Ru’ya is a very common word in the Arabic language, used in the sense of dream. This meaning has been adopted in the Qur’an, hadith, literature, and dictionaries. Here are a few examples to illustrate this:
Arabic Lexicons
First, let’s take a look at references from the mother of lexicons. In al-Sihah fi al-Lugha by Ismail bin Hammad al-Jawhari, it is written:
Al-ru’ya means something that a person observes in his or her dreams (6/2349)
The well-known lexicon Lisan al-Arab by Ibn Manzur states:
Al-ru’ya is something that you see in your dreams. (8/278)
In Taj al-Arus by al-Murtada al-Zabidi, it is quoted:
Al-ru’ya is something that you see in your dreams. (17/436)
The statement in Al-Mu’jam al-Waseet says:
Al-ru’ya is something observed in dreams. (1/320)
Imam Raghib Asfahani, in his renowned book Mufradat al-Qur’an, has ascribed the meaning of ru’ya to dreams seen in sleep. Moreover, he did not mention any other meanings. Furthermore, among the verses of the Holy Qur’an he has cited as evidence, there is the aforementioned verse of Surah Al-Isra. He writes:
Ru’ya means something that is seen in sleep. In a hadith, it is stated that ‘Only ru’ya remain from prophethood.’ In the Qur’an, it is mentioned that ‘Allah showed His Messenger a true dream[40].’ Additionally, it says, ‘The dream We showed you, We made it a test for the people[41].’ (209)
These are just a few references from lexicons. In addition to these, every Arabic dictionary lists the meaning of the word ru’ya as seeing or dreaming in sleep. These can be found under the Arabic root ‘ra’a’ in lexicons.
The Holy Qur’an
Next, look at the Holy Qur’an. The term appears in various places 7 times and on each occasion, it is used in the well-known and commonly used sense of a dream. Excluding Surah Al-Isra, the exegetes have translated it as a dream in all other instances. Note that of these six instances, four pertain to the dreams of prophets. All these instances are as follows, and under each is a note derived from Tafsir Ibn Kathir to give readers an idea of how explicit this term is in the context of a dream:
a. The ru’ya of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in Surah Al-Fath
لَقَدْ صَدَقَ اللّٰهُ رَسُوْلَهُ الرُّءْيَا بِالْحَقِّ لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ اِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ اٰمِنِيْنَ مُحَلِّقِيْنَ رُءُوْسَكُمْ وَمُقَصِّرِيْنَ لَا تَخَافُوْنَ...
Indeed, Allah affirmed His Messenger’s dream (al-ru’ya) in truth: ‘You will definitely enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, in security, [heads] shaved or hair cut short, not fearing [anyone]...’ (48:27)
According to all exegetes, here ru’ya means a dream. For example, in Tafsir Ibn Kathir, it is mentioned:
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saw in his sleep (i.e., in a dream) that he went to Mecca and performed Tawaf of the Kaaba. He mentioned this to his companions while still in Medina. In the year of Hudaybiyyah, when he set out with the intention of performing Umrah, the companions were fully confident that they would see the fulfillment of this dream during this journey. (7/331)
b. The ru'ya of Prophet Abraham (PBUH) in Surah As-Saffat
فَلَمَّا٘ اَسْلَمَا وَتَلَّهٗ لِلْجَبِيْنِ . وَنَادَيْنٰهُ اَنْ يّٰ٘اِبْرٰهِيْمُ . قَدْ صَدَّقْتَ...
And when they both submitted and he put him down upon his forehead. And We called to him, ‘O Abraham, You have fulfilled the dream (al-ru’ya)...’ (37:103-105)
Here, too, everyone has interpreted it as referring to a dream. Imam Ibn Kathir has written, citing Abdullah ibn Abbas (RA):
Ibn Abbas (RA) stated that the dreams of the prophets are a form of revelation. Then he recited the verse where Abraham said, “My son, I have seen in a dream that I am sacrificing you, so what do you think?” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir 7/24)
c. The Vision of Prophet Yusuf (PBUH) in Surah Yusuf:
اِذْ قَالَ يُوْسُفُ لِاَبِيْهِ يٰ٘اَبَتِ اِنِّيْ رَاَيْتُ اَحَدَ عَشَرَ كَوْكَبًا وَّالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَاَيْتُهُمْ لِيْ سٰجِدِيْنَ . قَالَ يٰبُنَيَّ لَا تَقْصُصْ رُءْيَاكَ عَلٰ٘ي اِخْوَتِكَ فَيَكِيْدُوْا لَكَ كَيْدًا اِنَّ الشَّيْطٰنَ لِلْاِنْسَانِ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِيْنٌ.
