Did anyone of you have a dream? So dreams would be narrated to him by those whom Allah willed to relate. One day he said: Last night, I had a vision in which two men (angels) came to me, woke me up and said to me: Let’s go! So I set out w...

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Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) often used to ask his Companions: "Did anyone of you have a dream?" So dreams would be narrated to him by those whom Allah willed to relate. One day he said: "Last night, I had a vision in which two men (angels) came to me, woke me up and said to me: 'Let’s go!' So I set out with them. We came across a man lying down and another man was standing over his head holding a big rock. He was throwing the rock at the man's head, smashing it. When it struck him, the stone rolled away and he (the thrower) followed it and picked it up. No sooner had he returned to the (first) man than his head was restored to its former state. The thrower then did the same as he had done before. I said to my two companions: 'Glory be to Allah! Who are they?' They said: 'Let’s go, let’s go!' So we proceeded on and came to a man lying flat on his back with another man standing over his head with an iron hook. He would put the hook in one side of the man's mouth and tear off that side of his face to the back (of the neck) and similarly tear his nose from front to back and his eyes from front to back. Then he turned to the other side of the man's face and did just as he has done with the first side. He had hardly completed that side, when the first returned to its normal state. I said to my two companions: 'Glory be to Allah! Who are these?' They said: 'Let’s go, Let’s go!' So we proceeded on and came across something like a Tannūr (a pit, usually clay-lined, for baking bread)." I (the narrator) think the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There was a lot of noise and voices in that oven." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: ‘We looked into it and saw naked men and women, and a flame was reaching up to them from underneath, and when it reached them they cried out loudly. I asked: 'Who are these?' They said to me: 'Let’s go, Let’s go!' So we proceeded on and came across a river.’" I (the narrator) think he said: “…red, like blood.” The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: "...and in the river, there was a man swimming, and on the bank, there was a man who had collected many stones. While the other man was swimming, the first man went up to him. The former (who was swimming) opened his mouth and the latter on the bank threw a stone into his mouth, he then went on swimming again. Then again, he (the former) returned to him (the latter), and every time the former returned, he opened his mouth and the latter threw a stone into his mouth; the process was repeated. I asked my two companions: “Who are these?” They replied: 'Let’s go, Let’s go!' We proceeded on until we came to a man with a repulsive appearance; the most repulsive appearance you ever saw a man having! Beside him there was a fire and he was kindling it and running around it. I asked my two companions: 'Who is this (man).' They said to me: 'Let’s go, let’s go!' So we proceeded on until we reached a garden of deep green dense vegetation with all sorts of spring flowers. In the middle of the garden there was a very tall man and I could hardly see his head due to his towering height. Around him there were children in such an enormous number as I have never seen. I said to my two companions: 'Who is this?' They replied: 'Let’s go, let’s go!' So we proceeded on until we came to a majestic, huge garden, greater and better than any garden I have ever seen. My two companions said to me: 'Go up!' So I went up." The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added. "So we ascended until we reached a city built of gold and silver bricks, and went to its gate and asked (the gatekeeper) to open the gate, and it was opened. We entered the city and found there men with one side of their bodies as handsome as the most handsome person you have ever seen, and the other side as ugly as the ugliest person you have ever seen. My two companions told those men to throw themselves into the river. There was a river flowing across (the city) and its water was milky white. The men went and threw themselves in it and returned to us after their ugliness had disappeared, and they came in the best of shapes.’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) further added: ‘My two companions said to me: 'This place is Paradise of Eden, and that is your palace.' I raised up my sight and there I saw a palace, like a white cloud. My two companions said to me: 'That palace is your residence.' I said to them: 'May Allah bless you both! Let me enter it.' They replied: 'You will not enter it now, but you shall enter it (one day).' I said to them: 'I have seen many wonders tonight. What does all that I have seen mean?' They replied: 'We will tell you: As for the first man you came upon, whose head was being smashed with the rock, he was a man who learns the Qur'an and discards it, and who sleeps neglecting the enjoined prayers. As for the man you came upon, whose was having the sides of mouth, nostrils, and eyes torn off from front to back, he was a man who leaves his house in the morning and tells lies that are spread all over the world. Those naked men and women you saw in the oven-like construction, they are the adulterers and the adulteresses. The man who was given a stone to swallow was the eater of usury and the repulsive-looking man you saw near the fire, kindling it, and going around it, was Mālik, the gatekeeper of Hell. The tall man you saw in the garden was Prophet Ibrahīm (peace be upon him) and the children around him are those who died upon the Fitrah.'" According to Al-Barqāni's narration: “…were those who were born upon the Fitrah” The narrator added: “Some Muslims asked the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) ‘O Messenger of Allah, what about the children of the polytheists?’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) replied: ‘And also the children of the polytheists.’ The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) added: ‘My two companions added: 'The men you saw who were half handsome and half ugly were these people who had mixed an act that was good with another that was bad, but Allah forgave them.'" According to another narration: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "One night two men came to me and took me to a sacred land.” The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) told of the same incident as above and said: "After walking for a while, we came upon a pit, like an oven, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom with a fire raging in it. When the flames rose up (the people in it) also rose up until they were about to come out of it, and when the fire subsided they too would go down with it. In it were naked men and women.” In this narration, we also find: "We came upon a river of blood,” and the narrator was not doubtful: “...a man was in it, and another man was standing on 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 into his mouth which made him retreat to his original position. So, whenever he wanted to come out, the other would throw a stone into his mouth and he would retreat to his original position.” In this narration, we also find: "They made me climb the tree and they made me enter an abode so beautiful, the like of which I have never seen before...There (I saw) old men and youths.” In this narration, we also find: “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 until they spread all over the world. So he will be punished like that until the Day of Resurrection...The one whose head you saw being crushed is a man whom Allah had given knowledge of Qur'an, but he used to sleep at night (meaning: he did not recite it then) and he did not act upon it (meaning: act upon its orders, etc.) by day. So this punishment will go on until the Day of Resurrection. The first house you entered was the abode of the believers in general and the other house was the abode of the martyrs. I am Jibrīl, and this is Mikā'īl. Raise your head.” I looked up and saw something like clouds. They said to me: “That is your abode.” I said: “Let me enter it.” They said: “You have not completed your life term yet. When you do, you will certainly enter it."

