by Sa'ud ash-Shuraim
Khutbah from Makkah
Summary:
1) People’s desire to talk about the unseen.
2) No one knows the unseen except Allaah.
3) People’s interest in dreams.
4) The position of educated people and intellectuals regarding dreams.
5) The position of Islamic scholars regarding dreams.
6) The reason for people’s interest in dreams in the present time.
7) The Prophet’s way in dealing with dreams.
8) The three types of dreams are:
· True dreams.
· Satanic dreams.
· Whispers of the soul.
9) Dreams cannot be bases for Islamic rulings or judgment of people.
10) The conditions of dream interpreters and their etiquettes.
11) The danger and evil consequence of interpreting dreams through satellite channels and general people’s gatherings.
First Khutbah
O
people! The son of Aadam has a great desire and an enflamed interest
regarding the unseen, whether it is related to the past or the future,
and refusing to accept that such a phenomenon exists, is ignoring a fact
of life. People’s obsession with such phenomena is related to how close
they are to the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and Qur’aan which firmly addressed this subject and clarified it, as Allaah says, which means, “(He
is) Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His (knowledge of
the) unseen, Except whom He has approved of as messengers, and indeed,
He sends before him (i.e. each messenger) and behind him observers” (Al-Jinn: 26-27).
It
is no wonder that the further people are from the time of prophet hood,
the more confused they become and mix facts regarding the issue of the
unseen, and the more eager people with weak souls become to know the
unseen. Some believe in illusions as facts, others accept what
fortune-tellers say, and others guess and speak about the unseen during
all times while the verses from the Qur’aan are recited before them day
and night, like the saying of Allaah, which means, “Say, ' None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected.'” (An-Naml: 65) as well as the sayings of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, like the Hadeeth where he said, “Five things only Allaah knows, and he recited the verse (the meaning of which is) “Indeed,
Allaah (alone) has knowledge of the hour and sends down the rain and
knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn
tomorrow and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allaah
is Knowing and Acquainted” (Luqmaan: 34)”
Thus,
it is not possible to know the unseen or address it, except through
what Allaah has told us, or what He revealed to His Messenger sallaalhu ‘alaihi wa sallam. Anything other than this would be guesses and illusions, or a mixture of words conveyed to people by some Jinn.
Islam
removes confusion and illusions from the mind and guides those who
stray from the straight path. Believing in the unseen cannot be equated
with believing in fantasies.
Those
who survive this phenomenon, get trapped by their eagerness to know the
future, which they think is a major factor in deciding the stability
and instability of their lives, so they try to reach that through
dreams. You might meet a brother (in faith) or a friend and be greeted
with a gloomy or cheerful face, but you would be surprised to discover
that this disposition is due to a dream which they have seen in their
sleep.
Slaves
of Allaah! This issue is not only the concern of individuals or common
people, but many eminent figures join them in this concern. Dreams have
disturbed many great people, and other dreams came as glad tidings to
many others. Some dreams became the concern of nations, like the dream
of the king of Egypt, which the Qur’aan told of in the story of Prophet Yoosuf, peace be upon him.
His dream included both glad tidings and warnings at the same time; it
gave glad tidings of the increase in provisions for seven consecutive
years, then warned against famine for the following seven years.
Slaves
of Allaah! Dreams have had great importance in people’s lives before
and after Islam. Educated people and intellectuals might differ in the
way they view dreams and judge their issue. Philosophers have rejected
that dreams have any meaning at all and claimed that dreams result from
the reactions which take place in the body and reflect the state of
mind. Some psychiatrists have a negative stance towards dreams, which is
actually very close to that of the philosophers. They refer it to the
mood of people and certain parts of their memory which become hyper
during sleep, making dreams purely biological.
