The statesman replied patiently, "Based on revelations 1400 years ago, the Prophet (ﷺ) identified the three primary sources for dreams, Divine; satanic, and human. He (ﷺ) also described the main characteristics of each category in order that his followers would be able to distinguish between them and understand how they may affect their day-to-day lives. Aboo Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) narrated that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said,
إِذَا اقْتَرَبَ الزَّمَانُ لَمْ تَكَدْ رُؤْيَا الْمُسْلِمِ تَكْذِبُ وَأَصْدَقُكُمْ رُؤْيَا أَصْدَقُكُمْ حَدِيثًا وَرُؤْيَا الْمُسْلِمِ جُزْءٌ مِنْ خَمْسٍ وَأَرْبَعِينَ جُزْءًا مِنَ النُّبُوَّةِ وَالرُّؤْيَا ثَلاَثَةٌ فَرُؤْيَا الصَّالِحَةِ بُشْرَى مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرُؤْيَا تَحْزِينٌ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ وَرُؤْيَا مِمَّا يُحَدِّثُ الْمَرْءُ نَفْسَهُ فَإِنْ رَأَى أَحَدُكُمْ مَا يَكْرَهُ فَلْيَقُمْ فَلْيُصَلِّ وَلاَ يُحَدِّثْ بِهَا النَّاسَ
"When the time draws near (when the Resurrection is near) a believer's dream can hardly be false. And the truest vision will be of one who is himself the most truthful in speech, for the vision of a Muslim is the forty-fifth part of Prophecy, and dreams are of three types: one good dream which is a sort of good tidings from Allah; the evil dream which causes pain is from the satan; and the third one is a suggestion of one's own mind; so if any one of you sees a dream which he does not like he should stand up and offer prayer and he should not relate it to people..." - [Sahih Muslim]
Dreams are of three types. First, hadith’l-nafs – Dreams from your imagination. This category is that of the human mind’s workings. Dreams from this category are usually disjointed images from the human being’s waking experiences, past or present, imaginary or real. All modern scientific theories consider that the dream state as an extension of the waking state reflecting waking experiences. The twelfth century scholar, al-Baghawee, stated that wet dreams may be a product of mental reflection while dreaming, just as one who is engaged in an activity while awake may see himself or herself involved in that activity in their dreams. Likewise, one in love may see his or her beloved.
The main principle concerning human dreams is that they are meaningless. They are neither glad tidings from Allah nor evil suggestions from Satan. Mental reflections are merely a part of the biological functions of the brain. Consequently, there is no need to seek interpretation for them from others. However, even this form of dreaming should be considered a blessing from Allah. Scientific evidence has shown that dream sleep (REM sleep) is better than dreamless sleep. People chronically deprived of dream sleep end up dreaming more in order to compensate for the missed dream sleep. Furthermore, a hormone responsible for growth and development in human beings, called the growth hormone, is released nocturnally, especially during REM sleep. Therefore, lack of dream sleep could contribute to factors leading to impaired growth.
The principal dream period, marked by a combination of rapid eye movement (REM), a brain-wave pattern similar to that produced during wakefulness, and increased physiological activity, is called REM sleep (or the D- [Dream-] state).
Second type of dream is Huloom. Huloom is an evil dream, and in English, we call it a nightmare. Bad dreams are from the interference of evil jinn in our dream state. In the same way that evil jinns are able to introduce evil thoughts in the human mind in its waking state, they are able to do so in its sleeping state.
Aboo Salamah said, "I used to see dreams which caused me to shiver, but I didn’t cover myself with a cloak. This continued to happen until I met Aboo Qataadah and told him about it. He quoted Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying : “A [good] dream comes from Allah and a [bad] dream from the devil. So when one of you sees a dream which he does not like, he should spit on his left side three times and seek refuge with Allah from its evil; then it will not harm him.” - [Sahih Muslim]
This description of evil dreams coincides with the scientific description of night terrors as being unrelated to ordinary dreaming. According to researchers, the nightmares seem to be coming from a source other than the normal REM sleep dream state. They are described as ‘spontaneously generated’, that is, of unknown origin or cause. Due to their denial of the spirit world, scientists are left to speculate that nightmares ‘may be related to abrupt awakening from deep sleep that experimentally appears dreamless’. The fact of the matter is that the source of such dreams is evil forces of the spirit world as described in authentic prophetic traditions.
