It is not possible to see the Prophet (saw) in any

dream except in his true Form.

Bismillaahi aktubu,

Source:IslamQa
Question:
Is it possible to see the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in dreams
in several forms, i.e., for one person to see him in one form and for another to see him in
another form?.

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.

It should be noted that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “Whoever sees me in a dream has indeed seen me, for the Shaytaan
cannot imitate me.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6994; Muslim, 2266 – this
version narrated by Muslim.
In their commentary on this hadeeth, the scholars said that this is to be
understood as referring to seeing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) in the physical form that is described in the saheeh ahaadeeth, for
the Shaytaan cannot imitate the form of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him).
But if the Shaytaan comes in another form, whether one is asleep or awake,
then lies and says, “I am the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him),” then this is false and does not count as seeing the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
So you should know the physical attributes of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him).

These attributes have been mentioned in many ahaadeeth which describe his
stature, his hands, his forearms, his mouth and teeth, his eyes and his hair –
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
There were many people who resembled the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). Those who most resembled him were al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali
(may Allaah be pleased with him), and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ja’far ibn Abi Taalib.
So if you see the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the
form that is narrated in the Sunnah, then you have truly seen him, but if you see
him in a form that is other than that described in the Sunnah and the Seerah –
such as if you see him clean-shaven, or missing a hand or foot – then there are
two scholarly points of view in this case:

1 – That this is indicative of a person’s shortcoming in religious commitment

2 – The view that Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah thought more likely to be
correct, which is that this is a false image that comes from the Shaytaan,
especially if one sees it whilst awake. That is definitely a false image, because
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is alive in al-Barzakh
and no one can see him whilst he is awake and he cannot visit anyone or speak
to him.

What some people claim, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) came to them when they were awake, and spoke to them and told
them about things, this undoubtedly comes from the shayaateen (devils) and the
jinn, especially since that did not happen to the greatest Sahaabah such as Abu
Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthmaan, ‘Ali, al-Zubayr, Talhah, ‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn ‘Awf,
Sa’eed ibn Zayd, Abu ‘Ubaydah and Sa’d, or the people who had been present
at Badr or had given their bay’ah (oath of allegiance) beneath the tree, and
other great and Allaah-fearing Sahaabah. If anyone claims that he saw the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) whilst he was awake, then
undoubtedly the one who appeared to him was a devil or a jinn, and no ruling
can be established from that.

Something worse than that happened to Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Jilaani (may
Allaah have mercy on him), when he saw someone sitting on a throne between
heaven and earth, saying, “I am your Lord.” He said: “Be gone, enemy of
Allaah, for you are Iblees.” He said: “How do you know that I am Iblees?” He
said: “Because Allaah cannot be seen in this world until we die, and because
you said, ‘I am your Lord’ but you did not dare to say, ‘I am Allaah.’” So
visions of this sort come from the Shaytaan. We should not be deceived by the
stories that are narrated by some people who are thought to be righteous, such
as stories about seeing the Prophets and sitting with them. We may believe that
they sat with them but with whom were they sitting? They sat with the jinn and
devils so that that may cause fitnah (tribulation). But those whom Allaah
protects by their following the Qur’aan and Sunnah and reciting dhikrs, Aayat
al-Kursiy, al-Mi’wadhaat (the soorahs seeking refuge with Allaah) and seeking
the help of Allaah, will be protected against that in sha Allaah, as happened
with the awliya’ (close friends of Allaah) and those who fear Him – as was
narrated by Shaykh al-Islam in his valuable book: al-Furqaan bayna Awliya’
al-Rahmaan wa Awliya’ al-Shaytaan.

There remains another issue to which we must refer, which is that if a person
sees the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in
the form described in the saheeh Sunnah, this is glad tidings, telling him that he
will also see him when he is awake. If he tells him of some shar’i matter that
seems to go against the apparent meaning of the Qur’aan and Sunnah, should
he follow what he has been told or follow the apparent meaning of the Qur’aan
and Sunnah? Or if he tells him about some matter concerning which there has
to be proof – such as the people being shown the new moon when they did not
see it, and he says that tomorrow is Ramadaan – should he follow that or not?
Or if he tells him that So and so stole something from So and so, or that in the
case of a dispute So and so is in the right – should he bear witness to that?