On
the other hand, Islam and its scholars have followed the prophetic path
in dealing with dreams, and have judged dreams according to the Qur’aan
and the Sunnah. They have ruled that true dreams are from Allaah, some warn and others bring glad tidings. Ibn Mas’ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, said, “Prophecy is finished but tidings remain” people asked, ‘What are these tidings?’ he sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam replied, “A true dream which a man sees, or others see for him” (Bukhaari & Maalik). These tidings could be good or bad as Allaah says, which means, “So give them tidings of a painful doom” (Al-Inshiqaaq: 24).
Slaves of Allaah! These dreams are the ones which the truthful and trustworthy sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said about them that, “At
the end of time, the believer’s dream will rarely be incorrect; the
more truthful a person is, the truer his dreams are; and the dream of a
faithful believer is a part of the forty six parts of Prophecy” (Bukhaari & Muslim).
In
this era, many people’s hearts have little attachment to Allaah. Belief
in divine decree, pre-destiny and that whatever Allaah wants happens
and whatever He does not will not happen, and that everything happens
with His command…all these aspects of belief have become weak in
people’s hearts. Due to this, their hearts have become more attached to
the issue of dreams, and in this way, they have differed from the
righteous generations of our Salaf.
They have started talking about this issue more and relying on it,
until it has reached a level where it has overwhelmed people’s
discussions in their gatherings, on satellite channels and religious
inquiries, so much so that people ask more about dreams than they ask
about matters of religion, and what should and should not be done by a
Muslim.
These
practices take place while people are heedless of what they should do
regarding dreams, and how they should deal with them based on the
prophetic instructions, which one should not transgress nor ignore. The
Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam
left us with a clear religion, and he sufficed us regarding the issue
of dreams, talking about it, getting attached to it, seeking to find out
its interpretation or relying on it. People’s increased inquiries about
dreams is a form of transgressing the limits set in the Sunnah and an imbalanced approach to the issue.
When
some people see a dream, their lives become disturbed, and they become
terrified and unable to relax until they find someone to interpret it
for them so as to discover whether it brings glad tidings or evil news
to him. If we stop at the limits which are set for us in the prophetic
guidance, then such anxiety would not be felt, and people would not
occupy themselves with this subject, which has become a way to attract
audiences to the internet and satellite channels.
In
order to discern the best way of dealing with this widespread
phenomenon in our communities, let us listen to some of the etiquettes
relating to this issue. Abu Salamah, may Allaah be pleased with him said, ‘I
used to see dreams and become sick because of it, until I saw Abu
Qutaadah and told him about this. So he said to me, I heard the Prophet
sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam saying, “Good
dreams are from Allaah, and bad dreams are from Satan, so if of you see
in your dream something which you dislike, then spit three times to
your left and seek refuge in Allaah from its evil, then it will not harm
you” (Muslim). In another narration Abu Salamah, may Allaah be pleased with him said, ‘I used to see dreams and
they would feel heavier on me than a mountain, until I heard this
saying of the Prophet, then it never bothered me after that’ (Muslim).
Slaves
of Allaah! We see that not everything one sees in his sleep is a good
dream that needs an interpretation, because what people see in their
sleep is one of the three types, as narrated by ‘Awf Ibn Maalik, may Allaah be pleased with him, that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said, “Dreams
are of three types, some are from Satan to sadden the son of Aadam,
some are the result of what a person thinks about while he is awake so
he sees it in his sleep, and some are one of the forty six parts of
prophecy” (Ibn Maajah). Imaam Al-Baghawi said, ‘This
Hadeeth proves that not everything which a person sees in his sleep in
true and should be interpreted. The correct understanding is that some
of it is from Allaah, and the rest are mixed up false dreams which have
no interpretation’.
An example for these mixed up false dreams is the story of the Bedouin who came to the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam and said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! I saw in my dream that someone beheaded me, and my head rolled and I started going after it " So the messenger sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “Do not inform anyone nor talk to people about whispers that come to you in your dreams from Satan” (Muslim).
