Glad tidings in dreams (mubashshirat)

Mubashshirat are true dreams from God that bring the believer glad tidings; the Prophet said the mubashshirat are what remains of prophethood after revelation ceased ^{1 2}.

Muslim relates from Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him) that the Prophet said: "Nothing remains of prophethood except the mubashshirat." They asked: "And what are the mubashshirat?" He said: "The righteous dream." ¹. The Muwatta carries two reports that add a benefit to this matn: from Ata' ibn Yasar, "Nothing will remain of prophethood after me except the mubashshirat." They asked: "And what are they?" He said: "The righteous dream which a righteous man sees, or which is shown to him — one forty-sixth of prophethood" ³; and from Abu Qatada ibn Rib'i, who heard the Prophet say: "The righteous dream is from God, and the bad dream is from Satan" ⁴.

The Muwatta also relates from Hisham ibn Urwa from his father that he used to say: the verse that speaks of "in this world and the next" Yunus 64 is the mubashshirat — the righteous dream a righteous man sees, or which is shown to him ⁴. Thus the hadith binds the mubashshirat to dreams and the fiqh of the dream.

Hisham ibn Urwa took the glad tidings of Yunus 64 to be the righteous dream; the verse came in the setting of the Prophet's being commanded to bear patience with the people of Mecca ^{4 5}. Hence the mubashshirat connect to dream interpretation today and dream interpretation.

The Prophet gave his Companions glad tidings through their dreams and they took heart; among them Ibn Zayd's dream of the adhan, which the Prophet confirmed and by which Umar learned of it Muwatta 1:172, A'isha's dream of three moons Muwatta 2:623, the Companions' dream of Laylat al-Qadr Muwatta 894 Muwatta 895, and the well-attested dream of Laylat al-Qadr. When they asked: does revelation disclose anything to you? He said: "Yes, the good dream is one forty-sixth of prophethood", as in the Muwatta's reports ⁶.

It was the Prophet's custom after the morning prayer to ask: did any of you see a dream last night? If a righteous man saw a good dream he gave him glad tidings of it ³. The fiqh books mention the mubashshirat in the chapters of dreams and ritual washing ⁷.

• Ahl al-Sunna: the mubashshirat are among God's honours to the believer; no obligation is built on them and their neglect does not make one a disbeliever.
• The jurists: the mubashshirat have no effect on legal rulings; they are glad tidings, not a charge.