This is the story of when Yusuf said to his father: ‘Father, I saw eleven stars the sun, and the moon in my dream; I saw them prostrating to me.’ His father replied: ‘My son, do not share your dream (al-ru’ya) with your brothers, lest they plot against you, for Satan is indeed a clear enemy to man.’ (12:4-5)
On these verses, Ibn Kathir writes:
Ibn Abbas (RA) stated that the dreams of the prophets are a form of revelation. Commentators have said that the eleven stars in this context refer to the eleven brothers of Yusuf (Joseph), peace be upon him. The sun and moon symbolize his father and mother. Upon hearing this dream and understanding its interpretation, Yaqub (Jacob), peace be upon him, emphasized that Yusuf should not repeat it to his brothers, as the interpretation of this dream was that his brothers would bow down to him. (4/317-318)
d. The Interpretation of the Vision of Prophet Yusuf (PBUH) in Surah Yusuf:
فَلَمَّا دَخَلُوْا عَلٰي يُوْسُفَ اٰوٰ٘ي اِلَيْهِ اَبَوَيْهِ وَقَالَ ادْخُلُوْا مِصْرَ اِنْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ اٰمِنِيْنَ. وَرَفَعَ اَبَوَيْهِ عَلَي الْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّوْا لَهٗ سُجَّدًاﵐ وَقَالَ يٰ٘اَبَتِ هٰذَا تَاْوِيْلُ رُءْيَايَ مِنْ قَبْلُ قَدْ جَعَلَهَا رَبِّيْ حَقًّا...
When they entered Yusuf’s presence, he made a place for his parents and said, ‘Enter Egypt, God willing, in safety.’ He seated his parents upon the throne, and they all prostrated before him. Yusuf proclaimed: ‘O my father, this is the fulfillment of my earlier dream (ru’yaya). My Lord has made it reality...’ (12: 99-100)
Imam Ibn Kathir writes:
Sulaiman said that there was a forty-year gap between seeing the dream and its interpretation becoming apparent. Abdullah bin Shaddad mentioned that it does not usually take longer than this for a dream’s interpretation to occur. This is the maximum duration. (4/353)
e. The Vision of the King of Egypt in Surah Yusuf:
وَقَالَ الْمَلِكُ اِنِّيْ٘ اَرٰي سَبْعَ بَقَرٰتٍ سِمَانٍ يَّاْكُلُهُنَّ سَبْعٌ عِجَافٌ وَّسَبْعَ سُنْۣبُلٰتٍ خُضْرٍ وَّاُخَرَ يٰبِسٰتٍ يٰ٘اَيُّهَا الْمَلَاُ اَفْتُوْنِيْ فِيْ رُءْيَايَ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ لِلرُّءْيَا تَعْبُرُوْنَ.
The king said, ‘I see in my dream seven fat cows being eaten by seven lean cows, and seven green ears of corn and another seven dry. O my chiefs, explain to me my dream (ru’yāya) if you can interpret dreams.’ (12: 43)
Imam Ibn Kathir has interpreted this as follows:
This is the dream of the king of Egypt. Divine providence had decreed that Yusuf (Joseph), peace be upon him, would emerge from the prison with honor and respect. To bring this about, God caused the king of Egypt to have a dream that left him astonished. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir 4/335)
It is evident from this detail that the word ‘dream’ has appeared seven times throughout the Noble Qur’an. Of these instances, four refer to noble prophets, while two are about an ordinary man, the king of Egypt. All the places mentioned above have been enumerated. In all cases, except for once in Surah Al-Isra, both the earlier and later scholars interpret ru’ya in its usual sense as a dream. In these instances, they show no hesitation whatsoever. Only in Surah Al-Isra does the term diverge from its common meaning without an explicit rationale. Deviating a word from its normal, established meaning without clear reason opposes the accepted norms of language and elocution. Such action is tantamount to misrepresenting the speaker’s intention or putting words into the speaker’s mouth, which is indisputably impermissible.
