Dreams in pagan Arabia It would be helpful for us, if we are to place the phenomenon of true dreams in wide perspective, that we should r...
Dreams in pagan Arabia
It would be helpful for us, if we are to place the phenomenon of true dreams in wide perspective,
that we should recall that even pre-Islamic Arabia had its share of vitally important dreams
which impacted even on national affairs. Thus, for example, we know that the grandfather of the
Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, ‘Abd al-Muttalib, succeeded in rediscovering the famous lost
spring of Zam Zam in Makkah after he was informed in a dream of its exact location. This is
what Ibn Ishaq has to say on the subject:
“While Abd al-Muttalib was sleeping in the sacred enclosure he had a dream in which he was
ordered to dig Zam Zam which (was shown to be in) a depression between two idols of the
Quraish, Isaf Na’ila, at the slaughter-place of Quraish.”7
This event played no little role in making him the Patriarch of Makkah. And his status as
Patriarch of Makkah helped pave the way for his grandson to win the esteem of all Makkah.
Then, of course, we know that the mother of the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam had a number of
dreams prior to his birth in which she saw, for example, that a light was streaming from her body
and illumining the world to such an extent that she could see the castles of Busra in Syria. And,
sure enough, her dreams came true when Muhammad sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was born and grew to
become a veritable ‘light unto the worlds’. Ibn Sa’ad has recorded some of those dreams as
follows:
“We used to hear that when Aminah bint Wahb was pregnant with the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam she used to say: I did not feel as if I was pregnant and I experienced no heaviness as other
women do, except that my periods stopped; but I had a vision when I was in a state between
sleep and wakefulness that a visitor came in and said: Do you know that you are pregnant? I felt
as if I answered: No. Then he said: You are bearing the chief of this nation and its Prophet; that
was on Monday. She (Aminah) said: This fact assured me of my pregnancy. Then he allowed me
a respite until the time of the delivery approached, and the same visitor came to me and said:
Say, I place him under the protection of the One , to Whom people resort in important matters
(critical situations) to guard themselves against those who envy. She said: I repeated those
words and I related the circumstances to the women of my family.” 8
We also learn from Ibn Ishaq of the ancient Arab King, Tubba, who was advised to loot the
Ka’aba of treasures but who, instead, followed the advice of two rabbis who warned him of the
danger of such conduct. And so the King visited the Ka’aba, and went around it in veneration
(tawaf), sacrificed animals, shaved his head etc. Ibn Ishaq then informs us that Tubba eventually
became the first to cover the Ka’aba with a ghilaf (covering) and that he was ordered to do so in
a dream:
“It was revealed to him in a dream that he should cover the temple, so he covered it with woven
palm branches; a later vision (i.e., dream) showed him that he must do better so he covered it
with Yamani cloth; a third vision induced him to cloth it with fine striped Yamani cloth. People
say that Tubba was the first man to cover the temple in this way.” 9
It would be helpful for us, if we are to place the phenomenon of true dreams in wide perspective,
that we should recall that even pre-Islamic Arabia had its share of vitally important dreams
which impacted even on national affairs. Thus, for example, we know that the grandfather of the
Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, ‘Abd al-Muttalib, succeeded in rediscovering the famous lost
spring of Zam Zam in Makkah after he was informed in a dream of its exact location. This is
what Ibn Ishaq has to say on the subject:
“While Abd al-Muttalib was sleeping in the sacred enclosure he had a dream in which he was
ordered to dig Zam Zam which (was shown to be in) a depression between two idols of the
Quraish, Isaf Na’ila, at the slaughter-place of Quraish.”7
This event played no little role in making him the Patriarch of Makkah. And his status as
Patriarch of Makkah helped pave the way for his grandson to win the esteem of all Makkah.
Then, of course, we know that the mother of the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam had a number of
dreams prior to his birth in which she saw, for example, that a light was streaming from her body
and illumining the world to such an extent that she could see the castles of Busra in Syria. And,
sure enough, her dreams came true when Muhammad sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam was born and grew to
become a veritable ‘light unto the worlds’. Ibn Sa’ad has recorded some of those dreams as
follows:
“We used to hear that when Aminah bint Wahb was pregnant with the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa
sallam she used to say: I did not feel as if I was pregnant and I experienced no heaviness as other
women do, except that my periods stopped; but I had a vision when I was in a state between
sleep and wakefulness that a visitor came in and said: Do you know that you are pregnant? I felt
as if I answered: No. Then he said: You are bearing the chief of this nation and its Prophet; that
was on Monday. She (Aminah) said: This fact assured me of my pregnancy. Then he allowed me
a respite until the time of the delivery approached, and the same visitor came to me and said:
Say, I place him under the protection of the One , to Whom people resort in important matters
(critical situations) to guard themselves against those who envy. She said: I repeated those
words and I related the circumstances to the women of my family.” 8
We also learn from Ibn Ishaq of the ancient Arab King, Tubba, who was advised to loot the
Ka’aba of treasures but who, instead, followed the advice of two rabbis who warned him of the
danger of such conduct. And so the King visited the Ka’aba, and went around it in veneration
(tawaf), sacrificed animals, shaved his head etc. Ibn Ishaq then informs us that Tubba eventually
became the first to cover the Ka’aba with a ghilaf (covering) and that he was ordered to do so in
a dream:
“It was revealed to him in a dream that he should cover the temple, so he covered it with woven
palm branches; a later vision (i.e., dream) showed him that he must do better so he covered it
with Yamani cloth; a third vision induced him to cloth it with fine striped Yamani cloth. People
say that Tubba was the first man to cover the temple in this way.” 9
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