The Sharing Group Discussion on Seeing the Prophet (s.a.w.)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon posted this, on The Sharing Group, on the 16^th June 2017: “Who else has met Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) in a dream or meditation?  I would eagerly love to hear your experience of that.  Plus, also tell me what you do to achieve his nearness along with Allah’s (s.w.t.).” 

Brother Muhammad Reza Nasherudin: Even if I dream of one, I can never tell if that is him.  I have only dreamt of Shaykh Muhammad Nazhim Adil al-Haqqani (q.s.) holding a blue turban, and I immediately kissed his hand.  That is all. 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: I have met. 

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon: I share mine!  I was sleeping in a small room of an old house alongside the window, and the wooden door opened.  Beautiful “nur” entered the room along with a man dressed in white cloak.  The vision of him started from his feet and upwards to his face.  I could not see the exact face, but a lovely smile which even brightened the room.  A voice said loudly in my ears, “This is Muhammad!” 

Sister Fatima Ali Faruque Naqshbandi: I have been comforted by seeing him on different occasions.  Few of the dreams were indications to me of things to come.  I still do not feel worthy of having such beautiful presence. 

Brother Mohamad Abu Ali: I wish and still pray I would be able to.  So far, the closest I got were some notable ‘ulama I look up to in our era.  Interestingly, I know of a person who claimed to have dreamed of meeting the Prophet (s.a.w.), but my personal experience with that person was that they had such a repulsive behaviour, I wonder why they were given the honour. 

Brother Yusuf Saleh Walker: I have seen many individuals in my dreams; Yusuf (a.s.) many times, and Jesus (a.s.), Sayyidina ‘Ali ibn Abu Thalib (k.w.), Sayyidatina Fathimah bint Muhammad az-Zahrah (r.a.), Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (r.a.), and Ustadz Sa’id Ukur Nursi (r.a.), all once a piece, but I have never seen our Beloved (s.a.w.).  I have read that some state there are certain swalawat that you can repeat an incredibly large number of times that will result in you seeing him. 

Brother Mohamad Abu Ali: Seeing Sayyidina ‘Ali (k.w.) and Sayyidatina Fathimah (r.a.), and Jesus (a.s.) would be awesome enough for me! 

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon: How does Yusuf (a.s.) look like?  Is he really good looking?  And Fathimah (r.a.)? 

Brother Yusuf Saleh Walker: Joseph (a.s.) was clean shaven and had a radiance about him, and was handsome.  Jesus (a.s.) looked a bit rougher, he had a beard, but no long hair.  Though it could be the nature of my dreams why each appeared the way they did.  Every time I saw Joseph (a.s.), he was giving me instructions or discussing his story.  He once even gave me a golden scroll, but I woke up before I could read it. 

Jesus (a.s.), in my dream, appeared and asked me why I did not believe he was God and I replied that if he was God then why do the earliest copies of Mark say such and such, and at that, he said nothing else to me. 

Sister Ana Annisa: How sure are you that is the real Jesus (a.s.)? 

Brother Yusuf Saleh Walker: From what I know about the historical Jesus (a.s.), and the historical Jesus (a.s.) was one of the main areas of concentration of my university studies, he looked like a Sephardi Jew and a peasant.  How true that look is to how he really was, is anyone’s guess, but according to anthropology that is how he likely would have looked.  Out of all the people I saw, Jesus (a.s.) was the most down to earth. 

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon: But why did he ask that god about godhood?  And your response, I do not get. 

Brother Yusuf Saleh Walker: I told my dream to an interpreter of dreams once, and he said it was because at the time I used to debate with Christians frequently.  I tried to simplify my response here, but what I said was, “If you were God then why do the earliest copies of the first Gospel, Mark in verse 1:1 read “αρχή του ευαγγελίου Ιησού Χριστού”, “The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ’; when the later copies read “αρχή του ευαγγελίου Ιησού Χριστού υιού του θεού”, ‘The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God’?” 

Sister Ana Annisa: Nice, I do not think any prophet would come to my dream, because I do not have a clean heart and I need to learn more, the proper ‘ibadah. 

Brother Yusuf Saleh Walker: Neither do I, but I try. 

Sister Gurei Dot: I dreamt once!  He was bringing me around, showing me Singapore before there was any civilisation and showing the changes in time.  No idea what it meant but it was a peaceful trip.  I have no idea how I knew it was Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), or that he was showing me Singapore because the land is practically empty with no landmarks. 

