Nightmares

I thought that the Prophet told us not to ever talk about any bad dreams we have because they are from Shaitain.

Lecture: Dream Interpretation
By: Shaykh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi

The Dreams of the Prophet
Dreams are part of revelation; the Prophet was given revelations through dreams (ar-roo^iya) for six months which were part of His message.
Hadrat Ibrahim (as) in his dream saw that he was slaughtering His (as) son, Hadrat Ishmaeel (as).
Sayidinna Ayesha (ra) narrates that the Prophet would see thing in his dreams and then they would come true (before Prophethood). Through dreams Allah (swt) sends messages to people.

The three different types of dreams
The Prophet said: Ar-roo^iya thalatha (dreams are of three types):
1. A dream from Allah (swt) – Vision, it always symbolises something, a. Maalakuh roo^iya, a dream through Angels.
2. Ar-roo^iya min shaytan – Shaytan will appear in your dreams via other forms to tell you something which is untrue or to deviate you. The shaytan cannot take on the form of the Prophet . The Prophet said: If you see me in a dream it as if you have seen me in reality because the shaytan cannot take my form.
3. The Prophet said: The third type of dream is about something which you have been thinking about all day, so eventually you end up seeing it in your dream. Daily matters.

Who should interpret Dreams?
One should have many qualifications to interpret dreams; he should have knowledge of the Quran, Ahadith, poetry, the language, astronomy, plants and the knowledge of people, their backgrounds, the climate and their lands etc because that all contributes to the interpretation of the dream. One quality of the dream interpreter is that he must have Taqwah of righteousness, can differentiate between the halal and the haram, must have intelligence, must be able to understand people on an emotion level, should have studied fiqh etc.

How to interpret dreams from the Holy Quran
All dreams have an interpretation from the Quran. E.g, if you are holding on to a rope in you dream, according to the verse of the Holy Quran you are holding on to the deen. Eggs represent women. If someone sees themselves sick in their dream that means that the person has hypocrisy, sickness in the heart. If you see arrows in your dream, it means you’re slandering. If a woman sees herself hitting herself in her dream, it means she’s going to get a young boy, become pregnant. If see yourself eating from the flesh of your brother, you are backbiting. If you see yourself biting your fingers in your dream, you are going to be sorry for your sins unless you repent. An elephant represents an oppressor ruler. If you see a ruby you will have a girl. ^ All these are interpreted from verses from the Quran.

Referring to the hadith in dream interpretation
Glass bottles refer to women in dreams. If you see yourself worried in a dream, it means your sins will be forgiven. If you see yourself cheating in your dream, it means you are not from the Muslim Ummah, something is wrong with your aqeedah. If you see yourself passing over a bridge, it means you are getting involved in dunya, business. Combining hadith and quran together to work out the meaning of a dream. If you see yourself running away in your dream, it doesn’t mean an enemy is after you, it could also imply that you running towards Allah (swt). If you see yourself in the dream eating fruits, it means you are going to get married. In the dream if you see the day of reckoning very close, it means you are in ghafalah, your are in a state of heedlessness. Water can mean a lot of things, it can symbolise fitnah, water pouring on you. Can also symbolise calamities, trials and tribulations or the person is going to be getting married.

The dreams of the Prophet
In one dream, the Prophet was given milk so he started drinking it until it reached his fingers meaning he was full, so he gave the remaining milk to Hadrat Umar (ra). The prophet would test the ability of his sahaba in interpreting dreams, the Prophet asked Umar (ra) what the milk symbolised and Umar (ra) said it is knowledge. So milk symbolises knowledge. A long dress symbolises righteousness.

The Prophet saw Hadrat Ayesha (ra) in two dreams before getting married to her. He saw Hadrat Ayesha (ra) wrapped in silk and being carried by Angel Jibreal (as), the Prophet said let me see who this is and it was Hadrat Ayesha (ra). The Prophet said if Allah (swt) decrees this, it will happen. This happened twice. The Prophet said if this is coming from Allah (swt) it will happen. The marriage of Hadrat Ayesha (ra) to the Prophet was a divine wahi (revelation via dream).

The Prophet saw himself and Hadrat Abu Bakr (ra) climbing some stairs, the Prophet said what does this dream mean? Hadrat Abu Bakr (ra) said: Allah (swt) will take your soul and I will follow after two years. Trees, stairs (steps) and fruit symbolise age. Qadi Iyad narrated that a scholar saw in his dream himself circulating his turban 120 times and he lived till 120 years of age.

The Prophet said: I saw a group of black sheeps following me and then following them white flock of sheeps, Hadrat Abu bakr (ra) said this means, the arabs will follow you and then non arabs will follow the arabs in embracing Islam. White and non white symbolises arabs and non arabs. White symbolise non arab, and black symbolises arab. So in a dream if you see a person with that colour skin and what to know about their background that’s what it means they are either arab or non arab.

Guidelines for dream interpretation
After the Quran you should learn the hadith of the Prophet and then the Arabic language so you can understand the root words. If you see the word kafir in your name, it doesn’t mean you are a kafir because kafir doesn’t only mean disbeliever.

Common nightmares and their meanings
Not every nightmare is a nightmare. If you see yourself dead in a dream, it may mean that you have committed a sin thus your heart is dead. If you see yourself dying in a dream and then coming back to life, it means you will repent to Allah (swt). If you see yourself dying and you are not sick, it means you are going to live long. If a pregnant woman sees herself dying and people around her crying, it means she is going to get a son. If a single man/woman sees themselves dieing, it means they will get married, doesn’t mean marriage is there! If you see yourself being beaten to death, then dieing and then being beaten again and brought back to life, it means you’re going to be given the honour of martyrdom. If you see your son dieing, it means your enemy is going to die. If you see yourself crying a dead person over your shoulder, it means you are going to acquire wealth. If you see yourself digging out a grave for yourself, it means you going to acquire a home. If you enter a graveyard when there is no funeral, it means you are going to buy a house. If you see yourself being buried, put in a coffin but you feel that you are still alive, it means you are going to get married. If you see yourself failing far into deep water, you are going to get a lot of prosperity. If you see yourself flying, it means you are going to travel or get prosperous business unless you are sick. If you see yourself entering a prison, it means you are going to pay of your debts. If see yourself being handcuffed, it means you are going to be firm in you deen and will be on the straight path without diverting.

How to see a good dream
Worried, busy, frightened persons shouldn’t narrate their dreams because they are irrelevant. You must have a clear mind. You also shouldn’t have a full stomach. If you don’t follow the sunnah, how can you see a good dream? The sahaba for a few days didn’t have any dreams to narrate because they had long nails and to have long nails is against the sunnah. We should sleep on the right side with your face facing Qibla and the last thing she should utter is the shahadah. If you see a bad dream, spit three times on your left side and recite dua.

The importance of details in a dream
If you see a dream at the beginning of the night, it means it may take up two 30 years. If you see it just before fajr, it means it will happen very soon, 1 or 2 months. The dreams at the time of sahoor are the best and any dream which you have during the day, nap is the truest. The longest dream to come true will take up to 50 years.

To see good dreams we need protect yourself from shaytan and stay in a state of dhikr, stay away from bad company and stay away from worries and make all worried one worry and worry about ahirah. Never go to bed without wudhu, never stay without wudhu, stay in wudhu all the time.

I thought in Islam we're not supposed to talk about the content of any dreams we have, good or bad???