a snake symbolizes a person's arch enemy. the greater the snake the greater the enemy.

fighting a snake means a person will fight his enemy. overpowering it means he will gain victory over him and if he is overpowered it means he will be defeated.

the one who kills the snake will gain victory over his enemy.

taken from: dreams and interpretations by alamah muhammad bin sireen (ra).

no allhamdulillah. i pray before i go to bed so i'm ok.

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

Ya'qub wrote:

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

Yep.

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

Used to have this one re-occuring nightmare when I was younger, which I still remember vividly.

But I never remember any dreams though, in fact for a long time I was adamant I didn't dream, lol.

i always dream. i have my dream interpretation book next to me so in the morning i'll quickly check what my dream meant before i forget it.

Noor wrote:

i always dream. i have my dream interpretation book next to me so in the morning i'll quickly check what my dream meant before i forget it.

I don't think dream interpretation is possible. It's a cod-science aimed at fooling people and getting them to spend their hard-earned money.

Dreams are manifestations of our mind - both conscious and subconscious. They are personal and noone can ever say "this symbolises so-and-so" or anything like that.

Everyone's mind works differently, like for example if I were to dream of tomato ketchup, it would be a horrible nightmare, but if one of you were to dream about it then you'd love it, and you'd probably wake up wanting some chips.

Tomato ketchup doesn't symbolise anything.

Same with snakes. If someone worked in the snake enclosure at a zoo, then a dream about snakes would be a sign that they love their job - nothing about 'enemies' or anything.

the prophet would gather the sahaba around and ask them about their dreams so he could interpret it for them. he would ask abu bakr (ra) to interpret his dreams.

the prophet and ayesha's (ra) marriage took place because this was something that Allaah wanted, the prophet saw ayesha (ra) wrapped in silk and was being carried by jibreal (as) in a dream twice. he came to the conclusion that Allaah wanted him to marry ayesha (ra).

dreams are either from Allaah, the shaytan or dunya orientated (if you have been thinking about something so much you’ll dream of it)

years before prophethood, the prophet would see dreams which hinted that something was going to happen.

i havent read through it so there may be some mistakes.

My Notes wrote:

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 (saw). 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.

Seraphim wrote:

Ya'qub wrote:

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

Yep.

Well, people talked to Yusuf (as) about their dreams. But that was before the 7th century.

Imaani wrote:

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

you can talk about your good dreams only to a person that you trust

wednesday wrote:

Come again... why aren't we allowed to discuss dreams?

For the fear that a bad dream may come true?

or

For the fear that you may upset someone else with a happy dream?

In case it reveals too much about you.

it is harmful if the person interprets the dream wrong. keep your dreams to yourself and if you wana find out the meaning of the dream (yes, 100% dreams do have meanings, no doubt) ask a shaykh or someone with immense knowledge and wisdom and then stick to that one person.

if the person is interpreting the dream wrong and the malaikah say ameen, it will come true. the person may be interpreting the dream negatively.

no idea.

I doubt the issue is the angels saying aameen...

It may be more incorrect interpretation. where an ignorant person puts the dreamer through hell.

I have seen someone twist the seeing of the name of the prophet from somthing good to it being a sign that the person must have done something really wrong and must repent and do this and then do that....

that too but one of the reasons is because of the ameen bit. i'll double check with ustaadah next week.

Thanks. For some reason I find it really hard to buy that reason.

i don't do that anymore. just take it in and accept it now. don't like to dwell further.

I personally don't think there is. Even if the dreams were a "message" or a warning, abstract abstractions would be confusing. If you need it interpreting by another, you will not truly know what it means until the moment of truth is upon you.

On the other hand, if it tells you a truth (which may even be due to your pondering an issue for a long time), you need to interpreter...

So either way I think interpretations may not be the best of help.

I may be wrong though.

@Weds: yes, the prophet married sayiddah ayesha (ra) because of what he in a dream. the prophet wouldn't have asked the sahaba about dream interpretation if there wasn't a need. ilm is passed down through dreams... that may be touching on aqaid but dreams play a big part.

there were two men, had exactly the same dream. one got good tidings and the other was exposed as a robber and was arrested. if the dream hadn't been interpreted he would have got away.

if you don't remember you don't remember.

the dream interpretor will let you know if they have meanings or not. there are conditions. if Allah wanted you to take something from your dreams, He will make a way.

quran, ahadith, hikma bestowed by Allah, knowledge of various sciences etc

but guidance isn't given to everyone, Allah chooses people.

the qu'ran is for mankind. the prophet was sent to mankind.

we belong to Allah, we are His, He can do what he likes.

who said anything about favouritism?

I think the forums need longer replies here.

Every thing with free will has the ability to be saved. Allah (swt) has given us the potential. if it was not there, free will would be meaningless. It would be so too if we did not have the ability to stumble.