Appearance
The Nature of Dreams
Dreams have captivated human imagination and inquiry since ancient times, serving as a bridge between the conscious world and unseen realities. Across civilizations, cultures have devised methods to interpret dreams, unravel their symbolism, and discern their implications, whether of benefit or harm. This enduring fascination reflects a universal recognition of dreams as a phenomenon that transcends mere illusion.
The Qur’an accords great significance to dreams, portraying them as vehicles for divine communication and insight into hidden realities. ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī explores this theme with depth and precision, examining the spiritual and metaphysical dimensions of dreams as presented in the Qur’anic narratives. The visions of Abraham, Joseph, Moses’ mother, and the Prophet Muḥammad (s.a.w.) offer profound examples of how dreams convey divine will, guide critical decisions, and illuminate future events.
While some modern researchers in natural sciences dismiss the validity of true dreams, a number of psychologists have defended their significance, citing verified accounts of dreams that reveal future occurrences or hidden truths. These verified cases, meticulously recorded and corroborated, challenge the skeptical view, emphasizing the need to understand dreams beyond materialistic frameworks. In this context, the exploration in al-Mīzān bridges the Qur’anic perspective with rational inquiry, offering a nuanced understanding of dreams as a profound and purposeful aspect of human existence.
The nature of dreams reveals a distinction between ordinary dreams, shaped by physical and psychological factors, and those that connect the soul to deeper realities. The imaginative faculty plays a central role in the production of dreams, actively constructing images and impressions. During wakefulness, this faculty processes sensory inputs, emotions, and stored memories. In sleep, when the physical senses are at rest, it draws from internal states and external influences to generate a diverse array of dream content. Bodily conditions, such as illness or fatigue, emotional disturbances, and mental preoccupations, significantly influence these dreams, producing images that range from coherent narratives to chaotic vision
Yet, ʿAllāmah asserts that not all dreams can be reduced to these factors. Some dreams transcend these influences, reflecting genuine realities perceived by the soul when it detaches from the limitations of wakefulness. These “true dreams” provide a window into universal truths and hidden matters, connecting the dreamer to a deeper dimension of existence. While skeptics often focus solely on the physical and psychological origins of dreams, he highlights the existence of this unique category, affirming that dreams are not merely random constructs but can serve as profound expressions of the soul’s connection to external realities and spiritual truths.
Dreams, therefore, can be divided into three primary categories:
1) Clear Dreams: These are visions that present realities directly, without ambiguity or symbolic transformation. They convey their message plainly, requiring no interpretation. An example is Prophet Abraham’s vision of sacrificing his son, which delivered a clear and unambiguous directive.
2) Confused Dreams: These are chaotic and incoherent, reflecting the influence of random thoughts, emotions, or physical states. The Qur’an refers to such dreams as “confused nightmares”, emphasizing their lack of inherent meaning or guidance. These dreams arise from the mind’s subconscious activity and do not connect to deeper realities.
3) Symbolic Dreams: The most common and significant type, these dreams involve the soul perceiving higher realities and expressing them through symbols and metaphors familiar to the dreamer. For instance, knowledge may be represented by light, strength by mountains, or honor by a crown. These symbolic representations reflect the soul’s encounter with abstract truths, reframed into comprehensible forms. Such dreams require interpretation to uncover their deeper meanings, as exemplified by the dreams of Prophet Joseph and his companions in the Qur’an.
True dreams, particularly symbolic ones, have their roots in the higher realms of existence. ʿAllāmah explains that reality consists of three interconnected domains: the realm of nature (ʿālam al-ṭabīʿa), the realm of archetypes (ʿālam al-mithāl), and the realm of intellect (ʿālam al-ʿaql). The material world operates under physical laws, bound by time and space. Above it lies the realm of archetypes, where forms exist independently of matter, serving as the blueprints for events in the physical world. Beyond this realm is the realm of intellect, where pure, abstract truths exist in their immaterial form. During sleep, when the soul is freed from its bodily constraints, it may ascend to these higher realms. In the realm of archetypes, the soul encounters realities that are then represented symbolically in dreams. Those with highly refined souls, such as prophets, may even access the realm of intellect, witnessing truths in their pure, unmediated forms. For most individuals, however, dreams are symbolic, as the soul translates its perception of higher realities into familiar imagery.
