Hadiths
Narrated Samrah ibn Jundub(may Allah be pleased with him): Every time the Prophet ﷺ would finish the prayer, he would [turn towards us and] face us then ask, "Who amongst you had a dream last night?" If anyone had seen a dream, he would narrate it. The Prophet ﷺ would say: "Mashallah". One day, he ﷺ asked us whether anyone of us had seen a dream. We replied in the negative. The Prophet ﷺ said, "But I had seen a dream last night that two men came to me, caught hold of my hands, and took me to the Sacred Land (Jerusalem). There, I saw a man sitting and another standing with an iron hook in his hand – some of our companions narrated from Musa: he was pushing it inside the mouth of the former till it reached the jawbone, and then tore off one side of his cheek, and then did the same with the other side; in the meantime the first side of his cheek became normal again and then he repeated the same operation again. I said, “What is this?” They told me to proceed on and we went on till we came to a man lying flat on his back, and another man standing at his head carrying a stone or a piece of rock, and crushing the head of the man laying down, with that stone. Whenever he struck him, the stone rolled away. The man would go to pick it up, and by the time he returned to him, the crushed head had returned to its normal state and the man came back and struck him again (and so on). I said, “Who is this?” They told me to proceed on; so, we proceeded on, and passed by a hole like an oven, with a narrow top and wide bottom, and the fire was kindling underneath that hole. Whenever the fire-flame went up, the people were lifted-up to such an extent that they were about to get out of it, and whenever the fire got quieter, the people went back down into it, and there were naked men and women in it. I said, “Who are those?” They told me to proceed on. So, we proceeded on till we reached a river of blood, and a man was in it, and another man was standing at its bank with stones in front of him, facing the man standing in the river. Whenever the man in the river wanted to come out, the other one threw a stone in his mouth and caused him to retreat to his original position; and so, I asked, “What is this?” They told me to proceed on and we did so till we reached a well-flourished green garden,with a huge tree, and near its base was sitting an old man with some children. (I saw) Another man near the tree with fire in front of him, and he was kindling it up. Then they (i.e., my two companions) made me climb up the tree and made me enter a house, better than which I have never seen. In it were some old men and young men, women, and children. Then they took me out of this house and made me climb up the tree and made me enter another house that was better and superior (to the first), containing old and young people. I said to them (i.e., my two companions), “You have made me ramble all night. Tell me all about what I have seen.” Theysaid, “Yes. As for the one whose cheek you saw being torn away, he was a liar and he used to tell lies, and the people would report those lies on his authority till they reach out far and wide. So, he will be punished like that till the Day of Resurrection. The one whose head you saw being crushed is the one whom Allah had given the knowledge of Quran, but he ignored it at night and did not used to act upon it by day; and so, this punishment will go on till the Day of Resurrection. And those you saw in the hole (like oven) were adulterers (those men and women who commit illegal sexual intercourse). And those you saw in the river of blood were those dealing in Ribah (usury). And the old man who was sitting at the base of the tree was [Prophet] Abraham (peace be upon him) and the little children around him were the offspring of the people. And the one who was kindling the fire was Maalik, the gatekeeper of the Hell-fire. And the first house in which you have gone was the house of the common believers, and the second house was of the martyrs. I am [angel] Gabriel and this is Michael. Raise your head.” I raised my head and saw a thing like a cloud over me. They said, “That is your place.”I said, “Let me enter my place.”They said, “You still have some life which you have not yet completed, and when you complete (that remaining portion of your life) you will then enter your place.”
.
Commentary :
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the seal of all Prophets and Messengers, and nothing similaroccursafter Prophethood, except the glad tidings that Allah gives to His believing servants through true dreams. True dreams can be either to give a glad tiding about something good, or to warn the believer against some evil. The truthfulness of these dreams depends on the level of faith and piety of the believer experiencing it.
In this hadeeth, Samrah ibn Jundub(may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet ﷺ used to turn his noble face towards the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) after each prayer, andenquire if any of them had experienced a true dream, and if so, to narrate it for him. Then, he ﷺ would interpret these dreams,by Allah’s will. One day, he ﷺ asked the same question butnone of them had a dream to mention. Then, he ﷺ mentioned that he ﷺhad seen a true dreamthe night before; and [it is known] the dreams of Prophets are always truthful, and a [form of] divine revelation from Allah, Most High.
