How can we cure nightmares ?
Praise be to Allaah.
1.
Dreams that disturb a person and keep him awake come from the
Shaytaan. In general, the dreams that people see are either good dreams
which come from Allaah, a reflection of things which a person is
thinking about, or a third type, which are dreams that come from the
Shaytaan.
It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Towards the end of time, hardly any dreams that the Muslim sees will not come true. The one whose dreams are the most truthful will be the one whose speech is the most honest. The dreams of the Muslim form one of the forty-five parts of Prophecy. Dreams are of three types: the good dream which is good news from Allaah; dreams which cause distress, which come from the Shaytaan; and dreams concerning matters which a person is thinking about…” [Narrated by Muslim, 2263]
2. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us how to rid ourselves of the influence of Shaytaan during sleep. This can be achieved by reciting verses from the Qur’aan and du’aa’s narrated from him, before going to sleep.
It was reported that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) put me in charge of guarding the zakaah of Ramadaan. Someone came and started to scatter the food. I took hold of him and said, ‘I will take you to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’… He said, ‘When you go to bed, recite Aayat al-Kursi and you will be protected by Allaah, and no shaytaan (devil) will come near you until morning.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘He told you the truth even though he is a liar. That was a shaytaan.’” [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3101].
And Allaah knows best.
It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Towards the end of time, hardly any dreams that the Muslim sees will not come true. The one whose dreams are the most truthful will be the one whose speech is the most honest. The dreams of the Muslim form one of the forty-five parts of Prophecy. Dreams are of three types: the good dream which is good news from Allaah; dreams which cause distress, which come from the Shaytaan; and dreams concerning matters which a person is thinking about…” [Narrated by Muslim, 2263]
2. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us how to rid ourselves of the influence of Shaytaan during sleep. This can be achieved by reciting verses from the Qur’aan and du’aa’s narrated from him, before going to sleep.
It was reported that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) put me in charge of guarding the zakaah of Ramadaan. Someone came and started to scatter the food. I took hold of him and said, ‘I will take you to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).’… He said, ‘When you go to bed, recite Aayat al-Kursi and you will be protected by Allaah, and no shaytaan (devil) will come near you until morning.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘He told you the truth even though he is a liar. That was a shaytaan.’” [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3101].
(a) It was reported that Abu Mas’ood al-Badri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said:
“The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
‘The last two aayahs of Soorat al-Baqarah – whoever recites them at
night, they will be sufficient for him.’” [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3786; Muslim, 807].
Al-Nawawi said: “Concerning
the phrase, ‘The last two aayahs of Soorat al-Baqarah – whoever recites
them at night, they will be sufficient for him’, it was said that it
means, they will be sufficient for him instead of praying qiyaam
al-layl, or as protection from Shaytaan, or as protection from vermin.
It could mean all of these things.”
(Sharh Muslim, 6/91, 92).
(b) It was reported that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “When
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
went to his bed, he would blow into his hands and recite Qul Huwa
Allaahu Ahad (Soorah 112) and the Mi’wadhatayn (Soorahs 113 and 114).
Then he would wipe his hands over his face and his body, as far as they
could reach.” ‘Aa’ishah said: “When he fell ill, He would ask me to do
that for him.” [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5416; Muslim, 2192]
(c)
It was reported that Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to tell us, when any
one of us wanted to sleep, to lie on his right side, then say ‘Allaahumma
Rabb al-samaawaati wa Rabb al-ard wa Rabb al-‘Arsh il-‘Azeem, Rabbana
wa Rabba kulli shay’in, faaliq al-habb wa’l-nawa wa munazzil al-Tawraata
wa’l-Injeeli wa’l-Furaan, a’oodhu bika min sharri kulli shay’in anta
aakhidhun bi naasiyatihi. Allaahumma anta al-awwal fa laysa qablaka
shay’un, wa anta al-aakhir fa laysa ba’daka shay’un. Wa anta al-zaahir
fa laysa fawqaka shay’un wa anta al-baatin fa laysa doonaka shay’un.
Iqdi ‘annaa al-dayna wa aghninaa min al-faqr (O Allaah,
Lord of the heavens and the earth, and Lord of the Mighty Throne, our
Lord and Lord of all things, Splitter of the seed and the date stone,
Revealer of the Tawraat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel) and the Furqaan
(Qur’aan), I seek refuge in You from the evil of all things that You
will seize by the forelock [i.e., have full control over them]. O
Allaah, You are the First and there is nothing before You; You are the
Last and there is nothing after You. You are the Manifest (al-Zaahir)
and there is nothing above You; You are the Hidden (al-Baatin) and there
is nothing beyond You. Settle our debt and spare us from poverty).’” [Narrated by Muslim, 2713].
(d)
It was reported that Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said: “Abu Bakr said: ‘O Messenger of Allaah, teach me something that I
can say in the morning and in the evening.’ He said: ‘Say,
Allaahumma ‘Aalim al-ghaybi wa’l-shahaadah, Faatir al-samawaati
wa’l-ard, Rabba kulli shay’in wa maleekahu, ashhadu an laa ilaaha illa
anta. A’oodhi bika min sharri nafsi wa min sharr il-shaytaan wa shirkih
(O Allaah, Knower of the seen and the unseen, Creator of the heavens
and the earth, Lord and Sovereign of all things, I bear witness that
there is no god except You. I seek refuge in You from the evil of my own
self and from the evil and shirk of the Shaytaan). Say this in the
morning and in the evening, and when you go to bed.’” [Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3392; Abu Dawood, 5067].
3.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also taught
us what to do when someone sees something unpleasant in a dream and
wakes up as a result. That is: to spit drily to the left, to
seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan, to change the side on which
one was sleeping, and to pray if one wishes.
(a) It was reported that Abu Qutaadah said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
‘Good dreams come from Allaah and bad dreams come from the Shaytaan. If
any one of you sees a bad dream which makes him afraid, let him spit
drily to his left and seek refuge with Allaah from its evil, then it
will not harm him.” [Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3118; Muslim, 2261].
(b) It was reported from Jaabir that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If
any one of you sees a dream that he dislikes, let him spit drily to his
left three time, and seek refuge with Allaah from the Shaytaan three
times, and change the side on which he was sleeping.” [narrated by Muslim, 2262].
(c) It was reported that Abu Hurayrah said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘If any one of you sees something that he dislikes (in a dream), let him get up and pray, and not tell people about it.’” [narrated by Muslim, 2263]
If
the Muslim follows this advice given by the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), before he goes to bed, it is hoped
that no shaytaan will come anywhere near him, and if he follows this
advice when he wakes up from a bad dream, it will take away all anxiety
and distress from him.And Allaah knows best.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