The satanic dream may cause sadness or pain, as in the previously mentioned narration of Aboo Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه). In relation to Satan’s desire to create sadness among humans, Allah has stated the following,
نَّمَا النَّجْوَى مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ لِيَحْزُنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَلَيْسَ بِضَارِّهِمْ شَيْئًا إِلا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ
"Private conversation is only from Satan that he may grieve those who have believed, but he will not harm them at all except by permission of Allah. And upon Allah let the believers rely." - [QS.58:10]
Sadness may result from dreaming that a close friend or relative dies or is hurt. That type of sad dream will affect both the righteous and unrighteous equally. On the other hand, seeing oneself commit fornication, drink alcohol or steal will only make the righteous individual feel sad. The corrupt individual would more likely enjoy such a dream and be encouraged to put it into practice.
The satanic dream may also cause fear. Frightening thoughts may come in the form of horrendous accidents or calamities or they may be due to terrifying sensations like falling from great heights or suffocation due to being trapped in confined spaces. It may also involve scenes where the individual’s fears of particular animals and insects, like snakes and spiders, are acted out. These types of fear induce a state of emotional and spiritual weakness which, in turn, leaves humans vulnerable to other forms of demonic attack.
The first principle regarding satanic dreams is that all dreams with evil content are from satanic sources. There is no need to try to interpret them positively, because they are not from Allah. Bad dreams are intended to misguide humans and by realizing their purpose, the believers are able to protect themselves from them. Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalanee and Imaam al-Baghawee both said, “There is no doubt that wet dreams are among the games of Satan with those in the dream state. Such dreams do not have interpretations.”
The second principle regarding satanic dreams is that one who experiences them should spit on the left side three times and seek refuge in Allah three times. These acts and statements must be done with the utmost reverence and not as a meaningless ritual. It is also recommended that one should change one’s sleeping position. If one was lying on one’s right side - according to the sunnah, one should turn over to the left side and vice versa. However, if a person is lying on his back, he should turn to his right side and not his stomach because the Prophet (ﷺ) forbade sleeping on one’s stomach.
The third principle regarding satanic dreams is to seek refuge in Allah from the Shaytan. The fourth principle concerning Satanic dreams is that one may also get up and pray two units or more of voluntary prayer. This advice enables the believers to take spiritual advantage of a bad experience which led to their unexpected awakening in the middle of the night. The night prayer is among the best prayers according to Aboo Hurayrah’s (رضي الله عنه) narration in which the Prophet (ﷺ) was reported to have said, “The best prayer after the compulsory ones is that which is done in the middle of the night.” - [Sahih Muslim]
The fifth principle regarding satanic dreams is that they should not be disclosed to anyone. Their interpretation should not be sought either from scholars or books, because the Prophet (ﷺ) has categorically stated that they are from Satan and as such cannot possibly be true or good dreams.
Satanic intrusions in human thought processes are intended to cause humankind’s deviation from the path of righteousness and to instigate disobedience to Allah. Out of fear produced in dreams, some people resort to illegitimate means to protect themselves from imaginary harm. Since, satanic intrusion is beyond human control, the Prophet (ﷺ) informed his followers that Allah excuses evil thoughts, as long as they do not speak about them to others, nor act according to them. Aboo Hurayrah quoted the Prophet (ﷺ) as saying, “Allah overlooks the bad thoughts of the Muslim nation as long as they do not speak about them or act on them.” Similarly, when one has satanic dreams, one should neither inform others about them nor act according to them, and no sin will be recorded against the dreamer.
The third type of dreams is Mubashiraat – vision from Allah. It is a positive dream. No dream from Allah will cause you to wake up in a frightened state. You will not wake up terrified, or else it would not be a mubashir. What does mubashir mean? It is from bashir and bashara. Glad tidings, good news, something optimistic. Even if it is not positive, it will be a factual statement. It will be something true and not something terrifying.