Authentic hadith - Narrated by Bukhari

Explanation

In this Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) tells his Companions about a dream he had. This was after the Fajr prayer according to other narrations. He told them what he had seen in the vision saying: “Last night, two people came to me when I was asleep, they woke me up and said: ‘Let’s go!’ and I set out with them.” They came across a man who was lying down. Another man was standing over him, holding a big rock and he threw the rock at the other man's head, smashing it. The rock rolled away and the one who threw it followed it and picked it up. By the time he came back the other man’s head has been restored to its former state. Then the one who had thrown the rock did the same as he had done the first time. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I said to my two companions: 'Glory be to Allah! Who are these two people?’ They said: ‘Let’s go!’ So we moved on.” They came to a man who was lying flat on his back. Another man was standing next to him holding an iron hook and he put the hook in the other man's mouth and tore that side of his face off to the back of his neck, and then he tore his nose off and his eye from front to back in a similar manner. He then turned to the other side of the man's face and did the same. Once he had finished the second side, the first side had restored to its former state, so he went back and did the same thing again and again. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I said to my two companions: ‘Glory be to Allah! Who are these two people?’ They said: ‘Let’s go!’ So we went on and we came to something like a Tannūr.” They looked into the oven and saw naked men and women. There was a flame reaching up to them from underneath and when it reached them, they cried out loudly in a way that could only mean that they were calling for help. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) asked: ”Who are they?” They said to him: “Let’s go!” So they went on and came to a river of blood. In the river, they saw a man swimming. On the bank there was another man who had gathered lots of stones. The swimmer approached the man who had gathered the stones and opened his mouth and the man on the bank threw a stone into it. The swimmer carried on swimming. Each time he came back, he opened his mouth again and the man on the bank threw another stone into his mouth. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to his two companions: ”Who are these two people?“ They said: “Let’s go, let’s go!” They went on and came to a man who had the most repulsive appearance imaginable. Beside him there was a fire, which he was kindling and running around. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) asked his companions: ”Who is this man?“ They said: “Let’s go, let’s go!” So they went on until they reached a garden of dense deep green vegetation with all kinds of spring flowers. In the middle of this garden there was a very tall man, whose head he could hardly see because of his great height. Around him there were children; a great number, such as he had never seen. He said to his companions: “Who is this man and who are these children?” They said: “Let’s go, let’s go!” So they went on until they came to a huge garden, bigger and better than any he had ever seen. His two companions said to him: “Go up that tree.” So they went up into it, until they reached a city built of gold and silver bricks. They went to the gate and asked for it to be opened. It was opened and they entered the city, where they found men with one side of their bodies more handsome than the most handsome person the eye may ever have seen, and the other side uglier than the ugliest person the eye may ever have seen. The two angels ordered the men to go to a nearby river and bathe in it. It was a river flowing through the city and its water was as pure white as milk. The men went and threw themselves into the river and came out with the ugliness removed from their bodies and they had been changed into the best form. The two companions told the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) that that was the Paradise of Eden. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) looked up and saw a palace like a white cloud, and his companions told him that that palace would be his abode. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) supplicated for the two angels and asked them to let him enter it. They did not allow him to enter the palace and told him that he has not completed his life’s term yet, and that when he did, he would certainly enter it. After having been shown some scenes of the Hereafter, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I have seen many wonders this night. What do all these things that I have seen mean?” They said: “We will tell you. The first man you came across, whose head was being smashed with the rock, is a man who memorized the Qur’an then he neither recited it nor acted upon it, and he went to sleep neglecting the obligatory prayers.” Of course, rejection of the Qur’an is a heinous sin, because it gives the impression that he had found something that justified this behavior. By rejecting the most honorable thing; the Qur’an, he was punished in the most honorable part of his body; his head. The man whose face was being torn, was a man who told a lie that spread all over the world. Such a person deserved this torment, because of the evils that arise from a lie that he told voluntarily without any coercion. The naked men and women who were in the oven were the adulterers and adulteresses. They deserved the disgrace of being punished naked, because they usually seek concealment when committing adultery. The one who was swimming in the river with stones being thrown into his mouth was one who consumed usury. The ugly-looking man who was kindling a fire was Mālik; the keeper of Hell. The ugliness of his appearance was intended to intensify the torment of the people of Hell. The tall man who was in the garden was Prophet Ibrahīm (peace be upon him) and the children around him were the children who had died upon the state of Fitrah before puberty or who were born upon the state of Fitrah and died before reaching adulthood. Some of Muslims asked: "O Messenger of Allah, what about the children of the polytheists?” The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) confirmed that the ruling applies equally to children of Muslims and children of polytheists. As for the men who were half handsome and half ugly, they were people who mixed good deeds, which were represented by their handsome appearance, with bad ones, which were represented by their ugly appearance, but Allah forgave them and admitted them to the Paradise.