Symbolism plays a central role in dreams, as abstract truths are expressed through analogies that resonate with the dreamer’s experiences. This symbolic language allows the soul to convey profound ideas in forms that are comprehensible yet indirect. Dreams may also employ contrasts and inversions, where symbols shift to represent their opposites—for example, wealth may symbolize poverty, life may represent death, or fire may signify purification. Such symbolic transitions reflect the complexity of the soul’s communication and highlight the need for skilled interpretation to decipher the hidden meanings within dreams. The Qur’an validates this symbolic dimension through the story of Joseph, where dreams of stars, the sun, and the moon bowing to him, or cows and ears of corn, are interpreted to reveal significant events.
ʿAllāmah connects true dreams to the soul’s capacity for higher knowledge. Because the soul is immaterial, it is not confined to the limitations of the physical senses and can resonate with metaphysical realities. During sleep, this capacity is heightened, allowing the soul to perceive truths that remain hidden in the waking state. Clear dreams offer direct access to these realities, while symbolic dreams use imagery to bridge the gap between abstract truths and human comprehension. Confused dreams, by contrast, arise from the imagination’s disorderly activity, lacking connection to any higher realm.
The Qur’an’s references to dreams provide further validation of their significance and categorization. Clear dreams are exemplified by Abraham’s vision () and the mother of Moses’s dream (), which required no interpretation. Confused dreams appear in the story of the Egyptian king, whose advisers dismissed his dreams as meaningless. Symbolic dreams are most vividly illustrated in the life of Joseph (, ), whose dreams and interpretations serve as a testament to the role of dreams in uncovering divine truths and future events. Through these examples, the Qur’an affirms that dreams are not mere illusions but, at times, genuine reflections of higher realities.
In essence, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī presents dreams as a profound phenomenon that transcends the boundaries of material existence. While many dreams arise from internal and external influences, others connect the soul to truths beyond the physical world. True dreams serve as a bridge between the seen and unseen realms, offering glimpses of divine wisdom and hidden realities. Whether clear or symbolic, these dreams reflect the soul’s ability to access higher knowledge, guided by the light of the imagination and the immaterial nature of the human spirit. Through this understanding, dreams become not only a subject of fascination but also a pathway to deeper awareness of the metaphysical dimensions of existence.
“When he was old enough to assist in his endeavor, he said, ‘My son! I see in a dream that I am sacrificing you. See what you think.’ He said, ‘Father! Do whatever you have been commanded …’” (). ↩︎
“When Joseph said to his father, ‘Father! I saw eleven planets, and the sun and the moon: I saw them prostrating themselves before me.’” (). ↩︎
“When We revealed to your mother whatever was revealed: ‘Put him in the casket, and cast it into the river. Then the river will cast it on the bank …’” (). ↩︎
“When God showed them to you as few in your dream, and had He shown them as many, you would have lost heart, and disputed about the matter …” () ↩︎
In Tafsīr al-Qummī, it is narrated that Abū al-Ḥasan al-Riḍā clarified the nature of the prostration mentioned in “And he raised his parents high upon the throne, and they fell down prostrate before him” (). He explained that the prostration of Jacob and his sons (which was the interpretation of Joseph’s earlier dream) was not directed toward Joseph but was an act of obedience to God and a gesture of greeting and honor toward Joseph. This mirrors the angels’ prostration to Adam, which was likewise an act of obedience to God and a greeting to Adam, rather than worship. Furthermore, Jacob, his sons, and Joseph together prostrated in gratitude to God, acknowledging the divine mercy in reuniting them after their prolonged separation. This interpretation highlights the distinction between acts of worship exclusive to God and gestures of respect and gratitude performed in obedience to Him. ↩︎
“They said, ‘Confused nightmares, and we do not know the interpretation of nightmares’” (). ↩︎