Research On Islamic Dreams And Philosophy

True dreams – 'al bushra'- are one-forty-sixth part of prophethood (see Dreams in Islam on www.dr-umar-azam.com). I feel a sense of pleasure that I see correct dreams* as this confirms that I have a righteous character! However, not all the events in this paper are due to happen; some have already happened or are happening right now – for example the expansion of the John Rylands Library. But these were predictions in the sense that a message was revealed in my dream before the actual materialisation of the situation. Nor is to present them in this paper to say that what is revealed in every dream will definitely happen (after all, I am not a prophet!); only time will tell whether they will turn out to be true! I have had to exclude dreams which are frightening (concerning crime) or politically sensitive (concerning the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the UK Immigration Service).

*The dreams presented in this paper are only the more recent ones (those after the year 2000); others are inaccessible because they are currently in the Special Collections Department of the University of Manchester, as well as that of the University of Oxford.

I saw a farm worker using a tractor over purple (1) soil. He was wearing a mask. It was an era well into the future e.g. 2095 and the Earth had suffered severe and, apparently, irreversible ecological damage. www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfo/infoteam/ pressrel/1995/19950724105339.html

(1) The soil's purple colour suggests the presence of toxins, both in the soil itself and, when the soil was disturbed, in the surrounding air.

Prediction: Trains in the future will go much faster than the present ones run by British Rail. Maybe they will be more

I dreamt that I was travelling on a train with my brother. We boarded at Manchester and wanted to travel to London. But the train went so fast that it failed to stop in London and ended up in

France

! There was a shabby but comfortable, striped settee in the train that we had been sitting on! www.newbusiness.co.uk/content/3593/article.htm

I dreamt that my best friend, Waseem Haque and I flew to London. The air fare was only £5! ^ www.londontoolkit.com/ travel/low_cost_budget_airlines.htm

^ At the time, this dream seemed to convey a ridiculous message but now, in 2006, such low offers have become a reality!

Prediction: The expansion of the John Rylands Library (University of Manchester)

I dreamt that the University of Manchester had purchased a spacious, vacant nearby office property on Deansgate with a view to expanding the Library. www.library.manchester.ac.uk/ about/librarysites/deansgate/

Prediction: Overseas students at

Universities will cheat in their research work.

I dream that many overseas students cheat in their higher degree research work by copying and plagiarising the work of others. This dream was emphasising a stark contrast between their underhand tactics and my honest, original work. http://www.library.cmu.edu/ethics8.html (2)

Prediction: There will be complicated kinds of cashpoint machines in the future.

At some time in the (near) future, I eventually withdrew £20, a long time after studying a cashpoint machine, not knowing how to use its controls. £20 came out by ………. * And the machine printed out some kind of paper strip with it (was it a receipt or detailed kind of financial transactions printout?). www.e-accessibility.com/issues/2005/jul2005.txt

* Unfortunately, I couldn't read my own writing on the original sheet, so a word has been left blank.

Prediction: Some

mosques will be run by ‘militaristic' Imams and will become repositories of ammunition!

The dream began as I walked into an extensive hall. I was disturbed to see a very large machete. Then I noticed other knives and ammunition, including rifles. (3) It was only afterwards that I realised that I was in a mosque! There was a rather aggressive white Muslim (4) in the mosque and he was the understudy of the severe (5) Imam of that mosque. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2029050,00.html

(4) Suggests that reverts, or converts, are being shown the extremist path.

(5) The hearts of certain Muslim 'holy people' – the custodians of mosques – are hard. Such hard-heartedness is uncharacteristic of genuine (compassionate) Muslims.

Prediction: The creation of camps such as Guatanamo Bay and Camp X-Ray.

I had a distressing nightmare that certain Muslims were in danger of being rounded up and sent to concentration camps, as had happened to the Jews during the Second World War. www.alternet.org/rights/2003/07/001066.html

Prediction: Africa will become widely I.T. literate; democracy will grow throughout Africa; someone called Traore will become President of an African country.

Someone gave me a CD-ROM. The content was some African election campaign – "Traore for African President!" was both the slogan of the campaign and the title of the disc. muse.jhu.edu/journals/ portal_libraries_and_the_academy/v006/6.1zazzau.html

Prediction: Jewish terrorists will infiltrate (6) the ranks of pilgrims in Holy Makkah.

I dreamt that I was reading salah in Holy Makkah,

Saudi Arabia

. A Jew had infiltrated the ranks of salah, and he actually had the audacity to thump me (we were both in the very first row), thereby sending me to a row behind (an inferior rank).

