According to Islam, good dreams are glad tidings from Allah. They may also be warnings or signs of guidance. They are rare and require interpretation. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said that one should share these types of dreams only with those they like.
Bad dreams are from Shaytan. It is Sunnah to seek refuge with Allah from them, spit three times on the left, turn to the other side and not talk about them to others.
Good Dreams
The Islamic teaching on dreams is that some are from Allah and others are from satan. It is important to know the difference between them so you can tell which ones are to be heeded and which one’s you can ignore.
A good dream is a vision that is a glad tiding from Allah. It usually takes time for these to occur in reality so you must wait.
On the other hand, a bad dream is a warning from Satan. It is not so clear-cut and usually comes as a shock to the dreamer. It can also be a reminder of your past sins and deeds. It is important not to share your bad dreams with everyone as this can cause distress to them.
A hadith states that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said if you have a bad dream, then spit on your left hand thrice and seek refuge with Allah from it’s evil; then it will not harm you.
Bad Dreams
If a person has a bad dream it must be interpreted. This is because it may be a warning to him of some mistake that he has been negligent about, or a sin that he is committing or a sign of some disaster that will come his way if he doesn’t change his ways.
Some of the dreams that a righteous person has are truthful and do not need to be interpreted. These are usually direct. But the majority of them require interpretation.
Even the disbelievers can sometimes have truthful dreams – like the dream of Pharaoh about Prophet Musa alayh is-salaam and Prophet Yusuf alayh is-salaam. However, it is best to seek out the Islamic Dream Interpretation of your dreams from someone who has a lot of ilm and taqwa so that you can be assured that what you are seeing in your dream is really true and not something from Shaytan. It is also important to note that dreaming is a means of a soul connecting with another soul or even an event in the Hereafter. That is why people experience a feeling of deja vu – because the future has already happened in another dimension.
Nightmares
If you are a good Muslim with a sound heart, you will have truthful dreams. However, these are not clear visions and require interpretation from someone with a lot of knowledge. This is why the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi Wasallam) instructed us to narrate our good dreams to only those we love.
Bad dreams, on the other hand, are a warning from Shaytan. They are confusing, disturbing visions that leave you emotionally distraught. They can be triggered by your emotions, stimuli, memories, and information absorbed in your waking state or may be caused by a jinn’s whispering. In this class, Shaykh Jamir Meah gives you the tools you need to differentiate between these two types of dreams and how to interpret your own. Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuhu wa barakatuh.
Dream Symbols
Many people are confused by the difference between a good and bad dream. This is largely due to lack of knowledge. They may have been misguided by books on dreams or old wives’ tales. They also do not know whether a dream has any significance or not.
There are a number of different symbols that can appear in a good dream and each one has its own meaning. For example, if a person in a dream sees himself swallowing the ocean it portends wealth and power. Likewise, if he dreams of drinking from the sea it indicates a strong dynasty or long life.
When a person has a good dream he should thank Allah for it. However, he should not make major decisions based on it as it can change at any time. He should also remember that a dream can come from either Allah or Shaytan so he must be cautious. He should also remember that a dream that is too long or has no end could be a sign of satan.