Everyone dreams. Even babies dream. According to laboratory researches , those who thing they don’t dream do not remember their dreams. Dreams are known by religious people as a probable message from God. And even in ancient societies the interpretation of dreams was done by famous oracles who used to assist the rulers in taking decisions about future events. In our contemporary modern world, if you claim to receive any message from dreams people will consider you as insane or bring you to a psychiatric doctor. And in many cases they might be right. Indeed there are a lot of theories of interpretation of dreams, from psychology to applied religion, but is there any basis to claim that dreams can be interpreted accurately or scientifically? Is there any way to observe, experiment and measure dreams so as in the case of natural sciences?
Let us dive into the scriptural basics to see what we can say about the effectiveness of the interpretation of dreams.
Religious people have always considered dreams messages from the divine. All the prophets dreamt, and their dreams were said to be messages and warnings, or sometimes they were just tests of their love of God or guidance. The prophet Muhammad(pbuh) is reported to have said: The dream of a believer is one of forty-six parts of prophecy and whatever is from prophecy cannot be false .” In another narration, the Prophet said, ” The most truthful of you are those with the truest dreams. And the prophet(pbuh) is known to have had a lot of visions. The wife of God’s Prophet, Aisha, God be pleased with her, related that God’s Prophet (pbuh) has said: “Glad tidings are the only part of prophecies that will
remain after me.” Someone asked: ”What are the glad tidings, Oh Messenger of
God?” He replied: “A true dream that one sees or which someone sees for him.”
This is the first of the three categories of dreams according to islamic monotheism. There are good news for the believer and a warning for a sinner.
Since there are conditions to be fulfil for dreams to be interpreted, many Islamic scholars warned that not everyone is qualified to interpret a dream because the interpretation can have an influence on the life of the dreamer. According to imam Muhammad al baqir, the ummah should discuss dreams only the those who fear God. There is a hadis saying that a dream remains suspended between the sky and the aearth until an interpreter explains its meaning. Therefor the status of the interpreter might have a huge influence of the dream. The most famous interpreter of dreams said that the more righteous we are, the more truthful your dreams are likely to be,
and the highest our position within a group of people, the more likely are dreams are to come true.
There are a lot of theories about this. The dream of a servant for his master or a woman’s drem will likely materialize. But the dreams of a sinner, a destitute are sometimes proofs against him. Broadly speaking the more truthful you are, the more likely you will have dreams that will come true. But generally some visions are just a test as life is just a test.
This is the case with the dream of Abraham. The faith of Abraham (pbuh).was once tried
through a dream where he saw himself sacrificing his own son. “He said: ‘0 my
son! I saw in a dream that I offered thee in sacrifice.'” (Qur’an 37-102). As
he reached the point of implementing his dream, God Almighty said: “0
Abraham! Thou hast already fulfilled the vision! -” (Qur’an 37:104-105). Remark that God can count your intention as an action.
Moreover we are warned not to relate our dreams especially to people who are jealous. Joseph(Yusuf) saw a dream a related it to hi father but the later warned him not to relate it to his own brothers.
And during his imprisonment in Egypt, Joseph taught the truth as he interpreted the dreams of his two fellow prisoners. In the Holy Qur’an God Almighty says:
“Two young men entered the prison with him. One of them said: ‘I see myself in a dream pressing wine.’ The other said: ‘I see myself in a dream carrying bread on my head, and birds are eating from it.’ They said: ‘Tell us the truth and meaning of these dreams, for we see that thou does good to all. He replied: ‘Before any food come to feed either of you, 1 will surely reveal to you the truth and meaning of what will befall you. That is part of the duty which my Lord has taught me. 1 have abandoned the ways of a people that do not believe in God and that even deny the hereafter.” (Qur’an 12:36) Joseph added: “Oh my two companions of the prison! As for one of you, he will pour wine for his master to drink. As for the other,
he will be crucified, and the birds will eat from off his head. So it is decreed in the matter which you are inquiring about.” (Qur’an 12:41)
There are so many confusion in the interpretation of dreams but there are some universal symbols: For example riding or driving will mean having one’s life under control, Excrements might be related to income, keys and bags to something trusted to the dreamer etc… But the interpretation requires spiritual maturity and the understanding of divine inspiration that cannot be acquired scientifically. Are sometimes the achievements we see in dreams can be transferred to people related to the dreamer. This might includes his wife, his son, business partner, or someone who has the same name. Etc… A man in the time of the prophet related that he saw himself accepting Islam and pledging allegiance to the prophet(pbuh), but in truth, the man died as an unbeliever, and
it was his son that fulfilled the father’s dream. And many people never remember their dreams for various reasons.
The prophet Daniel, upon whom be peace, has said: “One may forget his dream because of his sins; contradiction between his deeds and intentions or lack of sincerity. A sincere an truthful person will therefore more likely receive true dreams.
Since there a various ways in which dreams are influenced that do not depend on the dreamer, dreams cannot be a reliable source of information unless all the sets of conditions are fulfilled. Unlike certain aspects of spiritual sciences that are measurable and accessible to all, the interpretation of dreams is a reserved to people with either a gift or some special spiritual insights. Denying that dreams can be signs from the divine is disbelief.
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However following the religious precepts and the sunnah is far better than relying on dreams for guidance since the prophets have already given the basis of the religion:
A man asked Imam Ibn Seerin about his opinion on dream interpretation. Ibn
Seerin replied: “Fear God when you are awake, and do not worry about what you
see in a dream.” Whenever he is asked to give a religious opinion about two
similar interpretations, he took the closest one to quran. He once said: “In
essence, this knowledge is taken from the religion of God . Thus, consider carefully your teachers!”
May God bless and guide the reader to the path that is straight
