The Mystery of the Soul in Sleep

The Three Types of Dreams in Islam

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught that not every dream carries the same weight. He explained that there are three kinds of dreams:

1. A true vision (ru’yā ṣāliḥa), a gift from Allah, radiant with light and meaning.

2. A disturbing dream (ḥulm), a whisper from Shayṭān meant to unsettle and confuse.

3. A dream from the self (ḥadīth an-nafs), the mind replaying its own worries, thoughts, and desires.

The Prophet ﷺ said:

He also taught that the interpretation of a bad dream is “tied to the leg of a bird”, meaning it only comes to pass if we pursue it. When we speak about it or dwell upon it in fear, we pull it down upon ourselves. But if we leave it to Allah, it flies away, lost to the wind.

So we do not chase nightmares. We rise, seek refuge in Allah, pray two rak‘ahs, and let them go.

The Souls That Meet

Beyond dream interpretation lies a deeper mystery: what happens to the soul when we sleep?

Once, someone told the Prophet ﷺ about a dream involving him, and he said:

The scholars explained that this is not a metaphor. Allah allows souls to connect in ways unseen—across distances, across worlds. Ibn al-Qayyim wrote that living souls can meet whether awake or asleep, just as Allah allowed Sayyiduna Umar ibn al-Khattab (ra) to witness his army from afar.

During his caliphate, as Umar stood delivering the Friday sermon in Madinah, his army under Sariyah was thousands of miles away in Persia. In the middle of the khutbah, Umar suddenly cried out:

Those beside him were puzzled, but at that very moment, Sariyah’s forces were ambushed near a mountain. They heard Umar’s voice as if it echoed from the heavens. They turned their ranks toward the mountain, took shelter, and by Allah’s mercy, won the battle.

When news returned, the timing matched exactly. It had happened in the same hour.

If the living can connect across continents through the unseen, what then of the meeting between the souls of the living and the dead between this world and the next?

Sleep: The Minor Death

Every night, we die a small death.
When we close our eyes, our soul leaves not entirely, but enough to remind us that we are never in control. It drifts toward the unseen, still tethered to our body. The chest rises and falls, but consciousness departs.

The deeper the sleep, the weaker the tie to this world—and the nearer the soul draws to the realm of Barzakh, the world between life and death.

Those whose hearts are pure, truthful, and connected to Allah often find their souls drawn nearer to that unseen world. For truthfulness opens the path between the visible and the invisible. When the heart believes with certainty in what it cannot see, Allah allows it to taste what lies beyond the veil.

But when the heart is drowned in distraction, burdened by the world, the soul remains heavy, earthbound, dreaming only fragments of its own noise.

Every night, we live between two worlds.
And every morning, Allah returns our souls.

The Spiritual Science of Sleep

Modern neuroscience speaks of sleep as restoration. During deep sleep, the brain clears toxins, consolidates memory, and resets the nervous system¹. But the Qur’an teaches that sleep is also a spiritual event, a nightly reminder of resurrection.

Just as we lose consciousness and awaken, so too shall we die and rise again. The Prophet ﷺ would recite before sleeping:

And upon waking, he would say:

Each night, the believer experiences both death and resurrection in miniature—so that when the final sleep comes, it will not feel foreign.

Applying This Teaching to Our Lives

1. End Your Day in Dhikr
Before closing your eyes, recite the last verses of Surah al-Baqarah (2:285–286). The Prophet ﷺ said whoever recites them at night, they will suffice him (Sahih al-Bukhari, 4008). This shields the soul as it journeys in sleep.

2. Pray Two Rak‘ahs Before Sleep
Make them your surrender. Release your worries, ask for protection, and entrust your soul to the One who never sleeps.

3. Keep a Dream Journal for Reflection, Not Obsession
If you see a good dream, thank Allah and note it quietly. If you see something frightening, seek refuge and forget it. The heart that trusts Allah doesn’t chase shadows.

4. Purify the Mind Before Sleep
Avoid ending your day with screens or arguments. Silence, dhikr, and forgiveness cleanse the mind, allowing the soul to rise lightly.

5. Reflect Upon the Mercy of Awakening
Each morning, whisper gratitude: “Alhamdulillah for another return.” The breath you draw is a divine permission to begin again.

Conclusion

Sleep is not just rest. It is a nightly resurrection, a recurring mercy, a quiet proof that the unseen world surrounds us.

When you sleep, your soul travels where your body cannot. And when you awaken, Allah returns it not because you earned it, but because He willed it.

Every morning, then, is a renewal of covenant.
A silent reminder that you have not yet crossed the final veil.
And a chance to live today in truth, before you sleep again.

FAQ

1. Is it true that souls meet in sleep?
Yes, according to authentic hadith (Sahih Muslim 2266), souls may meet in ways known only to Allah. Scholars like Ibn al-Qayyim affirmed this as a real, though unseen, occurrence.

2. Are all dreams meaningful?
No. Some are divine messages, others are psychological or from Shaytan. We must not over-interpret every dream.

3. Can bad dreams harm us?
Only if we let fear give them power. The Prophet ﷺ said to ignore them, pray, and seek refuge in Allah.

4. Do the righteous have more truthful dreams?
Yes. The Prophet ﷺ said, “The most truthful of you in dreams are those most truthful in speech.” (Sahih Muslim, 4200).

5. How can we spiritually prepare for sleep?
Through ablution, dhikr, forgiving others, and surrendering your soul to Allah’s care just as the Prophet ﷺ did every night.

Footnotes

1. Xie, L., et al. (2013). Sleep Drives Metabolite Clearance from the Adult Brain. Science, 342(6156), 373–377.

2. Sahih al-Bukhari, 6985

3. Sahih Muslim, 2266

4. Sahih al-Bukhari, 6312–6314

5. Ibn al-Qayyim, Kitab al-Ruh (The Book of the Soul).