Is it possible Seeing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a Dream?
Note: There is no intention to target any particular Muslim Sects. The purpose is to debate in a healthy and non-abusive environment. All Hadiths below are quoted from Sahih Bukhari or Shaih Muslim. These two books of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are the two most highly respected books of authenticated hadith collections.
It is not my article, but I agree with the content of this article because it is backed by authentic Hadiths from Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are the two most highly respected books of authenticated hadith collections.
Before posting this article I cross checked one by one the text of each and every Hadith through other sources. Finally, the analysis is very neutral, unbiased and logical.
If you analyze this article keeping in mind the spirit of Islam which emphasizes on "Taheed" and discourages innovations in Deen-e-Islam; and read it with a neutral and unbiased approach then you will find it appealing, very logical and in alignment with the spirit of Islam.
In my opinion, almost all of the Muslim sects try to authenticate their point of view directly or indirectly through seeing of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a dream by an prominent religious figure. If we accept their argument then indirectly we are blaming Allah's Messenger Muhammad (PBUH) to authenticate almost all Muslim sects (Nauzobillah).
Shortly before his death, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) delivered a sermon during the Hajj, which came to be known as his “Final Sermon”. This final sermon was not only a reminder to his followers, but also an important admonition. The final sermon confirms the end of his Prophetic Mission.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) completed his Final Sermon, and upon it, near the summit of Arafat, the revelation came down:
“…This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My Grace upon you, and have chosen Islam for you as your religion…” (Quran 5:3)
May Allah give us hidayat to follow the spirit of Islam. (Aameen)
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Article: Seeing Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in a Dream
What we find from Sahih Ahadith is that:
Sahih Bukhari:
Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, “Nothing is left of the prophetism except Al-Mubashshirat.” They asked, “What are Al-Mubashshirat?” He replied, “The true good dreams (that conveys glad tidings).” (Sahih Bukhari , Book #87, Hadith #119)
Narrated Abu Qatada: The Prophet said, “A good dream is from Allah, and a bad or evil dream is from Satan; so if anyone of you has a bad dream of which he gets afraid, he should spit on his left side and should seek Refuge with Allah from its evil, for then it will not harm him.” (Sahih Bukhari, Book #54, Hadith #513)
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah’s Apostle said, “A good dream (that comes true) of a righteous man is one of forty-six parts of prophetism.”(Sahih Bukhari , Book #87, Hadith #112)
Narrated Abu Salama: I used to see a dream which would make me sick till I heard Abu Qatada saying, “I too, used to see a dream which would make me sick till I heard the Prophet saying, “A good dream is from Allah, so if anyone of you saw a dream which he liked, he should not tell it to anybody except to the one whom he loves, and if he saw a dream which he disliked, then he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil and from the evil of Satan, and spit three times (on his left) and should not tell it to anybody, for it will not harm him. ” (Book #87, Hadith #168)
Based on the above and many other ahadith we find on the subject, we can conclude that:
- Dreams are bur-haq
- All human beings see good and bad dreams.
- Some of these dreams become true and others don’t.
- The dreams of Anbiya were Wahi but of course this isn’t true for a non-Nabi.
- A non-Nabi can interpret dreams but this ability of his will be a gift (ataee ilm) and not a law or course, which anyone or everyone can learn whether an ordinary Muslim or a Momin.We do find certain interpretations in Sahih Ahadith and we can use these.
- Similarly, a non-Nabi’s interpretation can never be accurate as its not backed up with Wahi/revelation. So this interpretation can be correct or wrong.
- Good dreams are to be shared with loved ones only and bad dreams are not to be shared. Thus, we see that interpreting dreams or seeking their interpretations is not encouraged.
Now, coming to the point of whether one can see Muhammad (PBUH) in a dream. The simple answer is that,
no, it isn’t possible to see Muhammad (PBUH), or any other prophet, in a dream. This statement is based firstly on Sahih ahadith, and secondly on common sense. There are very serious implications of believing that it is possible to see the Prophet (PBUH) in the dream.
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah
said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “Whoever sees me in a dream will see me when he is awake; the Shaytaan cannot take my shape.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6592; Muslim, 2266)
Sahih Bukhari:
Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, “Whoever has seen me in a dream, then no doubt, he has seen me, for Satan cannot imitate my shape. (Sahih Bukhari, Book #87, Hadith #123)
Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard the Prophet saying, “Whoever sees me in a dream will see me in his wakefulness, and Satan cannot imitate me in shape.” Abu ‘Abdullah said, “Ibn Sirin said, ‘Only if he sees the Prophet in his (real) shape.’”(Book #87, Hadith #122)
Based on the very clear message in the above ahadith, we can state that only those people could dream about the Prophet (PBUH) who had seen him in wakefulness, i.e. in real life. This is very very important. If Satan had been able to impersonate the Prophet (PBUH), he could misguide the Sahaba (RA). Similarly, Sahaba (RA) could be sure they had indeed seen the Muhammad (PBUH) because they knew what he looked like! Thus, both conditions are met: Satan can’t impersonate Muhammad (PBUH), and the dreamer can be certain this is the case precisely because he knows what Muhammad (PBUH) looked like.
In this day and age, a person who already believes that it is possible to see Muhammad (PBUH) in a dream, may end up seeing him. This is because
any good dream which has a respectable looking religious person in it will be seen as representing Muhammad (PBUH).
But when a person believes that is it NOT possible to see Muhammad (PBUH) in a dream, then the chances of that person interpreting it in that manner are close to zero.
The problem is with people who have only read about Muhammad (PBUH) in books but they don’t know his exact appearance. So Satan can take the form of
any pious looking man, appear in our dreams and claim to be the Prophet (PBUH)! Or he may not even claim it and we might wake up in the morning and
interpret it this way just because we already believe in it!
Let
me give you an example to support my argument. The time is of Hijrat to Medina when Muhammad (PBUH) and Abu Bakr (RA) arrived in Medina during the day. The people of Medina were waiting for the Prophet (PBUH) anxiously. Ahadith of Bukhari state that when both the Prophet (PBUH) and Abu Bakr (RA) were together, many amongst the Ansar who had not seen the Prophet (PBUH) in real life and didn’t know how he looked like actually came over to greet Abu Bakr (RA), thinking of him to be Muhammad (PBUH). That is until Abu Bakr (RA) realised what was happening; so when direct sunlight fell over Muhammad (PBUH), Abu Bakr provided a shade to Muhammad (PBUH) with his sheet (chaadar) and only then people realised who the Prophet was. Here’s the reference to this hadith in Bukhari: (Sahih Bukhari – Book #58, Hadith #245). Continued......