(6) Tent fires have taken an increasing toll of casualties in recent years. Such incidents were not as common before. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_during_the_Hajj

Prediction: New Labour's lax asylum and immigration policies will fuel the rise of extremism in parts of the

A woman presenter with the voice of Sophia from Asian Sound Radio in Manchester was asking me a quiz question, something such as: "Which is the island you pass as you come backwards along the south-west of the British Isles?" I gave an incorrect reply. She said: "No – it's Skinhead Isle!" www.rogerdarlington.co.uk/extremismonthenet.html

Prediction: Tribute to Mo Mowlam, who will be remembered as an exceptional politician.

I dreamt that a three-car motorcade made a u-turn about a significant landmark in the road in tribute to Mo Mowlam. The vehicles were noble, luxurious^ cars like limousines. The dream confirmed that this motorcade was in honour of an 'outstanding' woman – a politically 'oversize' woman – who demonstrated exceptional political qualities. (7)

(7) Ms. Mowlam did not agree with Tony Blair's

Iraq

policy. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3611805.stm

^ I couldn't read my own writing so I included an alternative, appropriate word!

Prediction: Prince Charles will become the Chancellor of The Victoria University of Manchester.

My family and I met Her Majesty the Queen on an informal basis. Afterwards, I met Her Majesty more formally, and it was then that I found out that H.R.H. Prince Charles had become the Chancellor of the University of Manchester! I thought to myself: "He's the leader of the University that I went to – my University!" www.merlin.ac.uk/evnnews/

Prediction: Anne Boleyn haunts the Bodleian Library; the Bodleian will be modernised in the future.

I was discussing the Bodleian Library with a person who was actually studying at Oxford University or had already graduated from there. He told me some 'inner' detail of the Bodleian of which I was unaware. In turn, (8) I gave him the information that the apparition of Anne Boleyn floats gracefully down an escalator in the Library, and that the Library is modernising. I was able to divulge this knowledge because I had dreamt it previously! www.haverford.edu/relg/faculty/jlardas/research.html

(8) My original, Islamic typescripts and a section of my Archive are in the collections of the Bodleian Library.

Prediction: Foreign economic investment, which will be warmly welcomed, will be evident in the British motorway system.

I dreamt that yet another commercial development would be constructed on a motorway. Nothing had been built but a major Japanese multi-national firm had erected a hoarding announcing that tenders were to be invited for the forthcoming commercial plots or units. I thought to myself: "Yes, motorists will definitely be more than happy to use these services, especially if they are driving on long journeys." business.timesonline.co.uk/ article/0, 16849-1804509,00.html

I dreamt that

Germany

has the terrible ability to poison the world's oceans. I saw the Germans drop chemical weapons in the water – fish died as the water was lethally contaminated. I thought it was a good thing that

America

had kept

Germany

in military check by retaining

troop bases in

Germany

after World War II or the Germans would have too much power. In this dream there was an uncomfortable atmosphere of the misuse of scientific knowledge resulting in ensuing ecological disasters. www.communist-party.org.uk/ articles/2003/march/10-03-03.shtml

Prediction: There will be too much traffic on British roads and the associated problems of accidents and 'road rage'. Also, many thousands of square miles of 'green belt' land will make way for the building of new homes.

I was driving along a country road and so, too, was another motorist who was driving arrogantly. A lorry which was following him flashed to him to move out of the way. He reluctantly agreed. But the lorry itself then crashed, bringing down a huge tree in a field in which only two or three other trees were still standing! I noted with regret that 'green belt' land in the countryside was ruthlessly being cleared to make way for the building of houses. The government was implementing such a policy in an effort to solve the problems of the national shortage of housing and the high expense of it! There was a feeling in this dream of very many (presumably hundreds of thousands) houses being built in pristine countryside. www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/ roadcharging_must_cut_traf_09062005.html Houses and green belt land: www.scalalandgroup.co.uk/ index.php?pr=news&newsID=27

I dreamt something along the lines that a certain major oil company possessed a snake (9) which it unleashed onto its customers.

(9) The symbol of a 'snake' conveys 'enmity' to the motorist who is burdened by dramatic rises in fuel. Although the media are correct in stressing that most of the payment per litre that motorists spend on fuel goes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the oil companies are probably keeping the price very high through price-fixing within a cartel. www.socialistworker.co.uk/archive/1714/sw171402.htm

Prediction: The mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners by the Israelis will continue.