The scholars have stated that if a person sees the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and he tells him something that goes against the
apparent meaning of the Qur’aan or Sunnah, or tells him of some matter
concerning which there has to be proof, he should not act upon it, because what
one sees in a dream is not binding; what is binding is the facts that one learns
when awake. You should note that the dreams of the Prophets are wahy
(revelation), but seeing the Prophets in a dream is not wahy – according to
scholarly consensus. Rather it is bushra (glad tidings), as was explained by al-
Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him)

and seeing him in a dream

Question:
Assalamu Alaikum. I was recently reading a description of the physical characteristics of
the Holy Prophet . I formed a picture in my mind. Then I saw in a dream, a man who
looked like the picture formed in my mind. I do not clearly remember what he said, but I
am afraid he might have said that some Muslim brothers who I love very much will see a
dream with me in it. I committed a sin in their house before, and before this dream, I was
always worrying that they might find out through a dream. How do I know for sure if I
saw the Holy Prophet in this dream. This is worrying me very much. Also, I just saw a
dream, where I thought it was the Holy Prophet again, during his last recitation of the
Quran to Jibreel (AS) during Ramadan. Zaid (RA) was there, too, but also Hamzah (RA)
was there in my dream. I know that Hamzah(RA) wasn't really there, because he was
martyred at Uhud. So was this the Holy Prophet in this dream? How can we know for
sure? Please answer as quickly as possibly. I Email is quicker, please do that. If posting it
is quicker

Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
We will quote below a number of ahaadeeth which describe the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). If what you in your dream is
in accordance with this, then you did indeed see the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), because he said: "Whoever sees me in a
dream has really seen me, because Shaytaan cannot appear in my image."
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 5729).

Rabee'ah ibn Abi 'Abd al-Rahmaan said: "I heard Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah
be pleased with him) describing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him). He said: 'He was of average height, not too tall and not too short,
with a pinkish colour, not very white and not dark, and his hair was neither very
curly nor very straight. The Revelation came to him when he was forty years
old, and he stayed in Makkah for ten years after the Revelation came, then in
Madeenah for ten years. When he died, there were no more than twenty white
hairs on his head and in his beard." (al-Bukhaari, 3283).

Al-Baraa' ibn 'Aazib said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) was broad shouldered and had thick hair coming down
to his shoulders and earlobes. He was wearing red garments. I have never seen
anything more beautiful than him." (Reported by Muslim, Kitaab al-Fadaa'il,
Baab Sifat Sha'r al-Nabi (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), no.
2338).

'Ali said: "He was neither tall nor short, and had large hands and feet. He had a
large head and was big-boned, and the thin line of hair (starting from his chest
and extending to the navel) was long. When he walked, he would lean forward,
as if he was walking downhill. I have never seen anyone like him, before or
since." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 3570, who said this is a saheeh hasan
hadeeth).

Jaabir ibn Samurah said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) was dalee' al-fam, ashkal al-'ayn and manhoos al-'aqib."
Shu'bah said: "I asked Maalik, 'What is dalee' al-fam?' He said: 'Wide-
mouthed.' I asked, 'What is ashkal al-'ayn?' He said, 'Big-eyed.' I asked, 'What
is manhoos al-'aqib?' He said, 'His heels were not fleshy.'" (Saheeh Muslim,
Kitaab al-Fadaa'il, 2339).

As for the sin which you committed in the house of your brothers, repent to
Allaah for this. If you took something that belongs to them, then give it back.
And Allaah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Assalaamu’alaikum manit taba’al huda (May peace,
development and safety from guile to who follow the
guidance).

Assalaamu’alaikum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh (May

peace, development and safety from guile and Allah’s mercy
and Allah’s blessings be upon thee).