Question
How do we get rid of nightmares?
Response text
Praise be to Allah.
1. What the sleeper actually sees that worries him and interrupts his sleep comes from Satan. Generally speaking, the sleeper sees either a good dream which comes from Allah or an embodiment of the speech of the soul i.e. ideas which occupied his intellect (before sleep) or confused images coming from of Satan.
According to Abu Huraira (PAa) the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “As time progresses, the Muslim’s dream becomes more and more true. Those of you whose dreams are the truest are those whose speech is the truest. The Muslim’s dream is one of the 45 parts of the prophecy. There are three kinds of dream: the good dream which is good news from Allah; the dream through which Satan brings sadness, and the dream which is only the reflection of the person’s own thoughts (reported by Muslim, 2263).
2. The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us how we can escape Satan’s influence while sleeping. It is thanks to the reading of verses of the Koran and the invocations reported, and this, before indulging in sleep.
a °) Abu Hurayra (PAa) said: “The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) entrusted me with the care of the zakat of Ramadan. Then someone came to draw the food and I took hold of him and said: I will bring your case before the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) and he said When you go to bed, recite the verse from the Throne. Allah will make someone look after you and Satan will not come near you until the morning. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: He told you the truth, although he was a liar; it was Satan (reported by Bukhari, 3101).
b °) According to Abu Massoud al-Badri (PAa) the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said: Whoever recites the last two verses of sura 2 during one night, they will be enough for him (reported by Bukhari, 3768 and Mouslim, 708).
Al-Nawawi said: “His words: Whoever recites the last two verses of sura 2 during one night, they will suffice , it is said: They take the place of night prayers . It is also said that they mean: They protect him against Satan or again: They protect him against defects . It may be all of these at the same time. (Muslim commentary, 62 / 92-93).
c °) Aïcha (PAa) said: When the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) went to bed, he recited suras 112,113 and 114, breathed on his palms and massaged with his hands his face and the parts of his body that they could reach.
Aïcha adds: When he fell ill, he asked me to do this for him . (Reported by Bukhari 5416 and Mouslim, 2192).
d °) Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) ordered us when we wanted to lie down to do it on the right side and to say:
Allahouma rabb al-arsh al-azim, rabbouna wa rabbou koulli shayin, faliq al-habbi wa an-nawa, wa munzilou at-tawrati wal-injil wa al-fourqan. Aoudhou bika min sharri kouli shayin anta akhidhoun bi nasiyyatihi. Allahoumma anta al awwalou fa layssa qablaka shayoun wa anta al-akhirou falayssa ba’adaka shay’oun wa anta al-batinou falayssa donnaka shayoun, iqdhi anna ad-dayna wa aghnina min al-faqr (reported by Muslim, 2713).
“My Lord, the Master of the heavens, the earth and the immense Throne, our Master, the Master of all things, the One who splits the seed and the pit, the Revealer of the Torah, of the Gospels and of the Koran, I ask your protection against the evil coming from anything that you care about.
My Lord, You are the first because nothing has preceded You. You are the last because nothing will be after You. You are the Apparent because nothing is above You. You are the hidden one because nothing is below You. Pay off our debts and get rid of poverty .
e °) Abu Hurayra (PAa) said: Abu Bakr said: O Messenger of Allah, teach me a prayer that I recite morning and evening .
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him: Say, my Lord, the Knower of the invisible and the visible, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the Master and the king of all things, I certify that ‘there is no god but You. I ask for Your protection against the evil of my soul and the evil coming from Satan and his accomplices . Then he said to him: Say this in the morning and in the evening when you are about to sleep (reported by At-Tarmidhi (3392) and Abu Dawood (5067).
3. Likewise, the Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed us what to do when we wake up from the sight of what we dislike. It is about spitting on his left and imploring the protection of Allah against Satan, to change sides and to pray if one wants.
A °) Abu Qatada said: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: the good dream comes from Allah and the bad from Satan. When one of you has a dream that scares him, spit on his left and ask for divine protection against the evil it inspires him. In this case, he will not suffer any prejudice . (Reported by Bukhari, 3118 and Mouslim, 2261).
B °) According to Djabir, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace be upon him) said: When one of you sees in a dream what he hates, let him spit on his left and ask for protection divine against Satan three times and change sides . (Reported by Muslim, 2262).
C °) According to Abu Huraira (PAa) the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If one of you sees something he hates, let him get up let him get up, pray and refrain from telling people about it. (Reported by Muslim, 2263).
We hope that practicing the teachings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) before going to bed will keep Satan away from the person concerned. If he applies what the Prophet has recommended in case of awakening caused by a nightmare, he will be cleared of troubles and worries. Allah knows it best.