Brother Joshua Wagner: I think the question I would like to pose is: just how do we achieve seeing the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a dream?  Are there prerequisites we must meet, steps to follow, for it to work? 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: If you want to see the Prophet (s.a.w.), engage much in the recitation of swalawat. 

Sister Ana Annisa: Few years ago, my late shaykh gave ijazah for a daily recitation of a thousand swalawat.  When I did it for the first time, I woke up from my sleep due to a nice smell of perfume which I had never smelt it before.  It was so nice.  I was facing the qiblah while sleeping and that time I knew there is someone behind me wearing turban.  I wanted to turn my body to see him but fell asleep and realised it when I woke up again for fajr. 

Brother Abdul Khalik Obaid: While reciting swalawat on our Beloved (s.a.w.), lying on the sofa, a man appeared.  He had long hairs until his shoulders.  He said, “Let us go.”  I stood up and my surrounding started to change like curtains being moved.  I wondered what was happening and thought we are crossing across the time.  We reached a majlis where the Beloved (s.a.w.) was sitting against a wall along with his companions.  And he gazed at me.  This is one of my experiences, I treasure the most. 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: That man who brought you was Khidhr (a.s.). 

Sister Yindra Sierra: I pray that someday, I will.  So far, I just had dreamt of being in Makkah, at the Ka’bah. 

I was not yet a Muslim when I had my first dream.  My friend and I just got there and said, “Oh my God, we need to take a picture,” and we started running towards the Ka’bah but there was no,construction; it was more like a beautiful, green pasture.  It was one of those runs like in the commercials, the warm air, the sun in our face.  Magical.  I converted weeks later; she got baptised Catholic. 

Second dream, this same friend and I were doing the rounds, and I was touching the Black Stone and feeling so much at peace.  Then, walking around it, still touching it for five rounds.  Then, we got lost and were walking around trying to find our way back.  The funny thing is that it happened on one of those days when I was struggling with my faith and thinking ahead about Ramadhan had me stressed out 

Brother Michael Amaddeo: Back in my earliest days as a Muslim, I had a dream that I came up out of sajdah, and I was in front of the Ka’bah, about 20 feet away, give or take.  There were men standing there before me, to my left and right; and in the distance, I saw a man fighting to keep people away from the haram and thought, “It’s him.”  That is as far as my dreams of the Prophet (s.a.w.) are concerned. 

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Yahya an-Ninuwy has appeared frequently, while Shaykh Nazhim al-Haqqani (q.s.) and Shaykh Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah Niyas al-Kawlakhi (q.s.) appeared once each.  The latter asked me to play guitar for him. 

Brother Abdel Azeem Moh Siddique: I once dreamed of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) more than ten years ago.  In my dream, I saw him being surrounded by four men who wore black cloaks covering their whole bodies including their faces.  Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) wore a gamis dress with red straps on it.  He was holding a sword, and he finished these four men, one by one, until I heard a voice telling me, “He is Muhammad.”  Unconvinced whether my vision of him was true or not, I did some research and I found out that Shaythan cannot take the form of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) in a dream and, accordingly, when you see him in a dream that is true.  I also searched on the physical traits of him and compared them to what I saw in the dream, and they matched. 

Sister Ayesha Hadi: Indeed, Blessed are the ones who are Blessed with the noble vision.  Can you all please share with us, your spiritual state around the time of the dream, any swalawat or adzkar you recited frequently back then and anything else you feel contributed to it? 

Sister Gurei Dot: I am not a particularly religious person.  But at that time, I was in a really dark place.  I know I kept hoping someone would show me the way, but not exactly sure how the dream does that.  I have my hypothesis but seems kind of far-fetched. 

Brother Abdel Azeem Moh Siddique: It has always been my habit to make dzikr or remembrance of God, especially during the month of Ramadhan.  The day before I dreamed of the Prophet (s.a.w.), we had a sharing with my friend and we talked about God.  He even asked me a question about the Attributes of God.  That night, when I was about to sleep, I constantly uttered the phrase, “Laa ilaha illa Allah,” until I fell asleep.  Then, the vision came.  A clean heart and sincerity should always be there.  Seeing the Prophet (s.a.w.) in a dream is a privilege because not all are able to experience this. 

Brother Abdul Khalik Obaid: I try to fill my heart with love and belief, and believe with every hair in my body until start shivering; until I humble myself. 