I received a disturbing message in this dream about the appalling Israeli cruelty to Palestinian civilians. I was shown a woman prisoner who was handcuffed on one wrist. She was sitting on the floor of a jail in a hunched position and the sadistic Jewish warder told her that she had to remain in that position for two whole days! www.labournet.net/world/0408/palpris1.html

Prediction: The British public will find out that it has been deceived about the constantly-imminent threat of Islamic terrorism by New Labour 'spin'.

A British citizen armed himself with a weapon and braced himself for a terrorist assault on his home by Muslim terrorists. This person was an average Briton who was a member of some local political association such as the Conservative Club. But no terrorists came and he then realised that the Government's and newspapers' propaganda on this issue had exaggerated the terrorist threat. So he actually exchanged his weapon for some luxury consumer item (such as a lawnmower!) that would be beneficial to him. commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/michael_white/ 2006/04/charles_clarke_right_or_wrong.html

I dreamt that the Shetland Islands and another set of Islands much further away - on opposite sides of the

, in fact - were engaged in friendly rivalry. The Shetland council had published posters depicting the other islanders as, for example, monsters, witches and ghouls to shock But, in fact, both sets of islands were completely united in their objectives – to stir up controversy with a view to enhancing curiosity about the islands. Popularity of the Islands as tourist destinations would thereby be brought about to the notice of would-be tourists! www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1858285119

Prediction:

Britain

's energy resources will be overstretched in the future.

My mother informed me that there would be severe electricity power cuts in the future. Mum showed me three parcels of meat which had been taken out of the freezer and defrosted. Only one parcel could be cooked before the blackout. (10)

(10) British media (newspapers such as The Daily Express) claim that asylum-seekers, and immigrants from the new European Union countries have overstretched

Britain

's energy resources. Already gas prices have been soaring mercilessly for

consumers. www.tcetoday.com/TCE/temp/Archive.asp?Yr=2005&Mo=8

Prediction:

Britain

will suffer workers' strikes in certain industries, but this will have a minimal effect on the economy.

I had a dream in which I was thankful for the entrepeneurial spirit and consumerism which are prevalent in the

economy. There had been some (significant) strike or other unpleasant occurance (fuel protest) and food had not been reaching shops and stores. But, when foodstuffs were distributed eventually, I bought an expensive and sparkling soft drink for my mother. In the dream, there was a thankful atmosphere to the widespread availability of goods and services in the

, thanks to the hard work of employers and their employees! www.platinum.matthey.com/uploaded_files/ monthly%20report/mrep0904.pdf

Prediction: US troops will suffer a high number of casualties as Iraqi resisters seek vengeance for acts of American armed forces' barbarity (11) on civilians.

I dreamt that the Americans used a certain weapon in 2005 and in another year prior to that. In the dream, I got the feeling that there is major trouble ahead for the American military in

Iraq

(11) The American army used napalm bombs in

Vietnam

and weapons containing depleted uranium in the Gulf War. What has it been using in

Iraq

this time? www.aljazeera.com/me.asp?service_ID=10161

Prediction: More overseas cricketers will be accepted to play in English county cricket.

I dreamt the Sri Lankan team were playing a test match against

England

. (12) One really capable Sri Lankan player scored a century in the match! I asked his colleague which English county he was from, or played cricket for. The answer was, ‘Surrey!' I requested this colleague to ask the centurion if he knew exactly where Cheam was. The centurion replied that he did not know. But, when I asked the centurion the same question directly, he did know the geographical location of Cheam! The centurion's colleagues lavished great honour on him as a token of respect for his achievement (in scoring the century)! But, later, the centurion met me personally and we were sitting side-by-side. I was his equal (in status)! (13) www.hinduonnet.com/tss/tss2536/25360240.htm

(12) At the time of this dream,

Sri Lanka

were on a tour of

England

and they were trailing 0-1 after the first two test matches.

Sri Lanka

levelled the series beating

England

on 2^nd June 2006 at Trent Bridge in the Third Test. Only two Sri Lankan players managed centuries in the series: DPM Jayawardene scored 119 in the second innings of the First Test al Lords, and MG Vandort managed 105 again in the second innings of the Second test at Edgbaston.

(13) Before going to sleep, I had been browsing through the records of entries submitted in the Guest Book on my Site www.dr-umar-azam.com Although it was a little exaggerated, I was pleased to read one from Aisha Aziz, 40, of Toronto, Canada from the day before this dream: This is to let you know that you have a great Islamic Website. You are helping millions of people around the globe. May Allah reward you here and in the Hereafter. Allah Hafiz.

