Dreams is something that have to be cautiously interpreted. Misinterpreting dreams could lead to a treason towards Allah SWT. Muslim scholar also doing many studies about dreams interpretation, where Ibn Qutaybah ad-Dinawari said in his book, “There is nothing in which people deal with from the different sciences that is more obscure, delicate, exalted, noble, difficult and problematic than dreams because they are a type of revelation and type of Prophethood.”
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) himself has once stated, as narrated by Anas bin Malik (RA),
“A good dream (that comes true) of a righteous man is one of forty-six parts of prophet hood.” Bukhari.
But even in the modern day, people still believe that dreams hold significant meaning which will affect their lives. To prevent us from believing things that we shouldn’t be, here are the importance of dreams every Muslim should know.
1. Indirect Signs from Allah SWT
Our Prophets has many dreams regarding of what Allah SWT wanted them to do. It was written on the Quran that Prophet Ibrahim (AS) had a dream about sacrificing his son, Ismail (AS); also where Prophet Isa (AS) had dreams about his deceiving fellow; and the dream of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) regarding the conquest of Mecca.
2. A Guide from Allah SWT
A dream could also be a guide from Allah SWT, as He is never sleeps and always guards us through the night.
“It is He who takes your souls by night…” (Al-An’am, 6:60)
“Allah takes the souls when they die and also those that have not died He takes in their sleep; He keeps those whose deaths have been decreed and sends back the rest…” (Az-Zumar, 39:42)
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3. To Keep the Dream from Envious Persons
We have to be careful about to whom we will share the dreams we had. The meaning of dreams could be easily bent, and driven away from good things. This is the reason why we should never share our dream to the people who are envious to us. Instead of receiving a good suggestion, we might loose our iman.
4. To Know the Types of Dreams
There are 3 types of dreams we might have: true dreams which come from Allah SWT, a dream about ourselves ( what we think through the day and night appear in our dream, and a dream that makes you sad which given by Shaytaan. The third dream shouldn’t be mentioned to anyone.
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5. True Dream is When the Prophet Appears
Based on a Hadith, scholars say that a true dreams is a dream where the Prophet appears. As narrated by Anas bin Malik (RA), the Prophet (SAW) had said,
“Whoever has seen me in a dream, then no doubt, he has seen me, for Satan cannot imitate my shape.” – Bukhari
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6. A Repeated Dream is the Sign of Truth
If someone dreams about the same dream more than once, or more than two people had the similar dreams, then it could be considered as truth. This had happened when the Prophet’s Sahabah have dream about the Night of Qadr, which fell in the last seven days of Ramadan.
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7. A True Dream Does Not Depend on the Time
It’s not true that a dream which happened at night is true, while a dream which happened during the day are false. No matter at what time the dream happened, the truth are all the same.
8. A Dream That Needs Interpretation
There is a dream with clear evidence such as dates or event which need no interpretation. But there is also a dream which contains symbols. This kind of dream needs to be interpreted because symbols can sometimes be delicate and sophisticated.
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9. Dreams Can be Any Event
Dreams could also be a reflection of someone’s concern throughout the day. So the dreams could be any event that happened both in the past or present days.
10. Dreams Nearing the End of Days
Nearing the End of Days, all of dreams are usually true. Ibn Srin said,
“I heard Abu Hurairah saying, ‘Prophet (SAW) said, “When Time approaches, the dream of the believer rarely would lie.’” – Bukhari
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11. Dreams are not the Source of Sharia
Even though some dreams are real and comes true, no dreams become the source of Sharia. Except for the dreams our Prophet had, and written on the Quran. For example is the dream of Ibrahim (AS) which become a part of Islamic tradition until today.
12. True Dreams Takes Time
Dreams does not necessarily has to come true right away. A dreams that is a glad tiding takes time to occur. For example was Yusuf’s (AS) dreams which took 40 years before it becomes a reality. If the dreams are warning, it might occur in short time because our heart is worrying about it.
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13. A Dream That Doesn’t Mean Anything
There is also a dream that holds no meaning. When we dream of something so long like the movie and it seems to be never end, then the dream doesn’t really mean anything.
14. Dreams Shouldn’t Make Someone Proud
Because of someone had a good dream and glad tidings from Allah SWT come afterwards, it shouldn’t make him proud. One’s should be grateful to Allah SWT.
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15. Dreams Interpretation is Presumptive
We should not believe in dreams too much, since it presumptive. The meaning of a dreams based on personal interpretation. And it could brings negative effects to us.
More About Dreams Every Muslim Should Know
Beside its importance, there are also several rules about dream that we need to know. We have to be cautious about dream, because it can cause us to commit a sin we never meant to do.
- Lying about dreams is haraam.
- Faking dreams becomes a great sin.
- Someone can dreams about another person.
- Same dreams could hold different meaning for different people.
- The Prophet says a dream was depended on its interpretation by people.
So those are the importance of dreams in Islam we need to know. From now on, may us try and do our best in life, and not depending solely on dreams.