Dreams in Islam
by
Dr. Umar Azam
DEDICATION
Dedicated to Allah Almighty,
of whose mercy dreams are an example.
PREFACE
|
Glory be to God, In Whose Grasp Was my Soul.*
His Mercy On me.
with His Bounties bless.
Of His Favour reveal.**
Created sleep As repose.
Created waking As resurrection.
When I dream, He rewards me.
For there is None other. |
Dr. Umar Azam
*When I was asleep
**When I dreamt a happy and comforting dream
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to thank the following publishers for kind permission to use copyright material:
SH. MUHAMMED ASHRAF (LAHORE)
The Meaning of the Glorious Quran
Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Au, 1975
Sahih Muslim
Translated by Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, Vol. IV, 1975
HILAL YAYINLARI (ANKARA)
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Translated by Dr. Muhammed Muhsin Khan, Vol. IX, 1978
DIWAN PRESS (NORWICH)
Islamic Book of the Dead:
A Collection of Had iths on the Fire and the Garden
Imam ‘Abd Ar-Rahim Ibn Ahmad al-Qadi, 1977
S.P.C.K. (LONDON)
Muslim Devotions
Constance E. Padwick, 1961
CURZON PRESS (LONDON)
The Religion of Islam
Rev. Klein, 1985
CAMBRIDGE UNiVERSITY PRESS
Rabia the Mystic and her Fellow Saints in Islam
Margaret Smith, 1928
DAR UL-EHSAN/DR. MUHAMMED IQBAL
(HUDDERSFIELD)
Words of Wisdom
Barkat Ali, 1983
DINI BOOK DEPOT (DELHI)
Key to the Garden of Bliss
Ahmed Saeed Dehiwi, 1982
IDARA ISHAAT-E-DUN1YAT (NEW DELHI)
The Teachings of Islam
Maulana Muhammed Zakariya Khandlawi, 1983
****
I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, Mohammed Azam and Rashida Begum Azam for the role of their most precious encouragement in my educational success.
The staff at Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. deserve special mention for their dedication to publishing my book quickly and efficiently.
Finally, I cannot thank enough all the interviewees who have contributed to the information in this book. Without their patient responses and great efforts at recalling certain precise details of their dreams surely this book would not exist.
ABSTRACT
Many books have been written on the psychological state of "dreaming," and many studies have concentrated their attentions on this subject, especially since the pioneering works of Freud and Jung.’ However, the vast majority of such literature has focused on the "technical"2 aspects of dreams, and has sought to account for this phenomenon by the use of "scientific"3 explanations. Very few studies have sought to ask certain questions of a religious nature. What is the relationship of dreams to the spiritual world?4 Is the fact that dreams can foretell the future a sign of the omniscience5 of God Almighty? Why are some dreams "good"6 in essence, and others "evil"? This essay concentrates on "good" dreams— those from God Almighty. It seeks to argue that such dreams are part of the unseen World,7 and that they are indicators, from God Almighty, of glad tidings—reward in the Hereafter. Such dreams must be aspired to, not only for their innate, sweet satisfaction, but also because they are assurances from the very Authority of the Omnipotent Sovereign.
1 "The Interpretation of Dreams" by Sigmund Freud. Translated by James Stacey, Allen & Unwin, 1954.
2 For example, that sleep is necessary for rest, and that dreams occur when sleeping activity is at its most intense.
3 For example, that dreams are "confused" versions of everyday events.
4 Ar. "(BIL)-GHAYBE" Quran (II 1,2), "This is a Book whereof there is no doubt, A guide to those who fear Allah and believe in the Unseen..."
5 Defined as "All-knowing (nature)."
6 "Good" dreams can be defined as "Happy dreams, which relate to the righteousness stipulated in Islam."
7 Quran (II 1,2).