Dream in Islam

Iain R. Edgar (1948-2021) was a Social Anthropologist at the University of Durham, UK. He was the author of Dreamwork, Anthropology and the Caring Professions (Avebury 1995) and Guide to Imagework: Imagination-based Research Methods (Routledge 2004); and coeditor of the Anthropology of Welfare (Routledge 1998), Learning Fields volume I: Educational Histories of European Social Anthropology (Berghahn 2003) and Learning Fields volume II: Current Policies and Practices in European Social Anthropology Education (Berghahn 2004).

“The book stands out as noteworthy in one respect especially, because the author goes beyond the continual struggle between orientalists and anti-orientalists. One consequence of defining Islamic studies within this vicious circle is that a majority of the current generation of Islamic historians believes that the study of Arabic legal, theological or historical texts from the eighth to the nineteenth centuries is good enough to define ‘native’ Islamic civilisation. Edgar deconstructs that old approach, and brings to the task considerable expertise in social science methodology. Subsequent case studies on dream narratives will benefit immensely from his imagination-based research methods.” • Political Studies Review“Edgar has brought to light a genuinely important phenomenon with potentially major consequences.” • Journal of Anthropological Research“Edgar has done us all a tremendous service by devoting his considerable skills as a social anthropologist to the study of this fascinating nexus of dreaming, religion, politics, and interpretive philosophy… The dramatic appeal of Edgar’s book comes with his groundbreaking account as a source of inspiration for Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden and their militant jihadist followers.” • Dream Time Magazine

• AcknowledgementsGlossaryForeword: Anthropological scepticism encounters dreamt realities following fieldwork in PakistanDr. Steve LyonEthnographic case studies from PakistanFeeding peopleDreaming of the Qur’anAssumptions of validity and meaningfulnessConclusion: the justificatory and motivationalPower of dreamsIntroductionChapter 1. context and historyDreams as perceived metaphysical and divinatory knowledge in IslamDream Interpretation in IslamThe True dream across culturesPromised land dreams in Palestine and KosovoSignificance of night dreams to Muslims in generalChapter 2. MethodologyMethodological issues in dream workMethods Used in this Book: An OversightSources studied: primary and secondaryConclusionChapter 3. Istikhara: Islamic dream incubationCase study from Sarajevo, BosniaConclusionChapter 4. Sufism and dreamsEthnographic study of dreaming in a UK Sufi centreThe sunday evening Zikr       Shaykh Nazim in Northern CyprusChapter 5. Militant jihadist dreaming in the Middle East and the UKThe patterns and threads running through Jihadist dream interpretationTheir understanding of dreamsLegitimating functionConnection to the Golden Age of IslamFocus on manifest content of dreamsDreams interpreted as world is interpretedDreams and events relatedDreams, politics and warfareDreams of al-QaedaOsama bin LadenZacarias MoussaouiRichard ReidAl-Zarqawi and other Iraqi MartyrsDreams of other JihadistsPakistani relationsGuantanamo BayA dream of a dead MujahideenChapter 6. Dreams of Mullah Omar, Taliban LeaderDiscussion and contextualisationConclusions to chapters three and four regarding jihadists’ Dream ReportsChapter 7. Dream Interpretation Resources (dictionaries) in IslamFeatures of dream interpretationRange of sources studiedIbn Sirin A.D. 653-728 A.H. (2000)Dreams and their meaning in the old Arab tradition: Yehia GoudaDream Interpretation according to the Qur’an and the Sunnah: Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal PhillipsSunnah Hadith interpretationsWord interpretationLegislative and general dreamsLegislative and general dreams: Authentic Interpretation of the Dreams according to the Qur’an and Sunnah: Ahmeed FaridThe Dreamer’s handbook: sleep etiquette and dream interpretation in the light of the Sunnah: Muhammad Al-JibalyConclusion concerning the principles of Islamic dream interpretation practiceChapter 8. A Comparison of Islamic Dream Theory and Western Psychological Theories of the DreamConclusionConclusion: the night dream as the poor man’s prophecy!Conclusions re Jihadist dream reportsThe Imaginative Commonality of IslamEpilogue: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: Imagination, creativity, and political agency in the inspirational night dream in IslamElisabeth Kirtsoglou