Brother Yusuf Saleh Walker: All of mine were seemingly random, except Yusuf (a.s.).  I was intensely studying the surah named after him, its tafsir, and pretty much anything to do with it, from the time I woke up until I shut my eyes for about four months.  Interestingly, I dreamt of Ustadz Sa’id Nursi (r.a.) when I knew of him by name only. 

Sister Charlotte Wisniewski: Masha’Allah, all these beautiful stories.  I have only had one dream of Muhammad (s.a.w.) but it was a drawing done with an actual pencil, but I do not exactly know what I feel about that as it is a big no no.  I have a few dreams to share if you do not mind. 

The first and biggest one I had actually made me look into Islam which was a shock as I was very anti-religious.  I was standing on top of a hill surrounded by lots of beautiful scenery with mountains in the distance.  I was told that over that area was Turkey or Syria.  I then started walking down a sort of path, and I was told that I was “walking in the steps of the Prophet”.  It only made sense once I learnt what the sunnah was. 

After I took my shahadah, I had heaps of dreams.  One, I was sitting on, like a, cushion, and I was floating up higher and higher into the sky.  Once I floated through the clouds, there was a huge man beside me holding my hand like a child.  Me being the child, I mean.  That was something that was quite repetitive around that time - holding someone’s hand. 

When I was learning how to pray, my pronunciation was quite rough and I think I was saying, “Subhannah rub al-ala.”  Then, I dreamt that, once again, I was holding someone’s hand, a lady who kept repeating, “Subhaana Rabbi al-A’alaa.”  And no kidding, that is pretty much how I learnt how to pronounce it right.  And finally, another one of my favourites, I was walking down a path with mountains and lots of snow and I was reciting Qur’an.  I cannot remember which ayat it was exactly, but it mentions Jannah being “Gardens that under which, river flows,” something like that.  So, I look up and, instead of a sky, there is this sparkly water thing that is gently moving across, and I say, “Oh right!  That is what they meant about the river!” 

I have had weird dreams all my life, but I have definitely noticed that if I am not practicing, praying or just got myself in a bit of a rut, I do not tend to dream as much.  Sometimes, not at all.  So, I would say lots of extra prayers, lots of dzikr and good deeds are a must.  Insha’Allah, you have something special. 

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon: Beautiful dreams, Charlotte. 

Brother Abbas Naderi: It is strongly advised against sharing the dreams of the Prophet (s.a.w.) in sunnah, because it is the way of disbelievers and liars to attribute dreams to the Prophet (s.a.w.) and claim false things.  Scholars have asked believers to keep such dreams to themselves. 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: It is strongly advised not to make a spectacle of it.  Sharing within a proper context is allowed, and encouraged.  That is why the awliya’ have written stories of their encounters.  It is meant to strengthen faith. 

Brother Abbas Naderi: Can you show me a few citations where they have shared such stories?  I have not seen a single one. 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: You are not asking for some rare book or ahadits.  There are dozens of pages and stories online.  Or, if you are traditional, there is Tadzkirat al-Awliya’, Kashf al-Mahjub, Sirr al-Asrar, and so many more.  You have never read any of these books, and you are confidently deciding what is permissible and what is not?  These are not rare books I mentioned here. 

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon: Yes, Brother Abbas, it was meant to warm the hearts with the love and love of seeing Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.).  I have also read two books out of what Brother Terence referred, and there are plenty of examples of awliya’ meeting with him in visions and dreams. 

Brother Abbas Naderi: Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis, neither of those books are jurisprudence books.  Those are Sufi books and are ignored by jurisprudence scholars. 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (q.s.) was the Mufti of Baghdad, and a mujtahid of both Hanafi and later, Hanbali fiqh.  Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Utsman al-Hujwiri (q.s.) was a Hanafi jurist.  Imam Abu al-Qasim al-Junayd ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi (q.s.) was a famous qadhi and Hanafi jurist.  Imam Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ghazali (r.a.) was a Shafi’i jurist.  Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (q.s.) was a Hanafi qadhi and jurist.  Imam Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah ash-Shadzili (q.s.) was a Maliki jurist.  I can go on.  So, are you telling me all these fuqaha’ made a ruling and then subsequently ignored it? 