What is the sign of this type of dream? You will wake up and remember the dream vividly, so it is not hadith’l-nafs. You will not wake up in a terrified state. When these two conditions are met, then it is very possible and likely that it is a mubashir. Sometimes you will wake up in a positive state because you saw something positive. Sometimes you will wake up in a neutral state (not scared and not happy) and you may be confused about what you saw, but you will never wake up terrified. If you wake up terrified, it is not from Allah, but it is from Shaytan.
Dreams from Allah are one of two types. The first of them, which is less common, is that you see an actual event with you in it without any symbolism. It is a true dream. You see something that will happen in the future, and there is no symbolism in it. It is an enactment of the future. The Prophet (ﷺ) saw a dream that he was doing tawaf around the Ka‘bah in the sixth year of the hijrah. There was no symbolism, and when he saw the dream, he knew that it was not a symbolic dream. He (ﷺ) said, “Oh Muslims, I saw a dream that I was doing tawaf around the Ka‘bah. Let’s go make umrah.” That year they were stopped from entering Makkah, and the Treaty of Hudhaybiyah took place.
The Prophet (ﷺ) saw a dream with no symbolism. He saw himself doing tawaf and shaving his hair and it would happen. Allah said in the Qur’an: “This dream that you saw is a true dream. You will enter Masjid Al-Haram.” It happened in the next year.
This first type of dream where you see an actual enactment of what will happen. This is rare but happens. It is more common to the prophets. The dreams of the prophets were a form of revelation. Allah states in the Quran that revelation was given to the prophets in three ways,
وَمَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَنْ يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولا فَيُوحِيَ بِإِذْنِهِ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّهُ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ
"And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise." - [QS.42:51]
Therefore, the ways are, “inspiration” [ie.true dreams]; direct speech without being seen; and through the messenger angel, Jibreel (عليه السلام).
Prophet Ibrahim saw himself sacrificing his son – there was no symbolism, and it was clear cut.
With regards to such types of dreams, Aisha (رضي الله عنها) tells us that the Prophet (ﷺ) narrates that for six months before the revelation of the Qur’an, every single night, the Prophet (ﷺ) would see one of these dreams. For six months non-stop, every time our Prophet (ﷺ) would go to sleep, he would dream what was going to happen tomorrow. He might dream being in the souq buying and selling, and the next day the exact same thing happens. He dreams he is going to meet somebody and the next day that person comes and he meets him. He sees the dream, and the next morning it happens. For six months non-stop, why? Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala is telling him that something special and great is going to happen, and He is preparing him for the revelation of iqra. For six months, this happens, and then iqra is revealed.
The second type is Symbolism. This is the more common type. Sometimes the prophets have this type of dream. More commonly, non-prophets have this type of dream. In this type of dream, every object that you see symbolizes and represents something else. For example, an ear of corn represents a year of water according to the story of Yusuf. A very fat cow and a very thin cow represent a year of surplus and a year of drought. A tree represents this, or the Ka‘bah represents that. Light represents something else.
In one hadith, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “I saw men wearing robes of different sizes, and some of the robes were up to their necks and some were up to their stomachs. I saw Umar ibn Al-Khattab and his shirt was dragging behind him.” They said, “How did you interpret this?” He (ﷺ) said, “The religion.” People have different sizes of religion. The religion of some is small and the religion of some is big. Umar’s religion was so strong, it was going all the way back there. A shirt means religion in this dream. By the way, this does not mean that in every single dream a shirt symbolizes religion, but in this dream it did. This type of dream is a symbolic dream.
We see it right now in the story of Yusuf because he sees eleven stars and the sun and the moon. This is symbolic. Every color, animal, image, plant and inanimate object that you remember represents something. Not everybody can unlock or explain this type of representation.
The first principle regarding true dreams is that they are a gift from Allah. This gift is not restricted to the prophets and the believers, as there are many recorded cases of disbelievers experiencing true dreams. Furthermore, Aboo Qataadah narrated that the Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said,
الرُّؤْيَا مِنَ اللَّهِ، وَالْحُلْمُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ
"A true good dream is from Allah, and a bad dream is from Satan." - [Sahih al-Bukhari]
This is a general statement from the Prophet (ﷺ) regarding true dreams. It does not limit true dreams to the believers. The story given in the Qur’aan of Prophet Yusuf interpreting the dreams of two prison inmates and that of the pagan ruler of Egypt are examples of true dreams received by disbelievers. True dreams are among the signs which Allah creates within human beings pointing to His existence. Those who disbelieve in God may find satisfactory explanations for their physical existence in Darwin’s theory of evolution and Einstein’s theory of relativity, however, they have no explanation for dreams coming true.
