Is it Possible to See the Noble Prophet ﷺ in a Dream? – A Detailed Research
Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah (Tawdīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 66
In your writing, you have stated:
“It should be noted that in this perishable world, seeing the Noble Prophet ﷺ in a state of wakefulness is not proven by any authentic ḥadīth or the reports of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn. If such seeing were possible, then the Companions, the Tābi‘īn, and the Taba‘ al-Tābi‘īn would have experienced it; however, there is no proof from any of them. As for the claims of the people of Sufism and the followers of superstitions, they hold no scholarly weight.”
(Monthly al-Ḥadīth, Issue 62, p. 11)
What does this mean? Does it imply that seeing the Prophet ﷺ in a dream is not possible?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh. Ammā ba‘d:
This statement in fact clarifies that seeing the Noble Prophet ﷺ in a state of wakefulness is not proven by any authentic ḥadīth or the reports of the pious predecessors. Therefore, the claims of al-Sha‘rānī and other innovators who claim to have seen the Prophet ﷺ while awake are false and baseless from a scholarly perspective.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Bāz رحمه الله clearly stated:
"Seeing the Prophet ﷺ in wakefulness is impossible."
(al-Taḥdhīr min al-Bida‘ by Ibn Bāz, p. 18; al-Ru’yā wa-al-Aḥlām fī Sīrat Khayr al-Anām by Usāmah ibn Kamāl, p. 98)
Seeing the Noble Prophet ﷺ in the dream is correct and true, with certain conditions:
① The dreamer must be trustworthy and among the people of truth.
② The Prophet ﷺ must be seen in his actual form.
③ Nothing in the dream should contradict the evidences of the Sharī‘ah.
The author has written:
“It is possible to see the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ in a dream, provided he is seen in his actual form. The Companions رضي الله عنهم, when they saw him in dreams, this was absolutely correct because they recognised his blessed form. After them, whoever claims to have seen him, if his creed is sound, the dream must be examined in light of the Qur’ān, ḥadīth, and the understanding of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn. Otherwise, such dreams cannot be used as proof against others.”
(Monthly al-Ḥadīth, Issue 40, pp. 12–13)
It is true that:
“Satan cannot appear in the form of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ.”
However, it should be noted that no ḥadīth says Satan cannot lie, nor that he cannot appear in another form and attribute lies to a believer or righteous person.
➊ If someone, during the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime, saw him in a dream, this means he would also see him while awake – thus, this ḥadīth is specific to the Companions.
➋ If the ḥadīth is taken generally, it means the person will see the Prophet ﷺ while awake on the Day of Resurrection.
① ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās رضي الله عنهما saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream after his passing.
(Musnad Aḥmad, 1/242; chain ḥasan li-dhātih, Monthly al-Ḥadīth, Issue 10, pp. 14–16)
② Imām Abū Ja‘far Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq ibn Bahlūl said:
“I was upon the view of the people of Iraq (abandoning raf‘ al-yadayn), then I saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream praying and performing raf‘ al-yadayn at the opening takbīr, when bowing, and when rising from bowing.”
(Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, 1/293, ḥadīth 1112; authentic chain)
③ Ḥāfiẓ al-Ḍiyā’ al-Maqdisī reported:
“I heard Ḥāfiẓ ‘Abd al-Ghanī ibn ‘Abd al-Wāḥid al-Maqdisī رحمه الله say that he saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream, and he was following him, with another person between them.”
(Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalā’, 21/469)
Some people narrate false dreams or fabricated stories, such as:
Example: Muḥammad Zakariyyā Deobandī narrates from Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu‘aym رحمه الله from Sufyān al-Thawrī رحمه الله, about a youth who recited salāh upon the Prophet ﷺ with each step. The youth claimed his mother died during ḥajj, her face blackened and stomach swollen, until a man from a cloud appeared, touched her face and stomach, and restored her. He claimed to be the Prophet ﷺ and advised sending salāh at every step.
(Nuzhah, Faḍā’il Durūd, pp. 122–123; Tablīghī Niṣāb, pp. 793–794)
✿ This tale is false, whether taken as a dream or an incident in wakefulness.
✿ It contains the claim that the Prophet ﷺ touched the face and stomach of a non-maḥram woman – a blatant lie, contrary to his modest and pure character.
✿ The Prophet ﷺ never touched a non-maḥram woman.
✿ This story is not found in Nuzhat al-Majālis, and even if it were, it would still be false.
✿ Author: ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣafūrī (d. 894H) – his book is filled with unsourced narrations.
✿ Burhān al-Dīn, ḥadīth scholar of Damascus, prohibited reading this book.
✿ Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī deemed its study to be ḥarām.
(Kutub Ḥadhdhara Minhā al-‘Ulamā’, Vol. 2, p. 19)
A similar weak and rejected incident about a man is found in al-Manāmāt of Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (ḥadīth 118), but no such story exists anywhere regarding a woman, nor is there any trace of the aforementioned tale in the works of Abū Nu‘aym.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah (Tawdīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 66
❀ The Question
In your writing, you have stated:
“It should be noted that in this perishable world, seeing the Noble Prophet ﷺ in a state of wakefulness is not proven by any authentic ḥadīth or the reports of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn. If such seeing were possible, then the Companions, the Tābi‘īn, and the Taba‘ al-Tābi‘īn would have experienced it; however, there is no proof from any of them. As for the claims of the people of Sufism and the followers of superstitions, they hold no scholarly weight.”
