The 365 · Sunnah · Day 74 · Sleep
Following the Prophetic Discipline for Good and Bad Dreams
The hadith
الرُّؤْيَا الصَّالِحَةُ مِنَ اللَّهِ، وَالرُّؤْيَا السُّوءُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ، فَإِذَا رَأَىٰ أَحَدُكُمْ رُؤْيَا يَكْرَهُهَا فَلْيَتْفُلْ عَنْ يَسَارِهِ ثَلَاثًا، وَلْيَسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شَرِّهَا، فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَضُرُّهُ
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'The good dream is from Allah, and the bad dream is from shayṭān. So if any of you sees a dream he dislikes, let him spit lightly to his left three times and seek refuge in Allah from its evil; it will not harm him.' (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6986, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2261, narrated by Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī.) Cross-ref the further instruction: 'Let him not tell anyone about it' (Bukhārī 7044, Muslim 2261).
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Den goda drömmen är från Allah, den dåliga drömmen är från Shaytan. Om någon av er ser en dröm han ogillar, spotta lätt åt vänster tre gånger och sök skydd hos Allah från dess ondska; den kommer inte att skada honom.'
The story
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Nothing remains of prophethood except glad-tidings (al-mubashshirāt).' The Companions asked: 'What are the glad-tidings?' He said: 'The righteous dream that a Muslim sees, or that is seen for him.' (Bukhārī 6990.) The hadith establishes the structural significance of true dreams as a remnant of prophecy in the Ummah.
Why it's here
The Prophet ﷺ established a structural three-part theology of dreams: good dreams (al-ruʾyaā aṣ-ṣāliḥah) are from Allah and may be told to those one trusts; bad dreams (al-ruʾyaā as-sūʾ) are from shayṭān and should not be told; ordinary dreams are from the soul's own ruminations. The bad-dream protocol is operationally precise: spit lightly to the left three times, seek refuge in Allah, change sleeping position if able, and do not tell anyone. The Prophetic guarantee follows: 'It will not harm him.'
Try it today
1. When you have a good dream: praise Allah; tell only those you love and trust; do not advertise it. 2. When you have a bad dream: spit lightly three times to the left; recite 'aʿūdhu billāhi min ash-shayṭān ar-rajīm wa min sharrihā'; do not tell anyone; change sleeping position if able. 3. Do not tell bad dreams during the daylight hours either. The Prophetic instruction is structural. 4. Recite the bedtime adhkār (Day 71) as the structural prevention for bad dreams.
In your day
Modern Muslims often share bad dreams casually with family and friends, asking for interpretation, looking up online dream-dictionaries. The Prophetic discipline is the inverse: bad dreams are not to be discussed. The advice and the interpretation seeking actually extend the bad-dream's effect. Build the discipline.
A reflection to carry
The dream discipline: good dreams from Allah, bad dreams from Shayṭān. The Prophet ﷺ: 'A good dream is from Allah; a bad dream is from Shayṭān. When one of you sees what he dislikes, let him spit three times to his left when he wakes; let him seek refuge in Allah from its evil; let him not tell anyone about it.' (Bukhārī 6986.)
Read the longer reflection
The structural protocol for bad dreams: spit three times to the left, recite aʿūdhu billah min ash-shayṭān ar-rajīm three times, do not tell anyone, change sleeping position. For good dreams: praise Allah, share with those you love. The dream-discipline structurally protects the believer's psychological-spiritual state. Cure: train children specifically; install the protocol as automatic when waking from disturbing dreams; do not analyze bad dreams or tell others (which can structurally amplify them). Modern dream-analysis culture often runs counter to the Prophetic discipline.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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