***
The Prophet ﷺ saw in his dream that two angels came to him and took him by hand to the Sacred Land. In the narration in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, it says: “a Sacred Land”,while another narration in Musnad Ahmad reads “a spacious land or flattened earth”. There, he ﷺ saw two men- one man sitting down while the other was standing in front of him with an iron hook, which is like the hook used to hang up meat, pushing it inside his mouth until it would reach his jawbone and tear off one side of his cheeks. Then, the same would be done to the other side of his cheeks. Upon seeing this, the Prophet ﷺ inquired about this man, but the two angels did not answer his question, and merely asked him to proceed. They arrived at a different place, and there, he ﷺ saw a man lying down on his back, while another man was standing next to his head,and crushing it with a stone that was the size of a hand palm, or a piece of rock. As his head was crushed, the stone or piece of rock would roll away, so the other manwould walk to it, collect it, and go back to the man who is lying down, and repeat the same action, over and over again. Notably, each time he would go back to him, he would find his head back in its initial condition. The Prophet ﷺ asked the two angels about this man too, but they did not answer him, and took him, next,by a hole that resembled a clay oven used to bake bread. The top of this hole was narrow while the bottom was spacious, and the fire was kindling underneath that hole wherein there were named men and women. Whenever the fire-flame would go up, the people would go up highenough to almost come out of it, and whenever the fire would get quieter and the heat less than before,the people would go backdown into it. The Prophet ﷺagain asked the two angels about them, but once again, they did not answer his question.
Thereafter, they took himﷺ until they reached a river of blood, in which there was a man swimming, while another man stood at its bank, with stones in front of him. Every time the man in the river attempted to get out, the man at the bank would throw stones at him, forcing him to go back into the river. The Prophet ﷺ asked about them but [again] the two angels did not answer.
Then, they took himﷺ to a well-flourished green garden,which had a huge tree; and near the tree base, an old man was sitting with some children. He ﷺ saw another man near that tree, with fire in front of him that he was kindling. The two angels then took him up the huge tree and there, theyentered a beautiful house thatwas second to none in beauty, as he ﷺmentioned, and inside this house, there were old men, young people, women, and boys. Then, the two angels took him ﷺback outside the house, and went farther up the huge tree, and entered another house that was even better and more beautiful than the first, and inside it, there were old men and young people.
After all that, the Prophet ﷺ said to the two angels: “You have taken me around [from one place to another]this night and I would like to know, who arethose people,whom I have seen tonight?”The two angels agreed to answer his question, and explained that the first man, whose cheeks were torn away,was a habitual liar, and people would repeat his lies to others, until those liesspread far and wide. His punishment was that severe due to the great corruption and harm resulting from his lies. As for the second man, whose head was crushed, deserved that punishment, because he was a man that Allah had taught the Quran, but he neglected it i.e., he neither recited it at night nor acted upon it at daytime. The naked men and women in the hole were adulterers and fornicators, and the man who was swimming in the blood river was a man who made money through usury (i.e., interest-based loans, and other forms of transactions that are classified as such). As for the old man who was sitting next to the tree base, he is Prophet Ibraheem (peace be upon him) and the children with him are the children of people [who died before reaching puberty] – A narration in Saheeh al-Bukhaaree, reads: “As for the children around him, they are the children who died upon the fitrah”. These children include both the children of Muslims and non-Muslims, who died before reaching the age at which they become accountable. The most correct view, as it appears, regarding the children of disbelievers and polytheists, is that they will be tested on the Day of Judgment, and if they pass the test and believe, they will enter Paradise;otherwise they will enter Hellfire, as indicated in other textual evidence.
As for the man who was kindling the fire, that was Maalik, the gatekeeper of Hellfire. The first house entered was the abode designated for all believers, while the other house, which was better and more adorned than the first one, is the abode made for the martyrs. I am [angel] Gabriel and this is [angel] Michael.”
Then, the two angels asked him ﷺ to raise his head. Upon doing so, he ﷺ saw a layer that looked like clouds, and the two angels informed him that this high place is his place in Paradise. Thereupon, he ﷺ asked them to let him enter it, but they replied that his life in this world was not yet over, but once his lifetime in this world would end, he ﷺwould enter his place and enjoy it.
From this hadeeth, we learn the high statusof the Prophet ﷺ and the distinguished merit that he ﷺ carried in the sight of Allah, Most High.
Other benefits derived from this hadeeth are that we ought to value true dreams,and enquire regarding their significance, and speak of them after finishing prayer.
It also shows that it is recommended for the Imaam to conversewith his companions after finishing the prayer, and that it is permissible for people to talk about such knowledge in the mosque.
It teaches us that it is permissible for people to sit with their back towards the direction of the Qiblah when they are learning or doing other things.
Finally, this hadeeth warns us against lying, spreading lies, and abandoning the recitation of the Quran and acting upon it. It also shows the gravity of the sin of adultery and fornication, and the severe punishment that await fornicators and adulterers.
.