(Monthly al-Ḥadīth, Issue 62, p. 11)
What does this mean? Does it imply that seeing the Prophet ﷺ in a dream is not possible?
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh. Ammā ba‘d:
This statement in fact clarifies that seeing the Noble Prophet ﷺ in a state of wakefulness is not proven by any authentic ḥadīth or the reports of the pious predecessors. Therefore, the claims of al-Sha‘rānī and other innovators who claim to have seen the Prophet ﷺ while awake are false and baseless from a scholarly perspective.
Shaykh Ibn Bāz’s Fatwā
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Bāz رحمه الله clearly stated:
"Seeing the Prophet ﷺ in wakefulness is impossible."
(al-Taḥdhīr min al-Bida‘ by Ibn Bāz, p. 18; al-Ru’yā wa-al-Aḥlām fī Sīrat Khayr al-Anām by Usāmah ibn Kamāl, p. 98)
Seeing the Prophet ﷺ in a Dream
Seeing the Noble Prophet ﷺ in the dream is correct and true, with certain conditions:
① The dreamer must be trustworthy and among the people of truth.
② The Prophet ﷺ must be seen in his actual form.
③ Nothing in the dream should contradict the evidences of the Sharī‘ah.
Statement of the Author
The author has written:
“It is possible to see the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ in a dream, provided he is seen in his actual form. The Companions رضي الله عنهم, when they saw him in dreams, this was absolutely correct because they recognised his blessed form. After them, whoever claims to have seen him, if his creed is sound, the dream must be examined in light of the Qur’ān, ḥadīth, and the understanding of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥīn. Otherwise, such dreams cannot be used as proof against others.”
(Monthly al-Ḥadīth, Issue 40, pp. 12–13)
Satan’s Deception and Dreams
It is true that:
“Satan cannot appear in the form of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ.”
However, it should be noted that no ḥadīth says Satan cannot lie, nor that he cannot appear in another form and attribute lies to a believer or righteous person.
Interpretations Regarding Seeing in Wakefulness
➊ If someone, during the Prophet’s ﷺ lifetime, saw him in a dream, this means he would also see him while awake – thus, this ḥadīth is specific to the Companions.
➋ If the ḥadīth is taken generally, it means the person will see the Prophet ﷺ while awake on the Day of Resurrection.
Examples of Authentic Dreams
① ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās رضي الله عنهما saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream after his passing.
(Musnad Aḥmad, 1/242; chain ḥasan li-dhātih, Monthly al-Ḥadīth, Issue 10, pp. 14–16)
② Imām Abū Ja‘far Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq ibn Bahlūl said:
“I was upon the view of the people of Iraq (abandoning raf‘ al-yadayn), then I saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream praying and performing raf‘ al-yadayn at the opening takbīr, when bowing, and when rising from bowing.”
(Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī, 1/293, ḥadīth 1112; authentic chain)
③ Ḥāfiẓ al-Ḍiyā’ al-Maqdisī reported:
“I heard Ḥāfiẓ ‘Abd al-Ghanī ibn ‘Abd al-Wāḥid al-Maqdisī رحمه الله say that he saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream, and he was following him, with another person between them.”
(Siyar A‘lām al-Nubalā’, 21/469)
Refutation of False Dreams and Fabricated Tales
Some people narrate false dreams or fabricated stories, such as:
Example: Muḥammad Zakariyyā Deobandī narrates from Ḥāfiẓ Abū Nu‘aym رحمه الله from Sufyān al-Thawrī رحمه الله, about a youth who recited salāh upon the Prophet ﷺ with each step. The youth claimed his mother died during ḥajj, her face blackened and stomach swollen, until a man from a cloud appeared, touched her face and stomach, and restored her. He claimed to be the Prophet ﷺ and advised sending salāh at every step.
(Nuzhah, Faḍā’il Durūd, pp. 122–123; Tablīghī Niṣāb, pp. 793–794)
Reality of This Report
✿ This tale is false, whether taken as a dream or an incident in wakefulness.
✿ It contains the claim that the Prophet ﷺ touched the face and stomach of a non-maḥram woman – a blatant lie, contrary to his modest and pure character.
✿ The Prophet ﷺ never touched a non-maḥram woman.
✿ This story is not found in Nuzhat al-Majālis, and even if it were, it would still be false.
Scholarly Views on “Nuzhat al-Majālis wa-Mukhtār al-Nafā’is”
✿ Author: ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Ṣafūrī (d. 894H) – his book is filled with unsourced narrations.
✿ Burhān al-Dīn, ḥadīth scholar of Damascus, prohibited reading this book.
✿ Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī deemed its study to be ḥarām.
(Kutub Ḥadhdhara Minhā al-‘Ulamā’, Vol. 2, p. 19)
Important Note
A similar weak and rejected incident about a man is found in al-Manāmāt of Ibn Abī al-Dunyā (ḥadīth 118), but no such story exists anywhere regarding a woman, nor is there any trace of the aforementioned tale in the works of Abū Nu‘aym.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
