)"

(Sahih Al Bukhari)

(42) Um al-'Ala said: "(regarding Usman bin Maz'un) By Allah, I will never attest the righteousness of anybody after that." She added: "Later I saw in a dream a flowing spring for 'Uthman. So I went to Allah's Apostle and mentioned that to him. He said, that is (the symbol of) his good deeds (the reward for) which is going on for him."

(Sahih Al Bukhari)

(43) Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Men from the companions of Allah's Apostle used to see dreams during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle and they used to narrate those dreams to Allah's Apostle. Allah's Apostle would interpret them as Allah wished. I was a young man and used to stay in the masjid before my wedlock. I said to myself: "If there were any good in myself, I too would see what these people see." So when I went to bed one night, I said: "O Allah! If you see any good in me, show me a good dream." So while I was in that state, there came to me (in a dream) two angels. In the hand of each of them there was a mace of iron, and both of them were taking me to Hell, and I was between them, invoking Allah: "O Allah! I seek refuge with You from Hell." Then I saw myself being confronted by another angel holding a mace of iron in his hand. He said to me: "Do not be afraid, you will be an excellent man if you only pray more often." So they took me till they stopped me at the edge of Hell, and behold, it was built inside like a well and it had side posts like those of a well, and beside each post there was an angel carrying an iron mace. I saw therein many people hanging upside down with iron chains, and I recognized therein some men from the Quraish. Then (the angels) took me to the right side. I narrated this dream to (my sister) Hafsa. Hafsa told me that she had mentioned it to the Prophet and he said: "Abdullah is a righteous man, if only he would pray more at night." (Az-Zuhri said: "After that 'Abdullah used to pray more at night.")

(Sahih Al Bukhari)

(44) Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: A man came to Allah's Apostle and said: "I saw in a dream, a cloud having shade. Butter and honey were dropping from it and I saw the people gathering it in their hands, some gathering much and some a little. And behold, 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 (after that) another (third) held it and went up, and then after another (fourth) man held it, but it broke and then got connected again."

(Sahih Al Bukhari)

(45) Narrated Qais bin 'Ubada: I was sitting in a gathering in which there was Sa'd bin Malik and Ibn 'Umar. 'Abdullah bin Salam passed in front of them and they said: "This man is from the people of Paradise." I said to 'Abdullah bin Salam: "They said so-and-so." He replied: "Subhan Allah! They ought not to have said things of which they have no knowledge, but I saw (in a dream) that a post was fixed in a green garden. At the top of the post there was a handhold and below it there was a servant. I was asked to climb (the post). So I climbed it till I got hold of the handhold." Then I narrated this dream to Allah's Apostle. Allah's Apostle said: "Abdullah will die while still holding the firm reliable handhold (i.e., Islam)."

(Sahih Al Bukhari)

(46) Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Some people were shown the Night of Qadr as being in the last seven days (of the month of Ramadan). The Prophet said, "Seek it in the last seven days (of Ramadan)." 

(Sahih Al Bukhari) 

(47) Narrated 'Abdullah bin Salam: (In a dream) I saw myself in a garden, and there was a pillar in the middle of the garden, and there was a handhold at the top of the pillar. I was asked to climb it. I said: "I cannot." Then a servant came and lifted up my clothes and I climbed (the pillar), and then got hold of the handhold, and I woke up while still holding it. I narrated that to the Prophet who said: "The garden symbolizes the garden of Islam, and the handhold is the firm Islamic handhold which indicates that you will be adhering firmly to Islam until you die."

(Sahih Al Bukhari)

(48) Narrated Ibn 'Umar: I saw in a dream a piece of silken cloth in my hand, and in whatever direction in Paradise I waved it, it flew, carrying me there. I narrated this (dream) to (my sister) Hafsa and she told it the Prophet who said (to Hafsa): "Indeed, your brother is a righteous man," or, "Indeed, 'Abdullah is a righteous man."

(Sahih Al Bukhari)

Author: Mohammad Awais Tahir

The author may or may not have the same views on the topic and would not like to be quoted on what has been said above. The author, however, deems nothing wrong with changing opinions, hence, he does not wish to amend/remove posts that do not resonate with his current thinking.

“Those who never retract their opinions love themselves more than they love truth.”

Copyright © 2011 Islam and Psychology. Feel free to spread.

Source