Malfuzat - Volume IX — Page 455
29 September 1907 455 to think of himself as a Messenger and one appointed by Allah. 1 There may be about fifty people who are perishing in this way, and are diverting God’s creation from the right path. In this age the mention of these things has become so widespread that its parallel is not to be found in previous times. A Hindu came and told me that he had seen a dream regarding the transfer of a certain person, and it occurred in exactly the same way, and he had also foreseen a dream about the plague. I responded to him that these were the things that would ruin him. Similarly, a woman from a low caste would narrate her dreams that were mostly fulfilled. Similarly, in the time of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, Ab u Jahl also used to see dreams and most of them used to come true. 2 Not all can understand the difference. One should not consider themselves pure and clean due to such dreams, rather one should purify their practical condition as Allah the Exalted says: 1. From Badr: He thinks that he has become a saint, a Messenger, a chosen one of God and His beloved. And he does not reflect upon the condition of his own self; to what extent he has forged a relationship with God Almighty in love, loyalty, faithfulness, and sincerity; to what extent his heart has attained virtues having become purified of vices. It is meaningless to experience true dreams as this [capacity] has been sown like a seed in every man, and it be- comes abundant at the time of the advent of an Appointee and Messenger of God just as water gushes from a clear spring and spills upon other places. There is no indication in this of the excellence or goodness of the one who sees the dream. ( Badr, vol. 6, no. 40, p. 6, dated 3 October 1907) 2. From Badr: In short, this is not any matter of pride, and it is regrettable that people falter due to it and bear heavy losses. It was better for such people not to experience any dream, and not to become arrogant due to this deception. They do not understand that due to these dreams imagining oneself to be something is a cause of annihilation for them. ( Badr, vol. 6, no. 40, p. 6, dated 3 October 1907)