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.

Source

The Strategic Role of Dreams and Visions In Islam 

By Sheikh Imran Hosein

Mechanism Of Different Types Of Dreams

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

B- Mechanism Of Different Types Of Dreams

(1)Dreams from Allah سبحانه و تعالى: They are of an extra dimensional nature (See Reference # 10). The scholars who wrote on the subject of 'ruh' have discussed these dreams of type 1 in great detail. 

Although it is not possible for us to comprehend fully the matters of the spirit, but one thing is certain that dreams of type one are initially received by the 'ruh' and then we are able to visualize them even in our dimension. 

How this happens? Ibn e Khuldun writes in his Muqadmah:" The spirit of the heart is the vehicle of man's rational spirit. Through its essence, the rational spirit perceives everything that is in the divine world, since its reality and its essence are identical with perception. It is prevented from assimilating any supernatural perception by the veil of its preoccupation with the body and the corporeal powers and senses. 

If it were without that veil or stripped of it, it would return to its reality, which is identical with perception. It would thus be able to assimilate any object of perception. If it were stripped of part of it, its preoccupation would be less. It is thus able to catch a glimpse of its own world, since external sense perception, its greatest preoccupation, now occupies it less. 

Its (supernatural perception) corresponds (in intensity) to the degree to which the veil is withdrawn from it. Thus it becomes prepared to receive the available perceptions from its own world that are appropriate for it. When it has perceived these perceptions from its own worlds, it returns with them to its body, since, as long as it remains in its corporeal body, it cannot be active except through corporeal means of perception.The faculties through which the body perceives knowledge are all connected with the brain. The active part among them is the imagination. 

It derives imaginary pictures from the pictures perceived by the senses and turns them over to the power of memory, which retains them until they are needed in connection with speculation and deduction. From the (imaginary pictures), the soul also abstracts other spiritual-intellectual pictures. In this way, abstraction ascends from the sensibilia to the intelligibilia.The imagination is the intermediary between them. 

Also, when the soul has received a certain number of perceptions from its own world, it passes them on to the imagination, which forms them into appropriate pictures and turns those perceptions over to the common sense. As a result, the sleeper sees them as if they were perceived by the senses. Thus, the perceptions come down from the rational spirit to the level of sensual perception, with the imagination again being the intermediary. This is what dream visions actually are."

(Muqamda ibn e Khuldun ,Chapter: The Science of Dream Interpretation) (These paragraphs are hard to grasp, but without having understood these it is hard to move forward, anyone having difficulty should try and find me on Googletalk, and I will try to elaborate by the will of Allah)

(2)Dreams from Shaitan: Shaitan is basically a Jinn. Jinns are extra-dimensional beings for us, and they have been given the power (or some of them acquire the power) to interact with those in other dimension. Those Jinn which disturb humans living in other dimension are known as Shayateen. Everyone of us have a Shaitan with us which runs through our body like the blood and disturbs us through various ways. One of the way adopted by Satan is to disturb is through sleep. Nightmares are a result of Satanic intervention into our 'physical' domain of sleep ( See Reference # 36). How Jinns enter into our dimension and interact with our perceptions is a matter beyond our comprehension and very little thinking has been done on the topic because dreams from satan have no real importance and we've been told to ignore them.


(3)Dreams from Nafs: Ibn e Khuldun writes in his muqadma: All of them are pictures in the imagination while an individual is asleep. However, if these pictures come down from the rational spirit that perceives (them), they are dream visions. But if they are derived from the pictures preserved in the power of memory, where the imagination deposits them when the individual is awake, they are "confused dreams." (Muqamda ibn e Khuldun , Chapter: The Science of Dream Interpretation)

These are the dreams which belong to this physical dimension of us alone. Psychologists can only comprehend these types of dreams. Any think which occupies our mind for a long time, any extreme wish, any captivating fear which might be preserved in some corner of our brain might turn up in strange shapes during the dream.These dreams deal with our near or distant past and have nothing do with future.