As we were instructed through the Sunnah,
the way a believer should deal with this type of dream is to seek
refuge in Allaah from its evil and the evil of Satan; to spit three
times to the left; not to inform anyone about it; to stand up and pray
as much as he is capable of; and then switch to the other side when he
lies down. Some scholars added that he should recite the verse of Al-Kursee (the throne) because the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam informed us that Satan will not be able to harm the one who recites it.
Imaam An-Nawawi said regarding the way to deal with evil dreams, ‘One
who sees an evil dream should follow all the etiquettes which were
mentioned in the different narrations from the Prophet sallallaahu
‘alaihi wa sallam, and even if he does only some of them, it will
protect him from the evil of Satan with the will of Allaah’.
The
second type of dreams is that which results from a person’s whims and
what he thinks about during the day and that which occupies his mind.
For example, if he has been thinking about traveling or a trade, then he
would see in his dream similar to what he was thinking while he was
awake. These mixed up dreams are also ones that cannot be interpreted.
The
only type left is the true, good dream from Allaah that brings good or
bad tidings. It may be clear and not in need of an interpretation, as
the dream of prophet Ibraaheem
when he saw that he is slaughtering his son. Some may be ambiguous and
need someone to interpret them, like the dreams that the mates of
prophet Yoosuf saw in prison. This is the type which the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam forbade us from telling except to scholars or wise people seeking their advice, the messenger sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “Don't tell your dream except to a scholar or a wise person seeking his advice” (Tirmithi).
All
other dreams which one might see and it includes legislating things to
be lawful or unlawful; performing certain acts of worship; deciding the
night of Al-Qadr
which the Prophet was informed with then later was made to forget it;
or dreams which result in judging people, giving or depriving them of
their rights, and whether they are truthful and honest people or
not...all such dreams are mixed up dreams and doubts, which we should
not rely on, according to the sayings of the majority of scholars, like Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim, Ibn Taymiyyah, An-Nawawi, Ash-Shaatibi and others. Ash-Shaatibi mentioned the story of the Caliph Al-Mahdi who wanted to kill the judge Shurayk Ibn ‘Abdullaah. Shurayk asked him, ‘Why do you want to kill me, while it is unlawful for you to spill my blood?’ He replied, ‘I
saw in my dream that I was talking to you and you were talking to me
with your back to me, so I asked an interpreter, and he told me that
this man (Shurayk) is one who visits you often and opposes you behind
your back’ Shurayk said, ‘O
leader of the believers! Your dream is not like the dream of (prophet)
Yoosuf the son of (prophet) Ya’qoob, and Muslim’s blood cannot be shed
based on dreams’ so Al-Mahdi bowed his head down and signaled him with his hand to leave, so he left.
Ibn ‘Asaaker mentioned in the history of Damascus that some people saw Imaam Ash-Shaafi’ in their dream saying to them, ‘Yoonus Ibn ‘Abdul A’laa lied on my behalf in narrating such and such Hadeeth, I did not narrate it’ Imaam Ibn Katheer commented on this saying, ‘‘Yoonus Ibn ‘Abdul A’laa is a trustworthy scholar, and cannot be doubted simply because of a dream’.
Imaam Ath-Thahabi narrated that Al-Maroozi said,
‘I took Ibraaheem Ibn Al-Husari (a righteous man) to Imaam Ahmad Ibn
Hanbal, and he said to Imaam Ahmad, my mother saw such and such a dream
for you, and she mentioned you in Paradise. So Imaam Ahmad said, dear
brother, Sahl Ibn Salaamah was told the same by people, then he started
killing Muslims. A dream should not deceive a believer’.
Second Khutbah
O
people! If we want to be just, fair and sincere in our advice, then we
should not put all the blame on the people who see the dreams, but we
must also address those who interpret them, because they have a great
responsibility towards people who see these dreams.
