Shortened Question:
Having intense dreams after grandma passed away.
Question:
I hope whoever is reading this is in the best of health and striving to become a better Muslim everyday. May Allah bless us all. I have been having some pretty intense dreams ever since I was 13. They started to occur after my grandma passed away. The first one was at my uncle’s house where I grew up and in the back yard there were some huge trees (there are no large trees in their backyard). There were some young Muslim Hijabi girls who were on top of the trees swinging their feet. All of a sudden they say that “she is coming,” she being some sort of witch. So we all try to run in the house, and all made it except my grandma. Suddenly the dream blacks out and all I see is just her skull. That night I also had a dream that there was some sort of war going on and I was trying to hide in the forest, and some dog kept barking at me, every time I would hide it would find me and the enemy would get closer. Finally I reached the water where I was supposed to escape and there lay this huge serpent which was waiting for me. As soon as I tried to step over it, it bit me in the neck and I was falling down, it smiled at me. I’ve also had a dream that I met my own representation of Shaytan, who was waiting for me in a room and as soon as I entered the room his face zoomed in and his eyes turned green. I woke up because my door slammed shut, even though I left it open that night and nobody was home.
The final dream I had last night was another snake which bit me in my right arm, right where my veins pop out. There were multiple snakes that wrapped themselves on my arm and kept biting my arm and finally this black liquid started squirting out of veins and started twirling around my arm. The thing that concerns me the most was that I woke up and that same black liquid substance was twirling around my left arm, and then faded away.
I’ll admit I am not the best of Muslims, but I he been making small attempts to becoming a better Muslim, though I feel like my Iman is very weak. I have thoughts of Shirk, I question Allah all the time. Recently it hasn’t been as bad as I’ve started to become at peace with myself, but I still feels like my nafs and Shaytan are winning the battle over me. Could you please provide some insights into these dreams as they are very concerning to me. Also if you have any advises for me to become less angry and become more at peace with myself and Allah that would be greatly appreciated.
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
At the outset, you should understand that some dreams are from Allah and true and other dreams are from Shaitan.
Furthermore, one should not focus one’s full attention behind dreams and their interpretation.
It is also important to understand that not every aspect of dreams can be completely and accurately understood. We may have a general idea of the meaning of some dreams.
You refer to three dreams. The general interpretations of these dreams are as follows:
The hijaabi girls are a reflection of your Iman. The witch represents the various challenges of life. The house that you sought refuge in is the house of Iman. Your grandmother did not make it because she had already passed away. The dog refers to one’s nafs and the snake refers to the Shaitan. The nafs is the internal enemy while the Shaitan is the external enemy that constantly attack our Iman, hence your thoughts of kufr and Shirk.
In order to repel the evil effects of the nafs and Shaitan we advise the following:
1) Strengthen your Iman in Allah by pondering about the greatness of Allah. Allah is most Powerful and is free from any defect.
2) Perform your five daily Salats with Jamaat.
3) Recite some Quran daily.
4) Try to be in a state of wudu as much as you can, especially when you prepare to sleep.
5) When you experience any negative dream or thought, recite:
لا حول ولا قوة الا بالله
La huwla wa laa quwata illa billah.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Saeed Ahmed Golaub
Islamic Solutions
Jamaica
