https://www.khutbah.info/interpretation-of-dreams/ Indeed, the children of Adam have a deep fascination and a passionate keenness concerning matters of the unseen, both past and future. To deny this is to ignore and distance oneself from reality. However, the extent of this phenomenon depends on the extent to which people are close to the light of prophethood and the true Sharia that governs this matter. Allah Almighty said: Al-Jinn (72) 26-27: (26) [He is] Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] unseen to anyone (27) Except whom He has approved of messengers.
إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ ,نَحْمَدُهُ ,وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ , وَنَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَمِنْ سَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا ,مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ , وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ , وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ
Verily, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, we seek His assistance and we ask for His forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Him from the evils of our selves. Whoever Allah guides, none can misguide. Whoever He misguides, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
يَا أَيُّهَا الّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ – آل عمران:102
Al Imran 102 : O you who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.
Oh people:
Indeed, the children of Adam have a deep fascination and a passionate keenness concerning matters of the unseen, both past and future. To deny this is to ignore and distance oneself from reality. However, the extent of this phenomenon depends on the extent to which people are close to the light of prophethood and the true Sharia that governs this matter. Allah Almighty said:
عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ فَلَا يُظْهِرُ عَلَىٰ غَيْبِهِ أَحَدًا (26) إِلَّا مَنِ ارْتَضَىٰ مِن رَّسُولٍ (27) – الجن 26-27
Al-Jinn (72) 26-27: (26) [He is] Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His [knowledge of the] unseen to anyone (27) Except whom He has approved of messengers.
Islam, in its essence, is a religion that removes superstition from the mind, vice from the heart, and straying from the path. Belief in the unseen is not belief in illusions or delusions, nor is it a prompt for chaos. Those spared in this regard, may not be spared from another matter, driven by passion and the desire to know the future, which they believe is closely linked to their future’s stability. Thus, they seek insight into the unknown future through their visions and dreams. Therefore, some people are deeply saddened by a disturbing dream, and gleefully joyous because of a comforting dream.
Dreams have always played a significant role in the human experience, both in pre-Islamic and Islamic times. The interpretation of dreams, however, differs widely among various groups, influenced by their specific backgrounds and beliefs. Some, for example, dismissed the spiritual aspect of dreams, attributing them instead to physical causes within the body, which they believed could affect one’s mental state during sleep. Similarly, others have reduced dreams to biological and material processes. While others, overly focus on dreams and visions, and are obsessed and fixated on the interpretation of dreams. Others use the interpretation of dreams to fuel their superstitions and unfounded practices .
This contrasts with the balanced Islamic approach rooted in the Quran and Sunnah. The Prophet ﷺ informed us that the true and righteous dream is a truth from Allah, and that some dreams bear good news, while others warn.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إنَّ الرِّسالةَ والنُّبوَّةَ قد انقطعت فلا رسولَ بعدي ولا نبيَّ قالَ فشقَّ ذلِكَ على النَّاسِ فقالَ لَكنِ المبشِّراتُ . فقالوا يا رسولَ اللَّهِ وما المبشِّراتُ قالَ رؤيا المسلمِ وَهيَ جزءٌ من أجزاءِ النُّبوَّةِ
“Indeed the message and prophethood have ended, for there will be no messenger after me, nor a prophet.” This saddened the people, then he said: “But there are glad tidings.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what are the glad tidings?” He replied, “The dream of a Muslim, which is a part of prophethood.” [Sahih At-Tirmithi 2272, Grade: Sahih]
And glad tidings here may be good or bad news, as Allah Almighty says:
فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ-آل عمران 21
Al-Imran (3) 21: Give them tidings of a painful punishment.
And the Prophet ﷺ described dreams saying:
إِذَا اقْتَرَبَ الزَّمَانُ لَمْ تَكَدْ رُؤْيَا الْمُؤْمِنِ تَكْذِبُ وَأَصْدَقُهُمْ رُؤْيَا أَصْدَقُهُمْ حَدِيثًا وَرُؤْيَا الْمُسْلِمِ جُزْءٌ مِنْ سِتَّةٍ وَأَرْبَعِينَ جُزْءًا مِنَ النُّبُوَّةِ
When time draws near, the dreams of a believer will hardly ever fail to come true, and the most truthful of them in dreams will be the truest in speech among them. The dream of a Muslim is a portion among the forty-six portions of Prophethood. [Bukhari 7017, Muslim 2263, Ibn Majah 3917]
To achieve an optimal approach in handling the frequent occurrence of dreams, let us consider some etiquettes.
