6 Manners If Having Nightmares in Islam and Its Verses

One of the things that is usually experienced by human is dreaming. Dreams become the part of the greatness of Allah where our souls are released from the body. Allah said,

اللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنْفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا ۖفَيُمْسِكُ الَّتِي قَضَىٰ عَلَيْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ الْأُخْرَىٰ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى ۚإِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

“Allah holds the soul (people) when they die and (holds) the soul (people) who have not died at their sleep time; then He holds back the soul (people) that He has determined their death and He releases the other souls until the time that has been determined. Indeed, in that, there are the signs of the power of Allah for those who think.” (QS. Az-Zumar: 42)

Besides a sweet dream, there is also a nightmare that is not actually from Allah, but it is from satan. From Hadith Bukhari and Muslim, from Abu Hurairah radhiallahu ‘anhu, the Prophet shallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said,

الرؤيا ثلاث حديث النفس وتخويف الشيطان وبشرى من الله

“There are three kinds of dreams: the whisper of the heart, scared by satan, and good news from Allah.”

When having a nightmare, we should do some things that have been taught by the Prophet such as the following below:

1. Ta’awudz

The Prophet taught us to read ta’awudz three times if having a nightmare.

الْحُلْمُ مِنْ الشَّيْطَانِ فَإِذَا حَلَمَ فَلْيَتَعَوَّذْ مِنْهُ وَلْيَبْصُقْ عَنْ شِمَالِهِ فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَضُرُّهُ

“Nigtmares are from satan, then if one of you has a nightmare, you should ask for protection to Allah because of it.” (Hadith Al-Bukhari)

There is also a ta’awudz sentence that has been taught by Allah through the Qur’an,

فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

“If you read the Qur’an, ask for protection to Allah from the cursed satan.” (QS. An-Nahl [16]: 98)

2. Spitting to the left

If having a nightmare, then he should spit three times to the left.

إِذَا رَأَى أَحَدُكُمْ الرُّؤْيَا يَكْرَهُهَا فَلْيَبْصُقْ عَنْ يَسَارِهِ ثَلَاثًا وَلْيَسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ الشَّيْطَانِ ثَلَاثًا وَلْيَتَحَوَّلْ عَنْ جَنْبِهِ الَّذِي كَانَ عَلَيْهِ

“If one of you dreams with the dream that he does not like, then he should spit to the left three times, seek for protection to Allah from the disturbance of satan three times…” (Hadith Muslim)

3. Changing the sleep position

The other things that need to do when having a nightmare is changing the sleep position. This is according to the Prophet’s suggestion,

إِذَا رَأَى أَحَدُكُمْ الرُّؤْيَا يَكْرَهُهَا فَلْيَبْصُقْ عَنْ يَسَارِهِ ثَلَاثًا وَلْيَسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ الشَّيْطَانِ ثَلَاثًا وَلْيَتَحَوَّلْ عَنْ جَنْبِهِ الَّذِي كَانَ عَلَيْهِ

[AdSense-B]

“If one of you dreams with the dream that he does not like, then he should spit to the left three times, seek for protection to Allah from the disturbance of satan three times, and change the sleep position from the first position.” (Hadith Muslim)

4. Praying

If we wake up because of the dream, then we should do the night prayer immediately.

فَإِنْ رَأَى أَحَدُكُمْ مَا يَكْرَهُ فَلْيَقُمْ فَلْيُصَلِّ وَلَا يُحَدِّثْ بِهَا النَّاسَ

“Therefore, if you dream that you do not like, wake up, then praying…” (Hadith Muslim)

5. Do not tell it to other people

If we have a nightmare, then we should not tell that dream to other people because that dream is from satan.

عَنْ جَابِرٍ قَالَ جَاءَ أَعْرَابِىٌّ إِلَى النَّبِىِّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ رَأَيْتُ فِى الْمَنَامِ كَأَنَّ رَأْسِى ضُرِبَ فَتَدَحْرَجَ فَاشْتَدَدْتُ عَلَى أَثَرِهِ. فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- لِلأَعْرَابِىِّ « لاَ تُحَدِّثِ النَّاسَ بِتَلَعُّبِ الشَّيْطَانِ بِكَ فِى مَنَامِكَ ». وَقَالَ سَمِعْتُ النَّبِىَّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- بَعْدُ يَخْطُبُ فَقَالَ « لاَ يُحَدِّثَنَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِتَلَعُّبِ الشَّيْطَانِ بِهِ فِى مَنَامِهِ .

From Jabir radhiallahu ‘anhu, there was a Bedouin that came to meet the Prophet then asked, “O Rasulullah, I dreamed about my head was decapitated then it rolled then I ran fast to chase it.” The Prophet shallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said to that person, “Do not tell other people about the act of the satan that plays with you in the dream world.” After that, I heard the Prophet deliver in one of his sermons, “Do not tell other people about the act of the satan that plays with him in the dream world.” (Hadith Muslim)

[AdSense-C]

6. Do not think about it

As mentioned in the verse before, if having a nightmare, then we should not think about the dream that we had.

الرُّؤْيَا عَلَى رِجْلِ طَائِرٍ مَا لَمْ تُعْبَرْ فَإِذَا عُبِرَتْ وَقَعَتْ

“The dream is on a bird’s feet (floating) as long as it is not being tabeer/interpreted, if it is interpreted, it could be that the dream will happen.” (Hadith Ibn Majah; shahih)

Abu Qatadah said,

إن كنت لأرى الرؤيا أثقل علي من جبل، فما هو إلا أن سمعت بهذا الحديث، فما أباليها

“Indeed, I once dreamed that I felt heavier than a mountain, after I heard this hadith, I did not care about that dream.”

Those were the 6 manners if having nightmares in Islam and its verses. See how perfect Islam is, even a little thing like this, there are still the manners and rules. Hopefully we are always able to practice every teaching of the Prophet. Aamiin.