Nightmares

Question: 

There is a frightening nightmare haunting me frequently. While sleeping I dream that there is something within my mouth resembling dough. It makes it difficult for me to breathe and speak. Many times I try to remove or take out of it with my hand but it comes again, which breaks my sleep. I am frightened of this nightmare that disturbed my life and obsessed my thinking. I do not know the reason behind this, knowing that I observe performing Prayer and Fast and performed Pilgrimage. I often ask for Allah’s Forgiveness and repent to Him. Yet it haunts me within a period of two, four, or five months. I ask Allah (Exalted be He) that you will give me an explanation for this frightening dream. May Allah guide you to what brings out the good of this life and the Hereafter. Allah is in the help of a servant as long as he is in the help of his brother.

Answer:

This nightmare is from Shaytaan. It is ordained for you and for every Muslim man and woman seeing what he hates to spit dryly to his left side thrice and to seek refuge with Allah from Satan and from the evil of what he saw (three times). Then he should resume sleeping on the other side. This way, what he sees cannot harm him. One should not tell anyone about this because it was authentically reported that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him):

“A good dream is from Allah and a bad dream is from Shaytaan. Anyone who sees something (in a dream) that they hate, should spit to their left three times and seek refuge with Allah three times from the evil of Shaytaan and of what they have seen. Then they should turn on the other side and it will not harm them. They should tell no one about it.” [Al-Bukharee no. 6995, Muslim no. 2261 and others.]

This authentic hadeeth relieves both the believing man and woman seeing what they hate. Praise be to Allah, it is a great remedy available. O brother, you should put this into action and relieve your heart with this Prophetic remedy. May Allah grant us all success!

– Shaykh Ibn Baaz - Fatawa Islamiyyah, vol. 4, p. 340