Sister Clarity Conan-Doyle: Yes, these stories are faith strengthening 

Brother Abbas Naderi: Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis, what ruling?  I asked for citations to the ruling, which never came.  Are you claiming that because those who wrote these books are jurisprudence scholars themselves, these books should be in the topic of Islamic jurisprudence?  Because that would be a straw-man fallacy. 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: How is that a straw man fallacy?  It is called logic.  If it were haram to write these stories down, why would scholars write them down?  Do you require a ruling to use the umbrella when it rains?  In fiqh al-mu’amalah, everything is halal unless you can prove it is haram, so if you claim it is haram, show me the dalil.  I do not have to prove to you it is halal.  Also, this is not an issue of fiqh, but taswawwuf.  If you know fiqh, then you would also know that fiqh does not legislate for the ghayb.  There is no fiqh about what to do in dreams, or meeting angels, or travelling in the ghayb. 

That is enough derailment of the thread.  Brother Abbas Naderi, if you do not like this thread, there are others.  Your contention has no basis, and I will not allow you to shut this down. 

Brother Wajahat Hussain Al-Hanafi: Such a beautiful and heart-warming thread.  I have never seen Prophet (s.a.w.), and neither I am sure I will be able to face him due to my sins.  When I was I guess 10 or 11 years old, I heard His blessed voice and voice of Dawud (a.s.).  Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) only gave me his own introduction, and the rest of the talk was done by Dawud (a.s.).  He gave me some advice.  Wallah!  Dawud’s (a.s.) voice is the sweetest of what I have ever heard.  Prophet Muhammad’s (s.a.w.) voice was a manly, yet it was heavenly.  I am longing to hear them again.  It is still fresh in my memory.  Allah (s.w.t.) has blessed me with a son 2 months ago.  And in the honour of this memorable dream I have named him Muhammad Dawud. 

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon: May your son be Blessed!  What a beautiful dream!  I can imagine how melodious Dawud’s (a.s.) voice. 

Brother Muhammad Harris: Subhanallah!  How fortunate you are, Brother Wajahat. 

Sister Sandra Rae Johnson: In a major healing with my Guide, the idea came to me to shoot down' the nightmarish wounds in my heart and images there from with the Hand of Allah (s.w.t.).  After which, I felt immeasurable peace and immersion in Light.  My Guide told me later that he saw Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) appear, and kiss me on the top of my head.  Since then, my PTSD from multiple traumas including sexual abuse, medical abuse and kidnapping is gone.  Thanking Allah (s.w.t.) so deeply for helping me and healing me and giving me His Love and Mercy.  Truly He is Sending us miracles all the time, if we can only perceive. 

Brother Ashiq Zuhoori Yasin: I once dreamt of a man in white robe, his face filled with nur, and his beard is white and thick.  He was holding a short staff.  I woke up, and a voice from my heart said, “Husayn.” 

Sister Miraj Bukhari: What a beautiful thread!  So much of it reinforces one’s faith in Allah (s.w.t.), subhanallah!   I believe true visions are meant to be shared as positive lessons and glad tidings. 

I recall the first time I had visions was when I was approximately 7 years old.  I did not know how to perform swalah, but recited shahadah, or dzikr as many times as possible until I would fall asleep.  I was greeted by a very tall man in a thobe, a long white beard, and staff.  He introduced himself but could not see his face, at the bank of two rivers that bifurcated at the end of a huge waterfall.  One of the rivers flowed calmly and the other flowed with severe currents.  He invited me to choose, but requested that I sit with him in his boat that leads to Swirath al-Mustaqim.  I have never forgotten that dream and it grants me strength to hold on to faith even during the most difficult of times. 

I have had a few other visions and dreams, but not as vivid.  I do believe that when I am sincerely focused on my ‘ibadah, that I have even experienced the scent of Heaven through my olfactory nerves while awake, and in isolated, quiet areas, probably as a sign of a blessing.  The scent is very real and distinct.  I am grateful for experiencing it.  It starts off smelling similar to a Persian rose and tapers off like oud.  Has anyone else experienced something similar while in a state of being awake? 

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon: What kind of scent?  I had had experienced a nice smell many a times during ‘ibadah of the movement of embracing Allah’s (s.w.t.) Love. 

Sister Miraj Bukhari: The smell was exceptionally distinct.  Nothing of it like on earth.  And yes, it is not common but more usual when making a sincere effort towards a good cause, intention with the mention of Allah (s.w.t.).  The scent follows you, but for some reason I have an odd time locating it.  I usually receive awkward silence from people who cannot seem to relate, but so glad you experience something very similar. 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: Yes, that scent is normally when we are in the dzikr.  There are subtle differences and different smells are the signature of different people. 