An
interpreter should be a scholar in this great field of knowledge, and
should be able to weigh the harms and benefits resulting from the
interpretation. He should not take the lead in interpreting dreams,
specially those who do it through satellite channels, and in big
gatherings, because it is just like passing a fatwaa. The king said in the story of Yoosuf, as Allaah says, which means, “And
(subsequently) the King said, ' Indeed, I have seen (in a dream) seven
fat cows being eaten by seven (that were) lean, and seven green spikes
(of grain) and others (that were) dry. Oh eminent ones, explain to me my
vision, if you should interpret visions.'” (Yoosuf: 43).
Ibn Al-Qayyim said, ‘A
person passing Fatwaa, an interpreter and a doctor are exposed to the
private hidden affairs of people, so they should conceal these things’.
Interpreters
should not rush to interpret dreams, nor should they make people feel
that their interpretations are facts. They should know the danger of
this and the arrogance it could lead to. Ibn ‘Abdul Barr narrated that Imaam Maalik was asked, ‘Can anyone interpret dreams?’ he said, ‘How can people play around with matters related to prophecy’. Ibn ‘Abdul Barr also narrated that Imaam Hishaam Ibn Sassaan said, ‘Ibn
Sereen used to be asked about one hundred dreams but he would not
answer, but he would tell people, fear Allaah while you are awake, then
what you see in your dream would not harm you’ and he would also say, ‘I only say what I think to be the interpretation, and I could be wrong’.
If
this was the saying of the leader of interpreters through the ages, how
should people in our time act? We see a person asked about one thousand
dreams, and not once would he say, I do not know, or say that they are
mixed up false dreams.
Interpreters
should also realize the danger of interpreting dreams through TV
channels that millions of people watch or in big gatherings, for the
following reasons:
First:
It is dangerous because he is talking about the unseen, specially that
no one can say for sure that what he is interpreting is going to take
place or not.
Second:
It is difficult to know the situation of the one who saw the dream
through TV channels, and whether they are righteous people or not, which
has a strong connection to how a dream is interpreted. Two men came to Imaam Ibn Sereen both saw that they were calling the Athaan (the call for prayer), so he interpreted it for the righteous man as performing pilgrimage according to the verse which means “And
proclaim to the people the Hajj (pilgrimage); they will come to you on
foot and on every lean camel; they w ill come from every distant pass” (Al-Hajj: 27), while he interpreted it to the other man that he will steal and his hand will be cut according to the verse which means “So
when he had furnished them with their supplies, he put the (gold
measuring) bowl into the bag of his brother. Then an announcer called
out, 'Oh caravan, indeed you are thieves.'” (Yoosuf: 70).
Third:
Some people would not comprehend the way the interpretation was done
through the screens, and ignorant people would think that it is a type
of fortune telling which is prohibited, and the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “Say to people that which they are acquainted with, or do you want that people reject what Allaah and His Messenger say” (Bukhaari).
Ibn Mas’ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: “If you talk to people with words which they cannot comprehend, then it will be a trial for them” (Muslim).
Fourth:
Preventing evil precedes accomplishing benefits, and the evil of
interpreting through TV channels is greater than the benefits for many
obvious reasons. One reason being the fact that it is talking about the
unseen and interpreting is like passing Fatwaa and our Salaf used
to avoid that. And then the evil resulting from the interpretation of
some dreams is also great. For example a girl will not succeed in her
marriage or another case whose husband will marry a second wife in
secret. What do you think the situation of these women would be? One is
awaiting failure in life and will remain depressed, and the other will
always doubt her husband? Some people take these interpretations without
referring to trustworthy scholars to confirm them, which results in the
expected problems.
Some people give the excuse that the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam used to ask: “Who saw a dream?” (Muslim) so that he can interpret it for them. We would answer saying,
- This was the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam, and his interpretations were undoubtedly true.
- His interpretations were in a mosque that was attended by a small number of people, not millions like the case of TV channels.
- The audience with the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam were the companions whose wisdom cannot be compared.
- No one from the four rightly guided caliphs or those who came after them did that, and especially Abu Bakr for whom the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam testified that he is knowledgeable in the field of interpretation.
