Ru'ya
The true dream in Islamic tradition, distinguished from ordinary dreams.
In the Islamic tradition ru'ya is the true dream: a dream that comes from God and shows something meaningful. The word is related to seeing. According to a well-known tradition the good dream is one of the forty-six parts of prophethood, and after the Prophet only the mubashshirat remain of prophecy, the glad tidings, by which the true dream is meant.
The ru'ya is distinguished from two other kinds of dream. The hulm is a bad, confusing or frightening dream, which according to tradition comes from Shaytan. Hadith an-nafs are dreams that arise from what occupies the soul during the day: worries, desires, conversations. Most dreams belong to that last group.
How do you recognise a ru'ya? Classical scholars name characteristics, without giving them as hard rules. A true dream is often clear and coherent, leaves a calm feeling and stays with you for a long time. It occurs more often with people who are sincere in their speech; one tradition says that whoever speaks most truthfully has the truest dreams. Dreams towards morning are also often seen as more reliable.
You handle a ru'ya with care. You thank God for it and tell it only to someone who loves you or who has knowledge. Interpretation is not for everyone: the tradition warns that a dream follows the first interpretation given to it.
Even a true dream calls for modesty. A dream is not a source of law and not a substitute for reason, consultation and prayer. Many scholars stress that even a beautiful dream says nothing about how close you are to God; for that, your deeds count.
Related terms
- Ta'bir al-ru'ya The Islamic science of dream interpretation.
- Hadith an-nafs The dream arising from your own thoughts and worries.
- Ibn Sirin Eighth-century scholar, best-known name in Islamic dream interpretation.
- 'Ilm Knowledge; classically linked with clear water in dream interpretation.
- Hulm The disturbing dream, seen as arising from whisperings of the shaytan rather than as a message.
- Mubashshirat Glad tidings; a classically recognised subtype of the true dream (ru'ya).
- Ru'ya sadiqa The classical, more precise term for what is often shortened to “the true dream”.
- Ta'wil Interpreting the deeper, hidden meaning behind a dream image, the core of the interpretive method.
- Muabbir The classical term for a qualified dream interpreter: someone with knowledge, experience and a careful method.
- Kinaya Symbolic or punning language through which a dream image points to another concept.
- Adghath ahlam Confused, meaningless dreams: a Qur'anic term for dreams that merit no interpretation.
- Istikhara The prayer for divine guidance in a decision; sometimes, but not necessarily, followed by a clarifying dream.
- Rizq Provision: everything that comes to a person from God, from money to knowledge.
- Sadaqa Voluntary charity in Islam; zakat is the obligatory alms.
- Tahara Purity, physical and ritual, in Islam.
- Yunus The prophet swallowed by a great fish, Jonah in the Bible.