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

Source

The Strategic Role of Dreams and Visions In Islam 

By Sheikh Imran Hosein

Different Types Of Dreams And Their Names

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

 " Dreams are of three types: one good dream which is a sort of good tidings from Allah; the evil dream which causes pain is from the satan; and the third one is a suggestion of one's own mind "

When we say our prayers we talk to Allah سبحانه و تعالى and when we read the Qur'an Allah سبحانه و تعالى talks to us. There is another way in which Allah سبحانه و تعالى talks to us, that is through dreams. The only source of glad tidings, prophecy and revelation, that remains to the present day are dreams revealed upon the momineen by Allahسبحانه و تعالى . And as the time draws near the end the importance of dreams increases. Allah سبحانه و تعالى talks to us in dreams, sometimes giving us direct messages and sometimes encoded messages which only the wise can interpret. These few lines just for those, who think dreams are nothing more than imagination. Yes, for few of us, dream is nothing more than vain sporting of the shatain and confused plays of the Nafs. If we are yet to experience the sweetness of dreams that come from Allah سبحانه و تعالى and almost always experience vague, useless dreams, then we need to stop and question ourselves, why? I would be giving practical steps in the end to tune ourselves to the right frequency to get dreams from the right source. 

Modern Science is yet to fully comprehend the phenomenon of dreams. Who programs different types of dreams? Who dictates the randomness? Psychologists have played their part in understanding different types of dreams and their relation with different types of sleeps, but with their limited tool of 'five-senses' they can only comprehend one type of dreams; dreams that are a result of what we think during the day or have something to do with a past experience. There are other types of dreams which have relation with a dimension which is beyond the scope of 'five-senses', and hence lies in the domain of metaphysics or parapsychology. 

Ibn Al Qayyim says, " Those who says that these dreams are only thoughts and beliefs, are wrong and make an impossible claim. Because a body does not have the inbuilt capability to know things which are told in dreams. In some dreams they are not thoughts as the body has no hint or sign of them. However, sometimes they might be a result of thoughts, one cannot disagree with it . Dreams are of three types : From Allah, From Satan and From Nafs" (Kitab ur Ruh, Ibn Al Qayyim)

 
 

The purpose of this write-up is to understand: 

A- What are the different types of dreams and what are their names?
 
B- Mechanism of different types of dreams?
 
C- What are the subcategories within the main categories?
 
D- How to deal with different types of dreams?
 
E- How to differentiate between different types of dream?
 
F- Guideline for those who have dreams from Shaitan and Nafs only.

 
 

To understand the article better see the references mentioned here

 

(This is already a pretty long write-up, so I've not mentioned the references along the way. But those who really wish to get something from the article, should open the references in another tab and consult them where I've referred to them)

  

A- Different Types Of Dreams And Their Names 

 

" Dreams are of three types: one good dream which is a sort of good tidings from Allah; the evil dream which causes pain is from the satan; and the third one is a suggestion of one's own mind " (Reference# 35)

 

So, as per the broadest categorization there are three types of dreams:
 
(1) Dreams from Allah سبحانه و تعالى :  

They have various names الرُّؤْيَا : Dreams. It comes from the root word (رءى), and it means seeing a something in a dream (الرُّؤْيَا), in contrast to الرؤية which means seeing a physical object. In all the references that we've mentioned below the word الرؤيا is used for good dreams or dreams from Allah سبحانه و تعالى and the word حلم is used for dreams from satan or those due to one's own thinking. ( See مفردات القران by Imam Raghib) 

الرُّؤْيَا الرحمانية : Dreams from Ar-Rahman
الرُّؤْيَا الصادقة : True Dreams
الرُّؤْيَا الصالحة : Good Dreams
الرُّؤْيَا الْحَسَنَةُ : Good Dreams
رُؤْيَا الْمُؤْمِنِ : Dreams of a mo'min (believer) 

(2) Dreams from Shaitan :

الحلم : As metnioned above the word حلم is always used for false dreams (dreams that are from the satan or from one's own thinking). Hence, within احلام we can form two different categories. الاحلام الشيطانية and الاحلام النفس . Also, when the word حلم is used alone in the texts it is used for the dreams from satan, and when dreams from Nafs (own thinking) are mentioned the word ألاحلام النفس or اضغاث الاحلام is used. 

الاحلام الشيطانية : As mentioned above, used to specificy as dreams from shiatan whereas the word حلم alone also means so. 

(3) Dreams from Nafs: 

اضغاث الاحلام : The word has been used to refer to dreams that are a result of one's own thinking, that takes some strange shapes in dreams. The word has been used twice in the Qur'an. See Reference # 4 and also Surah Al Anbiya 21:5. اضغاث comes from the root word ض غ ث which means dry grass or branches, which is used to point towards mixed up dreams that are of no significance when it comes to interpretation. ( See مفردات القران by Imam Raghib) 

حديث النفس: A thought, a vision that comes from within one's own self.

الاحلام النفس : A false or bad or meaningless dreams that come from with one's own self.

 

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

Source

The Strategic Role of Dreams and Visions In Islam 

By Sheikh Imran Hosein