Hazrat Ali i said that one of Allah’s d wonders of creation is a dream and whatever good or bad things happen in a dream by the order of Allah d . It is narrated by Hazrat Abu Hurairah h that Prophet Muhammad g said:

1 الرُّؤْيَا ثَلاَثٌ حَدِيثُ النَّفْسِ، وَتَخْوِيفُ الشَّيْطَانِ، وَبُشْرَى مِنَ اللَّهِ
“ There are three types of dreams; the reflection of one's thoughts, by Satan to frighten the dreamer or glad tidings from Allah.” (Sahih Bukhari: 7017)

Hazrat Jafar Sadiq r said that real dreams are of three types; first of command, second of ambiguous having indistinct meaning and third of those dreams that appear either in a disturbed state of mind or indigestion. The third type of dream that appear in a disturbed state of mind or indigestion, is seen by four types of people:

1. Nature inclined towards corruption

2. Alcoholic

3. Eating food such as eggplant, lentils, salted meat and similar items

4. Underage/ immature children

Hazrat Daniyal r said that dreams are actually based on two types; first it informs about the present-day situation and second it informs about the conclusion/ epilogue. These two types of dreams can further be distributed into four; commandments, forbidding, to frighten and good news.

Hazrat Ibn Sirin r said that dreams that there are two types of dreams; one type is of the commandment, which is a real dream; the second type is due to disturbed state of mind or indigestion which are worrisome. These worrisome dreams are also of three types:

1. Dominated by either mood, nature or desire

2. Manifestation of satan

3. Reflection/ cogitation of the soul/ self

Hazrat Karmani r said that dreams are of three types; first type is of good news from Allah d , second type is satan’s whispers/ temptations and third type is something that remains in one’s heart and is dreamt of because of obsession. A true dream is just like an angel who gives good news from the Loh-e-Mahfooz (Preserved Tablet).

Hazrat Maghribi r said that there are two types of dreams; the first type is a true dream and the second type is based upon falsehood. True dreams are of three types; one is good news, second type is a warning and third type is inspiration. Good news connotating that Allah  has appointed an angel at Loh-e-Mahfooz to inform the person of all the good and bad things that are going to befall him. The name of this angel is Malik al-Rawiya. Good news is revealed to the person in his dream by the angel of dreams. A warning dream is the one in which the angel scares him and warns him of what is to come so that the dreamer obeys and avoids sin. An intuitive dream is one in which Allah  to give intuition to the person in his dream so that he gives charity and does Jihad. The dreamer turns to Allah  , avoids sin and is kind towards His creation. Allah  says in the Holy Quran:

وَتُوْ بُوْ اِلَی اللّٰہِ جَمِیْعًا اَیُّہَ الْمُؤْ مِنُوْنَ لَعَلَّکُمْ تُفْلِحُوْنَ
“And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.” (An-Nur 24/31)

False dreams are also of three types, one courageous dream, two evil dream and three satanic dream. Courageous dreams are a persons’ thoughts that he then dreams of. It has no origin or interpretation. Evil dreams are seen when a person is feeling miserable due to physical pain and the same pain also prevails in his sleep. He sees bad and terrible things in his dream, which causes him pain. This dream has no reality. Satanic dream is one in which a person sees something impossible. It has no interpretation. Allah  says in the Holy Quran:

وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَاْ وِیْلِ الْا َحْلَامِ بِعٰلِمِیْنَ
“And we do not know the interpretation of such dreams.” (Yusuf 12/44)

It is evident from this division that that all types of dreams are not correct and interpretable. The only type of dream worthy of interpretation is the good news from Allah  . An example of Hadith-e-Nafs is that a person doing any act with which he is obsessed, will usually see the same in his dream. A bereft lover who always dwells in the thought of his beloved, will usually see his lover in his dreams. A true dream is shown so that the person is happy and enthusiastic in seeking the truth and love of Allah  . Such a dream is interpretable and is of significance.