The Prophet (ﷺ) informed Muslims that as the end of the world nears, one of its signs would be that most of the dreams of the believers would come true. Aboo Hurayrah narrated that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said,
إِذَا اقْتَرَبَ الزَّمَانُ لَمْ تَكَدْ تَكْذِبُ رُؤْيَا الْمُؤْمِنِ، وَرُؤْيَا الْمُؤْمِنِ جُزْءٌ مِنْ سِتَّةٍ وَأَرْبَعِينَ جُزْءًا مِنَ النُّبُوَّةِ
"When the Day of Resurrection approaches, the dreams of a believer will hardly fail to come true, and a dream of a believer is one of forty-six parts of prophetism, and whatever belongs to prothetism can never be false." - [Sahih al-Bukhari]
Prophetic statements such as the above may tempt people to assume that their dreams will come true. However, a true dream is only known to be true when it actually comes true.
The second principle regarding true dreams is that only the Prophet (ﷺ) could say with certainty that his dreams were true dreams prior to their coming true. All other human beings have to wait for their dreams to come true to know that it is a true dream, regardless of their level of piety, how vivid their dreams may be or how many of their previous dreams have come true.
The third principle regarding true dreams is that they may be divided into two basic categories: those which require no interpretation, either due to their clarity or the obvious meanings of their symbols to the dreamer, and those which require interpretation due to the obscurity of their symbolism or the ignorance of the dreamer.
The fourth principle regarding true dreams is that they are related to human character. Though everyone may experience true dreams, the more righteous a person is, the truer his or her dreams will be.
The fifth principle regarding true dreams is that they may be shared by a number of people.
The Prophet (ﷺ) also referred to pleasant dreams as coming from Allah. Of course, this prophetic statement refers only to dreams about halaal (Islamically permissible) actions or objects. For one may see corruption and sin in one’s dreams, and be pleased with it. However, evil dreams are not from Allaah. They are by the permission of Allaah in the same way that evil in the waking world is by Allah’s permission, but not from Him. Anas ibn Maalik related that Allaah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said,
إِنَّ الرِّسَالَةَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ قَدِ انْقَطَعَتْ فَلاَ رَسُولَ بَعْدِي وَلاَ نَبِيَّ " . قَالَ فَشَقَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَقَالَ " لَكِنِ الْمُبَشِّرَاتُ " . قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا الْمُبَشِّرَاتُ قَالَ " رُؤْيَا الْمُسْلِمِ وَهِيَ جُزْءٌ مِنْ أَجْزَاءِ النُّبُوَّةِ " . وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ وَحُذَيْفَةَ بْنِ أَسِيدٍ وَابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَأُمِّ كُرْزٍ . قَالَ هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الْمُخْتَارِ بْنِ فُلْفُلٍ
"Indeed Messengership and Prophethood have been terminated, so there shall be no Messenger after me, nor a Prophet.'" He (Anas) said, "The people were concerned about that, so he (ﷺ) said, 'But there will be Mubashshirat.' So they said: 'O Messenger of Allah! What is Mubashshirat?' He said: 'The Muslim's dreams, for it is a portion of the portions of Prophethood.'" - [Jami at-Tirmidhi; Sahih]
In yet another narration, the Prophet (ﷺ) explained that it was not just the good dream of any Muslim which is similar to an aspect of prophethood, but the good dream of a righteous person. Good dreams being one forty-sixth of prophecy could mean one of three things. The obvious meaning is that prophecy is composed of forty-six qualities or characteristics, and the good dream of a righteous Muslim is one of them. The second explanation is that good dreams are a part of the knowledge contained in prophethood. Although prophethood ended with the death of the final Prophet (ﷺ), part of this knowledge of prophecy survives in the form of good dreams. The third explanation is that for six months prior to the commencement of his mission, the Prophet (ﷺ) experienced dreams that came true. Since he received revelation for twenty-three years, the period of true dreams is equivalent to a forty-sixth part of prophethood.
