The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has informed us that it is possible to see him in a dream:
“Whoever sees me in a dream has truly seen me, for Satan cannot imitate me.”
Ibn Majah
He ﷺ also said:
“Whoever sees me in his dream will (soon) see me whilst awake”
Bukhari and Muslim
The Ulema have compiled works where they offer advice and propose methods of how one can attain the vision of the Prophet ﷺ in their dream. However there are prerequisites which must be met in order for a person to have the opportunity to receive such a blessing. Sheikh Muhyi al-Deen al-Tu’mi has compiled forty of the prerequisites1. Below is a translation of this amazing piece of work: 2
Know that there are etiquettes and conditions required for attaining the vision of the Prophet ﷺ which are known to the people of knowledge (ahl al-Irfan). They are as follows:
The first condition: Eating purely halal food.
The second condition: Genuine repentance from major and minor sins, inwardly and outwardly.
The third condition: Acting upon the Shariah, the Quran and the Sunnah and actualising that inwardly and outwardly.
The fourth condition: Not desiring the stations and states of the people and actualising that.
The fifth condition: Having perfect love for the Prophet ﷺ and not having any anger towards him ﷺ. Also respecting him, revering him and defending him ﷺ.
The sixth condition: Not objecting to the Noble Companions (Sahaba) and whatever occurred amongst them and never insulting or criticising them.
The seventh condition: Not opposing the friends of Allah (Awliya) and what occurs in their right for indeed that angers and offends him ﷺ.
The eighth condition: Not following a misguided sect like the Shia, the Ibadiya3, the communists, or the secularists because the Prophet ﷺ is angry with whoever follows these groups.
The ninth condition: Performing abundant remembrance (dhikr) of Allah – Mighty and Majestic – because remembrance takes a person to the presence of Allah – Mighty and Majestic.
The tenth condition: Performing abundant prayer (salawat) upon the Prophet ﷺ because prayers upon him ﷺ increases love and connection to him for the slave who recites the prayers.
The eleventh condition: Having love for the friends of Allah (Awliya), the righteous (Saliheen) and the scholars (Ulema) and spending a lot of time with them. Indeed, keeping their company is a form of protection for the slave because they are causes of protection for the people of the earth.
The twelfth condition: Supporting the Prophet ﷺ against his critics, enemies and those who oppose him like the Wahhabis, the Taymiyyans (Taymiyeen)4 and others who oppose him ﷺ.
The thirteenth condition: Setting out to visit the Rawda and grave of the Prophet ﷺ and loving to do that. And visiting his noble grave often.
The fourteenth condition: Not mingling with and keeping company of those who criticise or oppose him ﷺ because peoples innate natures are affected by the nature of others. Perhaps he will become like them by mingling and spending time with them. An example of that is what happened when some of the scholars travelled to Saudi Arabia in order to make money and they were affected by them and they started to incline to the Wahabi school. They started speaking like them and they sold their afterlife for the dunya.
The fifteenth condition: Constantly staying in a state of complete purity (i.e. wudu) when awake and when sleeping as that is nourishment for the soul and is good for protecting the person and his body from the entry of spiritual darkness.
The sixteenth condition: Ensuring to sleep in a state of purity whilst performing dhikr and prayers upon the Prophet ﷺ. This is to help actualise the vision of the Prophet ﷺ during sleep.
The seventeenth condition: Abundantly reflecting upon him ﷺ and on his essence (dhaat), attributes and characteristics.
The eighteenth condition: Ensuring to study Islamic knowledge, the fundamentals of the religion, the shariah and Islamic law (fiqh). A friend of God (wali) who is ignorant cannot enter upon the Prophet ﷺ unless Allah Himself teaches him and selects him.
The nineteenth condition: Fleeing from those things which veil and prevent a person from seeing him ﷺ like keeping company with people, fools and those eagerly chasing the dunya and gathering wealth, loving positions of importance and being occupied with that. Indeed, that is one of the greatest veils which prevents one from seeing him ﷺ in wakefulness or sleep.
The twentieth condition: Loving the poor and needy and preferring to keep their company over the company of the wealthy. This is because Allah made this an obligation for His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and we are the people commanded most to follow him ﷺ. Allah – Mighty and Majestic – said to his Prophet Muhammad ﷺ:
“Content yourself with those who pray to their Lord morning and evening, seeking Him, and do not let your eyes turn away from them out of desire for the attractions of this worldly life.”
Surah al-Kahf: 28
The twenty-first condition: Having total renunciation (zuhd)5 with regards to the dunya and akhira and whatever people possess.
The twenty-second condition: Being generous and magnanimous, for indeed these are from the characteristics of the Prophet ﷺ, especially towards the poor. And these are also from the Divine Attributes, those of which The Absolute Truth (Al-Haqq) – Exalted be He – advised His slaves to characterise themselves by. Also, The Absolute Truth (Al-Haqq) – Exalted be He – hates the stingy, miserly slave.
The twenty-third condition: For gold and stones to have the same value in the opinion of the one who receives the vision (of the Prophet ﷺ). He is not concerned wether he is hungry or full, naked or clothed, rich or poor. Rather, he sees all things as the same.
