A dream is hanging on the leg of a bird until it is interpreted

13-6-2011 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalammualaikum a man had a dream, then he tell his friend about it, and his friend interpreted that he's gonna be dead in 3 days, and the interpretation will surely happens. is this true?
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

First of all, please refer to Fatwa 133409 as we clarified in it the seriousness of interpreting dreams and that false interpretations may harm the person who saw the dream.

As regards whether the interpretation of a dream interpreter will come true, then yes if this interpretation is from an expert (in interpreting dreams); the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “A dream is hanging on the leg of a bird until it is interpreted. As soon as it is interpreted (accurately) it happens as it was interpreted.” (Abu Daawood and Ibn Maajah – Al-Albaani graded it Saheeh [sound]) Al-Munaawi may Allaah have mercy upon him commented on this Hadeeth saying: “It means that the interpretation will happen to the person who saw the dream or the person seen in the dream. The author of An-Nihaayah (i.e. Al-Juwayni may Allaah have mercy upon him) said: “It means that it rapidly happens if it is interpreted, in the same way that the bird does not stay stable (in the air) generally, not to mention what is hanging on its leg.”

However, not authoritatively asserting the rightness of the interpretation of the dream or the competence of the interpreter of dreams prevents us from saying that this will undoubtedly happen.

The following matters should be mentioned:

1- One should be careful not to hasten to interpret dreams especially if he is not good at dream interpretation.

2- One should act according to the guidance of the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) in regard to dreams; we mean what is mentioned in the Hadeeth narrated on the authority of Abu Qataadah may Allaah be pleased with him that the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “The good dream is from Allaah while nightmares are from the devil. So, if any of you has a dream that he fears, he should spit on his left hand side and seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of Satan, then it will not cause him any harm. However, he should not inform anyone about it. However, if he sees a good dream, he should expect glad tidings from it and not inform anyone about it except the one whom he loves.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Allaah Knows best.

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