Since good dreams are from Allah and are associated with prophethood, to lie about them is forbidden. The one who does so claims that Allah showed him something which He did not. Lying about Allah is a greater sin than lying about His creatures.
The first principle concerning good dreams is that they are from Allah. Good dreams are not the product of human mental activity as claimed by modern psychologists. They are created by Allah during the dream state, just as some good thoughts are created in the human mind in the waking state by way of divine inspiration (ilhaam). The second principle concerning good dreams is that they are fundamentally glad tidings. That is, they should only be looked at from a positive point of view. Consequently, those who experience them should thank Allah for them. The third principle concerning good dreams is that they may be shared with others in the same way that good news is shared. However, the Prophet (ﷺ) clarified that good dreams should not be shared with everyone. Imaam an-Nawawee was of the opinion that the Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited informing those who are disliked, since they may interpret it negatively due to jealousy or spite and thereby cause the one who had the dream to be sad instead of happy. Imaam al-Baghawee added that informing those who are disliked may also lead them to plot some harm against the one who dreamt it. Consequently, Prophet Muhammad’s (ﷺ) instruction was like that of Prophet Ya'qub to his son, Yusuf."
The young wayfarer said, "Tell me about interpreting dreams!" The statesman said, "Contrary to common perception, interpreting dreams or tafseer ar-ru’yah or ta’wil of dreams, is not something that you can simply look up in a book and practice. Many books say, The Dictionary of Interpreting Dreams, The Encyclopedia of Dream Interpretation. There is a fabricated book attributed to Ibn Sireen titled “Ibn Sireen’s Dictionary of Dreams,” which is a fabrication. Ibn Sireen never wrote any such book. It was written 700 years after Ibn Sireen passed away. This book is not correct. In any case, if you go to any Islamic bookstore, in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, or English, you will find books about interpreting dreams.
Let me be very clear here. The interpretation of dreams is not a science that can be taught by men to men. It is one of the few sciences that Allah blesses you with, innately. There is no way you can study the science of interpreting dreams. Dream interpretation is not a ‘book science’. It is a blessing from Allah, which Allah clearly says in these verses, “I will teach you how to interpret dreams.” He says it to Yusuf [12:6].
Therefore, dream interpretation is something that Allah blesses the chosen of His servants with. Some people have it, and some people don’t. If you don’t have it, you cannot learn it. You can ask Allah to give it to you and you can make du‘a, but you cannot read a book. It is not like engineering, and it is not like hadith, and it is not like fiqh, and it is not like medicine. These are sciences that are codified. Dream interpretation is real, and the prophets of Allah, especially the Prophet Yusuf knew this science fully. Of course our Prophet (ﷺ) knew this science.
Not everybody is blessed with it. How do you know if somebody’s interpretation is true or not? By experience. Another point here is the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “When you see such a dream from Allah [the beautiful dream, mubashirat], don’t tell anyone except someone whom you trust.” You only tell the good dreams to those whom you trust because people might get jealous – like we learn right now in the story of Yusuf – and because people might think evil thoughts. Only tell the ones who are close to you. You are allowed to tell, and you should tell, but you only tell those whom you trust.
When you tell those whom you trust, if you do not know how to interpret dreams, then you should be quiet. There is a danger for incorrectly interpreting dreams. In one hadith, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “A dream that has not been interpreted is like a bird flying above you. As soon as someone interprets it, the bird will fall down.” You only want the most qualified person to interpret the dream. You may tell your loved ones, but the loved ones who are not knowledgeable of dream interpretation should be quiet. You should only go to those whom you trust who are knowledgeable to interpret the dreams.
Generally speaking, the more righteous you are, the more likely you will have this knowledge. The closer you are to Allah, the more this knowledge will be innate and natural to you. You go to those people and they interpret the dream, and then you will find out whether the dream was true or not.
If somebody sees a dream, the dream interpreter tells him this dream means that he will pass the exam he is studying for, and lo and behold, he passes the exam, or this dream means that such and such will happen, and lo and behold, it happens. From experience we learn that this person masha’Allah knows dream interpretation.
