The 365 · Sunnah · Day 315 · Sleep
Etiquette of Good and Bad Dreams
The hadith
«الرُّؤْيَا الصَّالِحَةُ مِنَ اللَّهِ، وَالْحُلْمُ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ، فَإِذَا حَلَمَ أَحَدُكُمْ حُلُمًا يَكْرَهُهُ فَلْيَبْصُقْ عَنْ يَسَارِهِ ثَلَاثًا، وَلْيَتَعَوَّذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شَرِّهَا، فَإِنَّهَا لَنْ تَضُرَّهُ». وَإِذَا رَأَى رُؤْيَا صَالِحَةً فَلْيُحَدِّثْ بِهَا مَنْ يُحِبُّ.
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'The good dream is from Allah, and the bad dream is from shayṭān. If one of you dreams something he dislikes, let him spit (lightly, with breath) to his left three times, seek refuge in Allah from its evil, and it will not harm him.' (Bukhari 6995, Muslim 2261). And if he sees a good dream, let him relate it only to those he loves.
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ sade: 'Den goda drömmen är från Allah, och den onda drömmen är från shayṭān. Om någon av er drömmer något han ogillar, låt honom spotta (lätt, med andetag) till sin vänster tre gånger, söka tillflykt hos Allah från dess onda, och den ska inte skada honom.' (Bukhari 6995, Muslim 2261). Och om han ser en god dröm, låt honom berätta om den endast för dem han älskar.
Bukhari 6995; Muslim 2261
The story
Abū Hurayrah narrated this hadith. He himself once had a frightening dream and applied the Sunnah; he reported in the morning that the dream had no after-effect. ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar said: 'I used to wish I would see a dream so I could tell it to the Prophet ﷺ.' Dreams were a known channel for spiritual instruction in the Companions' lives.
Why it's here
The Prophet ﷺ taught us how to receive both kinds of nightly visions. Good dreams are a forty-sixth part of prophecy; bad dreams are shayṭān's harassment. The Sunnah is to respond to each differently: share good dreams only with the beloved (lest envy strike), and dismiss bad dreams with spit and refuge (lest fear take root).
Try it today
After a good dream: praise Allah, share it only with someone you love who will not envy. After a bad dream: spit lightly to your left three times, say 'aʿūdhu bi-Allāhi min al-shayṭān al-rajīm', do not narrate it to anyone, turn over to the other side, and if able, pray two rakaʿāt. The dream will not harm you.
In your day
Modern people are often haunted by bad dreams shared widely on phones and social media. The Sunnah is the opposite: do not share bad dreams. They lose their power when not spoken. Conversely, share the good ones only with the trustworthy. The believer's nights become structured by adab.
A reflection to carry
Allah named two channels of night-vision: one from Him, one from shayṭān. The Sunnah is to amplify the first and silence the second. Words give dreams reality; the believer chooses which to give.
Read the longer reflection
Dreams are intimate. They visit at the body's most vulnerable hour, leave impressions on waking, sometimes haunt for days. The Prophet ﷺ understood this and taught us a clear adab. A good dream is a fragment of prophecy; share it only with someone who will rejoice with you (the wife, the close friend, the wise teacher), never with one who might envy. A bad dream is shayṭān's mischief; deny it words. The spit-to-the-left and refuge-in-Allah is a small symbolic exorcism: the body expels what visited; the tongue refuses to give it shape. After centuries of psychological observation, this remains profound advice: a fear unnamed and dismissed loses power; a fear narrated and shared multiplies. The Sunnah is the ancient psychology of the believer. May our nights be visited only by what is from Allah, and may we know how to receive both kinds of visions when they come.
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.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
Subscribe, free