Abu Hurayrah, Abu Qatadah and Jabir Ibn Abdullah reported, Rasoolullah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) stated ” He who saw me in a dream in fact saw me, for Satan can not assume my form.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

The hadith clearly states that the Rasool of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) can be seen in a dream, as Satan (may Allah’s curse be upon him) cannot take his form. However, some points which should be noted concerning its meaning are as follows:

  1. The hadith confirms the fact that Satan can come in various forms and misguide people.
  2. The hadith confirms that Satan cannot take the ACTUAL form of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم).
  3. The hadith confirms the fact that the Prophet’s form may be seen in dreams.

Nowadays we come across people who claim that they have seen Rasoolullah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) in a dream. They become so happy then they boast about it, or sometimes boast how religious they are (may Allah protect us from such claims). And even sometimes people claim that Rasoolullah has commanded him/her to do something new in the religion of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

The point to be noted here, is that Satan can take the form of somebody else and can come in one’s dream who is unfamiliar with Rasoolullah’s appearance and claim that he is Allah’s messenger.

Therefore, of the people who claim to see Rasoolullah, and also claim that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) commanded him to do something new CONTRADICTS the basic principle of Islam. Because such a claim implies:

  1. Either that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) did not fulfil his mission in his life time, or
  2. That Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) was not aware of the future of the ummah, and thus did not prescribe the necessary injunctions during the Prophet’s lifetime.

Such claims are absurd, as ISLAM is complete and perfect by the grace of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). And it also shows that the poor chap who claimed so (and so) was successfully misguided by Satan. May Allah save us form such traps of Satan, ameen.

References

Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. The Fundamentals of Tawheed. 2nd ed. Riyadh: IIPH, 2005. 166-168.