Prediction: Traffic will travel extremely fast, with drivers being reckless on the roads and inconsiderate of pedestrians' safety.

I heroically crossed a road in an unfamiliar area. Drivers were going so fast that crossing the road was almost like dicing with death! Another pedestrian had difficulty too, and he also managed the crossing with great effort!

A youth had been standing to attention, watchful in the hope that I might be passing that way. When he saw me, he exclaimed: 'Here's the Professor!' I felt puzzled and, thinking that he was referring to someone else, looked all around me. But I was the only other person about, so I gathered that he must be referring to me! Then I met a dignified Muslim figure, dressed informally but holding some kind of formal document written in broad Arabic calligraphy with a prominent seal of some kind at the bottom. He handed this certificate over to me and awaited my reaction. I could not read the Arabic words, but the youth had already revealed the nature of the document! I exclaimed, 'I've been promoted! I'm a Professor now!' The Muslim figure remained silent but I knew that I had guessed correctly. I also knew that he was aware that I could not read the Arabic works and had just made a lucky guess! Then he told me that I had to take the document to an administrative building the next morning to be processed; in fact, I had a choice of buildings. He told me, 'You can bring it to this building over here or that one over there!' I thought, "Ango-French revelry and partying are taking place, so my being appointed must be some kind of practical joke!" But he was adamant that it wasn't. "No!" he shouted. "This promotion is not a joke!"+ Then I was really relieved and I felt honoured. I said to him, "I've really been working hard recently (on the internet) [so that's why I'm really relieved to be promoted in this way!]." When I was being shown the buildings, I could see that the general area was interesting – it was like an 'activity' area of general obstacles – a low wall here, a sharp incline there, rugged ground yonder etc. *

· To reach the rank of Professor, I have had to overcome difficult, but pleasant, obstacles. See the 'Biographical Timeline' section on my Site www.dr-umar-azam.com for a full list of my work and its chronology.

Prediction: Much of the future housing will be inexpensive but of awful quality.

My mother told me that a bill for £60 had to be paid as a matter of urgency. She asked if I could pay it. I hesitated because I knew that my bank balance had diminished to only £900 (from about £6,000 the year before). Then my mother told me it was all right, that she would pay the money - which was to reserve a place close to my father's resting place. But my mother warned me: ‘Don't expect a really good home: the houses being built nowadays don't have a roof!' I told her not to worry. I said: ‘I am going to become a very rich man, Mum.' Then I added: ‘So it won't matter!'

Prediction: Public sector workers in the utility companies (water, gas, electricity etc.), either because of desperate time deadlines or as a result of criminal negligence, will do shoddy, incompetent work which will pose a grave danger for the general public.

I dreamt of something large (as big as a standard coffee table) falling through an open manhole cover.

In compiling this paper, I have tried to minimise predictions of the course of my own life, which are the bulk of the total number of messages that I have dreamt. I have presented those which are of relevance to public life, for example the threat of pollution. I do hope the reader has enjoyed reading these predictions which cover a wide range of issues (educational, environmental, political), which are relevant and ought to be discussed and, if necessary, additional appropriate action ought be taken (for example more U.N. officials must be sent to observe the conditions of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails). In this sense, these dreams are can become vehicles for the betterment of society, if their messages are considered worthy enough to be heeded. The following is a list of the themes of the dreams which have been presented in this paper which is in chronological order [dream number is followed by theme]:

1 Pollution 2 Transport (UK) 3 Transport (International) 4-5

Knowledge/Research 6 Economics 7-12 Politics 13-14 Knowledge/Research 15 Economics 16 Politics 17 Transport; Housing 18 Economics 19-20 Politics 21 Tourism 22-23 Economics 24 Politics 25 Sport 26 Transport (UK) 27 Knowledge/Research 28 Housing 29 Public Services (Local Government)

The following is a simple classification of the specific messages of the dreams [ message is followed by dream number]:

Imminent Ecological Disaster (1) Improvements in Transport (2) (3) Merits of Scholarship and Research (4) (5) (13) (14) Merits of the Free Market (6) (15) (21) (23) Rebukes (7) (18) (24) (28) Compassion (8) (19) Merit of Democracy (9) Warning Dreams (10) (11) (17) (22) (26) (29) Acknowledgement of Competent Character (12) (25) (27) Political Tension (16) Refutation of Political Falsehood (20)