While You are Sleeping
A Journalistic Expose on Sleep and Dreams
An Interview with Dr. Pemberton
Islam and Dreams
People of Islamic faith take dreams very seriously. The Koran tells us that Mohammad had a dream on the way to Mecca. In his dream the Muslims worshiped Allah at Mecca. This dream came true.
“Anything Muhammad did they believed they should do also. They have to merit paradise so they want to be as close to Muhammad as they can possibly be,” said Dr. Barbara Pemberton, professor of Christian studies at Ouachita Baptist University. “So if he dreamed and took it seriously, they took it seriously.”
Islamic people believe in what they call the “jinn.” The jinn are spirits that were created by Allah that can be good or bad.
“We would call them demons. They believe that they are around and they embolize them a lot” said Pemberton. “The Arab world is much more confident of spiritual realm. They are very forthright about that. You have to watch how you deal with them.”
Listen to Dr. Pemberton tell a story about an Islamic man who had a dream about Jesus.
Islamic people believe that good dreams come from Allah and bad dreams come from Satan. If they have a good dream they are encouraged to tell people praise Allah for a good dream and tell those you love about it. Bad dreams should not be mentioned to anyone. They are instructed to spit dryly to the left three times and seek refuge with Allah.