The twenty-fourth condition: Preferring to be unknown rather than known and preferring seclusion and concealment over fame. And the one who receives the vision (of the Prophet ﷺ) should continue to flee from fame and love of being known at all costs.
The twenty-fifth condition: To hate for his miracle (karamah) to become known. The friend of Allah (wali) is embarrassed by this (his miracles becoming known) just like a virgin would become shy at her menses when it begins!
The twenty-sixth condition: Abandoning useless and boastful speech. He should only speak about that which concerns him and this is a characteristic of the Abdaal, those who are hidden and gracious.6
The twenty-seventh condition: Love of death and transition from the worldly abode to the abode of the akhira as that is where he will meet the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and be able to gather with him in the permanent abode of felicity where His – Transcendent and Exalted is He – mercy is.
The twenty-eighth condition: Completely abandoning the haram, in all its various forms and kinds. And fleeing from it (the haram) just as a person would flee from a ferocious predator!
The twenty-ninth condition: Completely abandoning doubtful things, suspicious matters, and those things which are surrounded by uncertainty. And (also abandoning) anything which impede the slave’s ascent to the presence of his Master – Mighty and Majestic.
The thirtieth condition: The realisation of the slave that the vision of the Prophet ﷺ is better than having a vision of the Throne (arsh), the Kursi, the Ka’ba, the angels and heaven. Because he ﷺ is greater and better than all of these things! 7
The thirty-first condition: The realisation of the slave who has seen the Prophet ﷺ that he did not attain the vision due his praiseworthy qualities, his worship, or due to his distinction over all other slaves of Allah. Rather, he only attained the vision as a purely Divine gift to him, and not due to anything else.
The thirty-second condition: A person should not become deluded if he sees the Prophet ﷺ often and he should not become reliant on that. Rather, it is necessary for him to be abundant in striving, performing good actions, having abstinence, and being scrupulous.
The thirty-third condition: Not speaking about his vision (of the Prophet ﷺ) and spreading it and informing others about it, unless he has permission from a pious, sincere person. Because that will harm him and damage him. And envy (hasad) is more than enough to cause damage to him.
The thirty-fourth condition: Loving the descendants of the Prophet ﷺ and his pure family (Ahl al-Bait), may Allah Most High be pleased with them. Also he should visit them often.
The thirty-fifth condition: Not feeling safe from the plans of Allah if he stops receiving the vision of the Prophet ﷺ, since Allah – Transcendent and Exalted is He – does in His kingdom whatever He wills.
The thirty-sixth condition: The one who received the vision should not believe that he has some sort of superiority over his brothers because he received the vision of the Prophet ﷺ (and they did not).
The thirty-seventh condition: Being totally content with the decree of Allah in private and public, in both good times and difficult times.
The thirty-eighth condition: To love and adhere to the beliefs (Aqidah) of the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah and not deviating from them. 8
The thirty-ninth condition: Hating to oppress people and never violating their rights, honour or circumstances. All of these are things which cut a person off from attaining the vision of the Prophet ﷺ.
The fortieth condition: To have a lucid and pure essence (dhaat) so that it can meet with the essence of the Beloved ﷺ so he can see him ﷺ.
Footnotes
All of the below footnotes are by the translator:
- It should be noted that there are exceptions to the rule. Therefore it is possible for there to be instances where a person who does not meet all of these conditions is still blessed with seeing the Prophet ﷺ. Allah Most High can grant the blessing to whoever He wills. Nonetheless, if someone is blocked from attaining the vision, then it is likely that it is due to him falling short in meeting one or more of these prerequisites. And Allah knows best.
- The book is “Mu’jam man ra’a Rasulallah ﷺ fi al-nawm wa al’yaqdhatah” by Sheikh Muhyi al-Deen al-Tu’mi al-Misri al-Tijani. The forty conditions can be found in the muqadimah (introduction) from page 4-9 (DKI second edition 2009).
- The Ibadiya are a sect outside of Sunni Islam. They are a tiny minority compared to Sunni Muslims although many can be found today in Oman.
- This is referring to those who follow the 13th century scholar Ibn Taymiyyah. They are basically synonymous with the Wahabis/Salafis.
- Zuhd is to have detachment from the world (dunya). It does not mean that a person cannot possess wealth since we know that many of the Sahaba and Awliya were very wealthy. Rather, as the Ulema say, our wealth should be in our hands and not in our hearts.
- The Abdaal (substitutes) are a special group of the friends of Allah (Awliya). The Hadiths about them tell us that they are from Greater Syria (Shaam) and there are forty of them. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said about them “The Substitutes (al-abdal) are in Syria and they are forty men, every time one of them dies, Allah substitutes another in his place. By means of them Allah brings down the rain, gives (Muslims) victory over their enemies, and averts punishment from the people of Syria.” (Ahmed)
- Because all of these things (the throne, kursi, angels, heaven etc.) were created by Allah, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is the greatest of all creation.
- To learn more about the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama’ah aka Sunni Islam, read the following: https://orthodoxmuslim.com/2021/11/15/the-aqidah-beliefs-of-a-muslim-part-1-an-introduction-to-aqidah/
Orthodox Muslim 