Books of Hadith
Let us examine some references from hadiths:
...ان ابا هريرة، قال: سمعت رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم، يقول: لم يبق من النبوة إلا المبشرات، قالوا: وما المبشرات؟ قال : الرؤيا الصالحة.
Abu Huraira (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: ‘Prophethood has ended, but glad tidings remain.’ People asked: ‘What are these glad tidings?’ The Prophet (PBUH) said: ‘Good dreams.’ (Bukhari, No: 6990)
والرؤيا ثلاثة : فرؤيا الصالحة بشرى من اللّٰه، ورؤيا تحزين من الشيطان، ورؤيا مما يحدث المرء نفسه، فإن راى احدكم ما يكره فليقم فليصل ولا يحدث بها الناس.
The Prophet (PBUH) said: ‘Dreams are of three types: a good dream that is from Allah, a distressing dream that is from Satan, and a dream that reflects one’s own thoughts. So, when any one of you sees a bad dream, let him get up and perform prayer, and not narrate it to people.’ (Muslim, No: 6042)
عن ابي قتادة، عن النبي صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم، قال: الرؤيا الصالحة من اللّٰه، والحلم من الشيطان، فإذا حلم فليتعوذ منه، وليبصق عن شماله، فإنها لا تضره.
Narrated by Abu Qatada (RA), the Prophet (PBUH) said: ‘Good dreams are from Allah, and bad dreams are from Satan. So, if anyone sees a bad dream, he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil and spit to his left side. Then it will not harm him.’ (Bukhari, No: 6986)
عن عائشة ام المؤمنين، انها، قالت: اول ما بدئ به رسول اللّٰه صلى اللّٰه عليه وسلم من الوحي الرؤيا الصالحة في النوم، فكان لا يرى رؤيا إلا جاءت مثل فلق الصبح.
Narrated by Ummul Mu’minin Aisha (RA): ‘The series of revelations to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) commenced with good dreams. Whatever he saw in his dreams would come to him in the morning as clear as daylight.’ (Bukhari, No: 3)
Similarly, this term ru’ya recurs numerous times in various hadiths, where it typically refers to the experience of dreaming while asleep. An important instance is when hadith scholars select titles for dream-related traditions in their collections, opting to use the same term to denote the subject matter. Here are some examples from Sahih Bukhari:
Arabic vocabulary and the contents mentioned in the Qur'an and hadith make it evident as daylight that the word ru’ya commonly means a dream. While it is true that in some lexicons, secondary or additional meanings such as ru’yatu ‘ayn (seeing with the eyes) or metaphorical interpretations of witnessing something in wakefulness are mentioned, and the word is used in Arabic discourse in figurative, metaphorical, and allusive styles as per customary usage, this does not mean that the word, in its literal usage, carries any meaning other than that of a dream.
It is a basic rule of language and communication that words take on their most recognized meanings. To utilize them in an unfamiliar sense or to infer that they hold unusual or alien meanings contradicts the essence of language. The reason lies in the fact that the primary function of language is to facilitate communication, which can only be effective through words and definitions that are known and understood by the audience. Uncommon and seldom used terms do not serve in conveying the intent of the speaker, nor are they interpreted clearly by the listener. This principle is universal across all languages and modes of discourse. When it comes to comprehending the Holy Qur'an, this guideline is considered a crucial foundation. The Qur'an asserts that it is revealed in Bi-lisānin ʿarabiyyin mubīn, meaning in a clear and plain Arabic tongue, and it is Ghayra dhī ʿiwaj – devoid of ambiguity, confusion, and deficiency.
Although the foundational lexicons do encompass linguistic, symbolic, specialized, and obscure meanings alongside the conventional and commonly used ones, this does not suggest a discordance of understandings. The objective is to enclose an exhaustive array and to gather the meanings extensively. The compiler desires that the readers are informed about the multifaceted and varied usages of the word. Consequently, isolating a preferred meaning listed under a word in a lexicon and deducing that it conveys only that specific sense within a particular context of speech is against the accepted rules of syntax and language use.