There is a person in Pakistan named Muhammad Qasim who has divine dreams since childhood. He has seen the Prophet hundreds of times in his dreams and heard the voice of God. He does not claim to be a special person and only tells others about his dreams by order of God and the Prophet. He has made many prophecies, predicted many future events, and has fans in Pakistan. What do you think about this person?

Please pay attention to the following points:

1. Dreams of a fallible person are not proof unless an infallible person confirms and interprets them; such as Pharaoh’s dream that Yusuf, peace be upon him, confirmed and interpreted; because a fallible person may go wrong or be influenced by illusions, suggestions, or temptations even when he is awake and has control of his intellect and senses, let alone when he is asleep! Therefore, no fallible person should trust a dream he has seen; because his dream may not have been true, or it may have an interpretation that is hidden from him; especially when his dream is related to one of the religious beliefs or deeds; because religious beliefs or deeds are not known through sleep, but rather through the Quran and the Sunnah, which can be referred to and examined while awake; as it has been said in a narration from the Ahl al-Bayt: «إِنَّ دِينَ اللَّهِ أَعَزُّ مِنْ أَنْ يُرَى فِي النَّوْمِ»[1]; “The religion of God is more firm than to be seen in dreams.”

2. When a fallible person should not trust a dream that he has seen, a fortiori he should not trust a dream that he himself has not seen, but rather another fallible person has reported seeing it; because regardless of the fact that his dream may not have been true, he may not have had such a dream at all, and this is an example of ﴿ظُلُمَاتٌ بَعْضُهَا فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ﴾ [2]; “darknesses that some are above some others”; as there are many narrations condemning one who falsely claims to see a dream; such as a narration from the Prophet in which it has been said: «إِنَّ مِنْ أَفْرَى الْفِرَى أَنْ يُرِيَ عَيْنَيْهِ فِي الْمَنَامِ مَا لَمْ تَرَيَا»[3]; “One of the biggest lies is that a person attributes to his eyes a dream that they have not seen,” and a narration in which it has been said: «مَنْ تَحَلَّمَ بِحُلْمٍ لَمْ يَرَهُ أُمِرَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَنْ يَعْقِدَ بَيْنَ شَعِيرَتَيْنِ، وَلَنْ يَعْقِدَ بَيْنَهُمَا»[4]; “Whoever claims to have seen a dream which he has not seen will be commanded to knot two barley grains together on the Day Of Judgment, and he will never be able to knot them together!”

3. It has been narrated from the Prophet that he said: «مَنْ رَآنِي فِي الْمَنَامِ فَقَدْ رَآنِي، فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَا يَتَمَثَّلُ فِي صُورَتِي»[5]; “Whoever sees me in a dream has surely seen me, for Satan cannot impersonate me,” but this narration is useful to one who recognizes the face of the Prophet, not to one who does not know what his face was like. In other words, this narration has been stated only for the Sahabah, not for those who came after them; because those who came after them cannot distinguish whether they have seen the Prophet’s face or someone else’s face in a dream. Even if the person they have seen in a dream introduces himself as the Prophet, it is not certain if he is truly the Prophet; because it is not stated in the narration that Satan cannot introduce himself as the Prophet, but rather it is stated that he cannot impersonate him. Therefore, the person who has introduced himself as the Prophet in a dream may have been Satan; especially considering that such work is also possible while awake; in the sense that a liar can introduce himself as the Prophet while awake; such as some dajjals who believe in incarnation or reincarnation and have introduced themselves as the Prophet, the Messiah, or another person from the righteous people of the past, and therefore, a fortiori such work will be possible in a dream, which is the territory of Satans and does not have the limitations of wakefulness at least for them.

4. Claiming to receive a message from God to communicate to people means claiming to be a Prophet; because Prophethood has no meaning other than receiving a message from God to communicate to people; as He has said: ﴿مَا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ إِلَّا الْبَلَاغُ﴾[6]; “Nothing is on the Prophet but communicating (the Message),” while there is no Prophet after Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family. Therefore, one who claims that God has informed him about things in a dream so that he informs others about them is actually one of the false claimants of Prophethood; especially considering that many Prophets did not make any claim beyond that; because they received God’s words in their dreams. From here, the incorrectness of your words about the mentioned person is revealed that you have said: “He does not claim to be a special person and only tells others about his dreams by order of God and the Prophet”; because the claim that he tells others about his dreams by order of God and the Prophet is the biggest claim!

5. A person who is not a Prophet and has made it his job to predict future events is considered a “diviner”[7], and a diviner in Islam is in the same position as “taghut”[8]. Therefore, believing in him is considered as believing in taghut, and going to him is considered as going to taghut, which is disbelief; as it has been narrated from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, that he said: «مَنْ أَتَى كَاهِنًا فَصَدَّقَهُ بِمَا يَقُولُ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ»[9]; “Whoever goes to a diviner and believes what he says has disbelieved in what has been sent down to Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family,” and said: «مَنْ أَتَى كَاهِنًا فَصَدَّقَهُ بِمَا يَقُولُ فَقَدْ بَرِئَ مِمَّا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَمَنْ أَتَاهُ غَيْرَ مُصَدِّقٍ لَهُ لَمْ تُقْبَلْ لَهُ صَلَاةٌ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً»[10]; “Whoever goes to a diviner and believes what he says has disowned what God has sent down to Muhammad, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and whoever goes to him and does not believe what he says, his prayers will not be accepted for forty nights,” and said: «مَنْ أَتَى كَاهِنًا فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ حُجِبَتْ عَنْهُ التَّوْبَةُ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً، فَإِنْ صَدَّقَهُ بِمَا قَالَ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ»[11]; “Whoever goes to a diviner and asks him about something, his repentance will not be accepted for forty days, then, if he believes his words, he has become a disbeliever,” and it has been narrated: «سُئِلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الْكُهَّانِ، فَقَالَ: لَيْسُوا بِشَيْءٍ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: إِنَّهُمْ يُخْبِرُونَا أَحْیَانًا بِأَشْيَاءَ تَكُونُ حَقًّا! قَالَ: تِلْكَ كَلِمَةُ حَقٍّ يَخْطَفُهَا الْجِنِّيُّ فَيَقْذِفُهَا فِي أُذُنِ وَلِيِّهِ، فَيَزِيدُ فِيهَا مِائَةَ كَذْبَةٍ»[12]; “The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, was asked about diviners, so he said: ‘They are nothing.’ It was said: ‘Sometimes they inform us of things that come true!’ He said: ‘It is a true word that a jinn snatches and pours into the ear of his friend, and then he adds a hundred lies to it.’”

As a result, the mentioned person is in manifest error, and therefore, it is obligatory for believers to be wary of him and his ilk.