Question

I had a very short dream during the recent shab-e-barat (fifteenth of Sha’ban) night. In which, I was told that the person I vision was the Prophet Muhammad (saw). This happened while I was not doing any ibadat, instead I was at work doing night shift, where sometimes when no work I just sit on sofa and sleep for a while. The detailed get-up etc. of the Prophet (saw) as I saw in the dream was as following:

Medium/smart stature and height, white beard slightly thin from cheeks as compared to the chin, Noorani (hallowed) face, but I do not remember the features, wearing white turban, holding a stick in his hand. I was the only person there and was standing close/left edge on his way. However, there was no conversation or eye contact established between is. The predominant feelings after the dream were that, how this could happen to me while I cannot even offer Prayers regularly, and I occasionally fall into commuting sins? I was also not ritually pure at that time (as I did not have a bath ever since I had an intercourse with my wife few days earlier). I have also found out that the Prophet (saw) had a black beard, than why did I see the white one? Also came across a Hadith that ways that whoever sees the Prophet (saw) in a dream actually sees him. Please tell me about the validity of this dream in the light of the sahih Hadiths. And if it is valid, does it impose any religious/ethical etc. obligations on me for the future life.

Answer

Please note that dreams are not always true. There are many kinds of them. Some of them are divine blessings and some are satanic influence. Some others are mere working of mind. We cannot always differentiate between them. That is why if we have a good dream, we thank God and believe that God will bless us if we follow the path of His liking. However, they do not entail any action from our part. What we have to do and believe has been provided us through the Shari’ah. No more guidance is given by God through dreams. This is because they are not a sure way of communication. God has declared that no religious communication is possible after the Last Prophet of God, Muhammad (sws). It also needs to be appreciated that dreams have nothing to do with our physical and ritual cleanliness like ritual bath and wudo etc.

Dreams are always interpreted. They are not taken literally. I suggest you should take it to mean that God intends to bless you and you should try to fulfill your religious obligations regularly and seek God’s blessings and the Company of the Prophet (sws) in the Last Day. May God help you tread the path of His liking!

Answered by: Tariq Mahmood Hashmi

Date: 2015-03-03