However, nobody’s dream interpretation can be 100% accurate other than the prophets of Allah. It is only the prophets of Allah who have 100% accurate dream interpretation. What is the evidence for this? A long hadith in Sahih Bukhari. The Prophet (ﷺ) saw a dream and he told it to the people. Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) raised his hand and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I beg you by Allah to let me interpret the dream!” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Okay, interpret it.” Abu Bakr took every symbol and said this means this, and this means this, and this means this and then asked, “Am I right, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “You are right in some and you are wrong in others.” If Abu Bakr Al-Siddeeq could not fully master the science of dream interpretation, then no other human being after the prophets can. This means that even the greatest dream interpreter doesn’t have 100% solid dream interpretation.
One of the reasons why dream interpretation is not book knowledge is because symbols vary from society to culture to place. Therefore, you cannot just open up a book and look up what this symbol means. To give you a funny example, what a coconut symbolizes to a person living in a desert island is not the same as what it symbolizes to a person living in the city. For the person on the island, the coconut symbolizes life, water, and food. For me, a coconut does not symbolize any of those things. It is a very different thing.
There are principles of dream interpretation. The first principle of dream interpretation is that it is permissible for others besides the Prophet (ﷺ) to interpret dreams. Aboo Razeen quoted the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) as saying,
الرُّؤْيَا عَلَى رِجْلِ طَائِرٍ مَا لَمْ تُعَبَّرْ فَإِذَا عُبِّرَتْ وَقَعَتْ " . قَالَ وَأَحْسِبُهُ قَالَ " وَلاَ يَقُصُّهَا إِلاَّ عَلَى وَادٍّ أَوْ ذِي رَأْىٍ
"The vision flutters over a man as long as it is not interpreted, but when it is interpreted, it settles. And I think he said: Tell it only to one who loves (i.e. friend) or one who has judgment." - [Sunan Abi Dawud; Sahih by Shaikh Al-Albani]
The human heart remains unsettled as long as its dreams are not interpreted. It is natural to seek an understanding of one’s dreams. However, the Prophet (ﷺ) did stipulate that dreams only be related to dear friends or knowledgeable individuals.
The second principle of dream interpretation is that only good dreams may be interpreted. Imam al-Baghawee said, “[The Prophet’s statement] There are three types of dreams indicates that not everything that a human being sees in his dreams is correct and may be interpreted. Only that which is from Allah is correct, ... everything besides that is confused and confusing dreams which have no interpretation.” This principle is further supported by the Prophet’s (ﷺ) prohibition of narrating satanic dreams as in the aforementioned hadeeth of the Bedouin who came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and told him that he saw himself beheaded in a dream. The Prophet (ﷺ) laughed and told him, “Don’t tell people about about the games Satan plays with you in your sleep.” This principle is also supported by the Prophet’s instruction to narrate good dreams to those who are knowledgeable.
The third principle of dream interpretation is that good dreams should only be interpreted positively. In order to ensure that, the Prophet (ﷺ) instructed that they only be related to close friends and scholars. Aboo Hurayrah quoted Allaah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying, "Indeed, dreams occur according to how they are interpreted. It is like a man who raises his leg and waits for when to put it down. So if any of you has a dream, don’t relate it except to a confidant or a scholar.” - [Al-Hakim;Sahih]
From the advice and practice of the Prophet (ﷺ), it can be concluded that dream interpretation is not the fortune telling which most dream books offer, but rather it is optimism enjoined by the Sharee‘ah.
The fourth principle of dream interpretation is that only the prophets were able to accurately interpret dreams one hundred percent of the times. The interpretations of ordinary humans, whether scholars or followers, are no more than educated guesses based on the knowledge of symbols, some of which may be correct and some incorrect.
The fifth principle of dream interpretation is that one may implement what is seen in a good dream. That is, if a person sees himself or herself doing something commendable in a dream, it is permissible for the person to carry out the act in the waking state. ‘Umaarah quoted his father, Khuzaymah ibn Thaabit, as saying he had a dream in which he prostrated himself on the Prophet’s forehead. When he told it to Allaah’s Messenger (ﷺ), he said, “Indeed, souls do not meet.” Then the Prophet (ﷺ) bent his head and he placed his forehead on the Prophet’s (ﷺ) forehead.