Imam Muslim narrated that Abu Salamah said, ‘I used to see dreams that made me sick, until I met Abu Qatadah and mentioned that to him. He said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
الرُّؤْيَا مِنَ اللَّهِ، وَالْحُلْمُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ، فَإِذَا حَلَمَ أَحَدُكُمُ الْحُلُمَ يَكْرَهُهُ فَلْيَبْصُقْ عَنْ يَسَارِهِ وَلْيَسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنْهُ، فَلَنْ يَضُرَّهُ
A good vision (dream) is from Allah and a bad dream is from the Satan. He who sees something in a dream that he dislikes, should spittle on his left side three times and seek refuge with Allah (from the bad dream and satan), for then it will not harm him. [Bukhari 6986, Muslim 2261a]
Abu Salamah said, ‘I used to see a dream that weighed heavier on me than a mountain, but after I heard this Hadith, I did not give it any attention.’
Therefore, not every dream that a sleeper experiences is considered meaningful and interpretable. For dreams fall into three categories, with no fourth. Auf bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ الرُّؤْيَا ثَلاَثٌ مِنْهَا أَهَاوِيلُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ لِيَحْزُنَ بِهَا ابْنَ آدَمَ وَمِنْهَا مَا يَهُمُّ بِهِ الرَّجُلُ فِي يَقَظَتِهِ فَيَرَاهُ فِي مَنَامِهِ وَمِنْهَا جُزْءٌ مِنْ سِتَّةٍ وَأَرْبَعِينَ جُزْءًا مِنَ النُّبُوَّةِ
Dreams are of three types: Some are terrifying matters from Satan, aimed at causing grief to the son of Adam, some are matters that a person is concerned with when he is awake, so he sees them in his dreams, and some are a part of the forty-six parts of prophecy. [Sunan Ibn Majah 3907, Grade: Sahih]
Al-Baghawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: ‘This Hadith clarifies that not everything a person sees in his sleep is correct and interpretable. Only those from Allah Almighty are true, and the rest are just false dreams without interpretation. An example of these false dreams, is what Muslim narrated about a Bedouin who came to the Prophet ﷺ and said:
O Messenger of Allah, I saw in my dream that my head was struck and rolled away, and I was running after it. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to the Bedouin:
لا تُحَدِّثِ النَّاسَ بتَلَعُّبِ الشَّيْطَانِ بكَ في مَنَامِكَ
Do not tell people about the Satan toying with you in your sleep. [Muslim 2268d]
As for handling this type of dream, which is prevalent, there are specific etiquettes in the Sunnah, which include seeking refuge with Allah from the evil of this dream and from the evil of Satan, and that the seer should spittle lightly to his left side three times upon waking, and should not mention the dream to anyone at all, and should perform prayer as they are able, and should turn to the other side from the one that they were previously sleeping upon. Some scholars added reading Ayat al-Kursi because it is authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ that whoever recites it, Satan will not come near him, and this type of dream is indeed from the Satan.
As for the second type of dream, people bring them upon themselves due to being consumed by specific matters. While they are awake, people may be preoccupied with something related to travel, work, trade, or the like, and then see it in their dreams when they sleep. This is an extension of what they were thinking about while they were awake. These are from the false dreams that have no interpretation.
Thus, what remains is the third type, the correct and righteous vision that comes from Allah. This type includes dreams that are either glad tidings or warnings. This type of dream may be clear and obvious, and not require interpretation. For example, Ibrahim, peace be upon him, saw that he was slaughtering his son, peace be upon him. And this type of dream could also be obscure, containing symbols that need someone knowledgeable to interpret, like the dream of the prison companion of Yusuf, peace be upon him. This type of dream is what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prohibited from narrating except to a knowledgeable person or a well-wisher, as he ﷺ said:
لاَ تُقَصُّ الرُّؤْيَا إِلاَّ عَلَى عَالِمٍ أَوْ نَاصِحٍ
Do not narrate dreams except to a knowledgeable person or a well-wisher.[Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2280, Grade: Sahih]
Other than these types of dreams, those related to establishing something as halal (lawful) or haram (unlawful), or worship, or determining the Night of Decree, or those dreams that lead to actions affecting the rights and sanctities of people, or judging their integrity and intentions through dreams, all of these are from the false dreams and should not be relied upon according to the majority of scholars.
Al-Shatibi mentioned in his book ‘Al-I’tisam’ that the Caliph Al-Mahdi intended to kill Shareek bin Abdullah, the judge. Shareek said, ‘Why would you do that, O Commander of the Faithful, when my blood is prohibited for you?’ He said, ‘Because I saw in a dream that I was approaching to talk to you, and you were talking to me from behind your back. So, I sent for a dream interpreter and asked him about it’ He said, ‘This is a man who appeases you while concealing opposition to you.’ Shareek said, ‘O Commander of the Faithful, your dream is not like that of Yusuf son of Jacob, and the blood of Muslims is not to be spilled based on dreams.’ Al-Mahdi bowed his head and gestured with his hand for him to leave, so he left.