Brother Zain Aly Trook: Could Shaythan take on a form and deceive the person that he is seeing Rasulullah (s.a.w.), after which the person wakes up believing he indeed saw Rasulullah (s.a.w.)? 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: It is possible for Shaythan to claim to be the Prophet (s.a.w.), or one of the prophets, or awliya’, but he cannot take their actual form. 

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon: No, he cannot take any other from and deceive a person by claiming to be Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.).  Perhaps, he can deceive by calling himself any other prophet or wali. 

Brother Zain Aly Trook: Sister Anơushėy Zaroon, so, if he takes a form, he is bound to the truth that he is not Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.)? 

Sister Anơushėy Zaroon: Yes!  It is a hadits that the Prophet (s.a.w.) said, “Whoever sees me in a dream will see me in his wakefulness, and Satan cannot imitate me in shape.” 

Brother Zain Aly Trook: Sister Anơushėy Zaroon, thanks but it contradicts Brother Terence’s comment. 

Brother Terence Kenneth John Nunis: The hadits states Satan cannot take his actual form.  There is no mention of claiming to take the form.  If someone never met you, and I convincingly claimed to be you, might they believe?  I did not have to dress like you; they do not know what you look like.  In visions of the Prophet (s.a.w.), there are landmarks taught to us only once our vision or dreams have been verified by the murshid.  This is so we know who has seen true, and who was mistaken. 

Brother Zain Aly Trook: Shukran.  Thank you for the clarification brother.  This leaves open the possibility of deception, especially in light of the many dubious dreams that people have that only serves to further their own agendas. 

Brother Gary Dargan: I worked in a government job which paid no overtime and a limited amount of leave in lieu of overtime.  At one point, I had worked around 14-hour days for nearly 6 months, so I was owed a lot of time off.  I was granted 10 days off but considered on duty so I would get paid.  To get away from all the stress, I decide to recharge by going to Fiji with a group from the Tabligh Jam’aat.  I ended up spending the first two days and nights doing a lot of dzikr in a mosque far away from any town.  In the last night there, an overseas speaker gave a talk denigrating mawlud and those who practiced it in the most offensive terms, calling them “the sons of Abu Jahl.” 

That night I had the dream.  It began as what I could only call a classic out of body experience.  I was still aware that I was asleep in the mosque but there was no mosque.  Instead, I found myself lying down in a space enclosed by a barrier which seemed to be condensing out of nothing around me and becoming more solid as it bore down on me.  For a brief moment, I could clearly see myself lying there before I “woke up” and saw the now solid misty grey barrier above me.  I had a sense of something powerful coming down behind the barrier and for a brief moment, was afraid.  Then an opening appeared in the barrier and a bright hazy light shone through like the rays of the Sun shining through cloud.  Gradually, the haze cleared as the light intensified. 

Initially, there was a shape in the opening silhouetted by the light shining behind it.  Suddenly, the light cleared and there was a face looking down on me.  It was a man’s face with a stern impression.  He had long dark hair and a dark beard and I realised that the light I saw was radiating from his face.  Despite his stern impression, I got no sense of anger or menace; instead, I felt peaceful.  At this point, I made a conscious decision to wake up and open my eyes.  I remember a startled look coming over the face and it rapidly receded and the opening closed.  I woke up and was physically back in the mosque with other people sleeping around me.

I am, by nature, a curious person so went back to sleep in an effort to recreate the dream and see where it would lead.  I found myself again in a space enclosed by a similar barrier but this time something was different.  I almost had to will the barrier to open and several times it began to open only to close over.  Eventually the opening appeared but this time the light was not as intense and far hazier.  I caught a quick glimpse of a very different face before it turned away from me and disappeared.  I remember the face looking vaguely like an IL Series Cylon from the Battlestar Galactica TV series, a pointed head with a flickering, flame-like face.  I tried again and, this time, the face was veiled.  At this point, I decided I was traveling into something way out of my depth and decide to wake up and had no further dreams that night. 

I have since had other quite vivid dreams, including one in Makkah, while on haj.  None of them have included visions like this.  When I got back to civilisation, I sought out an explanation and was told that some people can connect to the unseen, and this was what happened.  I was also warned that there were a lot of traps for the unwary who try this.  So, there is my story seeing the Prophet (s.a.w.) and Satan in the one night. 

On another note, following this adventure, I went on one more outing with the tabligh.  This time, it was accompanying my now ex-wife on a ladies jama’at.  I found their behaviour so ridiculous and their attitude to women so repugnant that I have had nothing more to do with them.