أَقُولُ مَا تَسْمَعُونَ وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْبٍ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
I say what you have heard and I seek forgiveness from Allah for me and you from every sin. So seek forgives from Him, Verily He is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
Second Khutbah
الحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ, وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ , وَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَاْ إِلَهَ إِلَّاْ اَللهُ وَحْدَهُ لَاْشَرِيْكَ لَهُ وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدَاً عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُوْلُهُ
All praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and I bear witness that there is no deity other than Allah and I bear witness that Mohammad is His slave and messenger.
Oh Muslims:
It is not fair and balanced to solely blame individuals for their obsession with dreams but also to consider the role of dream interpreters, who bear significant responsibility towards those seeking dream interpretations. Dream interpreters must possess deep knowledge of this profound subject. An interpreter of dreams must be knowledgeable in this field, understand the benefits and harms within this domain, and should feel the weight of this responsibility. For the interpretation of dreams is akin to issuing religious edicts, as the king said:
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمَلَأُ أَفْتُونِي فِي رُؤْيَايَ إِن كُنتُمْ لِلرُّؤْيَا تَعْبُرُونَ-يوسف 43
Yusuf (Joseph) 43: O eminent ones, explain to me my vision, if you should interpret visions.
Ibn Al-Qayyim said, The mufti, the interpreter of dreams, and the doctor are privy to people’s secrets and vulnerabilities that others are not aware of, so they must practice discretion in what should not be disclosed.
And if Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, May Allah be pleased with him, who was the greatest in iman (faith) and most truthful in interpretation, was told by the Prophet ﷺafter interpreting a dream:
أَصَبْتَ بَعْضًا وَأَخْطَأْتَ بَعْضًا
You are correct in some of it and mistaken in some of it. [Sahih Muslim 2269a]
So how about those less than him in iman (faith) and ability to interpret?
So let us follow the prophetic guidance in handling dreams. And for the dreams that are correct and interpretable, we should seek out the knowledgeable and reliable dream interpreters while realizing that their interpretation may not be correct.
We ask Allah Almighty to make us among those who are mindful of Him in private and in public, and are moderate and balanced in their approach and to write us among the successful. Indeed Allah is All Hearing, Answering.
هَذَا وَصَلُّوا وَسَلِّمُوا عَلَى نَبِيِّكُم كَمَا أَمَرَكُمْ بِذلِكَ رَبُّكُمْ , فَقَالَ
I conclude with this and send prayers of blessings and peace upon your Prophet as your Lord commanded:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ ۚ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا
Al Ahzaab (33) 56: Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace.
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنا فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ وَعَافِنا فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ وَتَوَلَّنا فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ وَبَارِكْ لنا فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ وَقِنا شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلاَ يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ وَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ
O Allah, guide us with those whom You have guided, grant us well-being among those You have granted well-being, be an ally to us along with those whom You are an ally to, and bless what You have bestowed upon us, and save us from the evil of what You have decreed. For verily You decree and none can decree over You. He whom You support can never be humiliated. Glory is to You, our Lord, You are Blessed and Exalted.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الشَّرِّ كُلِّهِ عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ مَا عَلِمْنا مِنْهُ وَمَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا سَأَلَكَ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا عَاذَ بِهِ عَبْدُكَ وَنَبِيُّكَ اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْأَلُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا قَرَّبَ إِلَيْهَا مِنْ قَوْلٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ وَنَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ كُلَّ قَضَاءٍ قَضَيْتَهُ لَنا خَيْرًا
O Allah, We ask You for all that is good, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we seek refuge with You from all evil, in this world and in the Hereafter, what we know and what we do not know. O Allah, we ask You for the good that Your servant and Prophet has asked You for, and we seek refuge with You from the evil from which Your servant and Prophet sought refuge. O Allah, we ask You for Paradise and for that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed, and we seek refuge in You from Hell and from that which brings one closer to it, in word and deed. And we ask You to make every decree that You decree concerning us good
عِبَادَ اللّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالْإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
Servants of Allah. Indeed, Allah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.
اُذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ يَذْكُرْكُمْ واشْكُرُوهُ يَزِدْكُمْ واسْتَغْفِرُوهُ يَغْفِرْ لكُمْ واتّقُوهُ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ مَخْرَجًا وَأَقِمِ الصّلَاة
Remember Allah, the Great – He will remember you. Thank Him for His favors – He will increase you therein. And seek forgiveness from Him – He will forgive you. And be conscious of Him – He will provide you a way out of difficult matters. And, establish the prayer.
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