Iblis is intimately associated with sleep, dreams, and dreamers, in three ways:
i. First, there is a passive agency that Iblis has relative to dreamers.
That is, Iblis may refer to a dreamer without direct or explicit influence.
In a miniature from The Stars of the Legend, Iblis is shown with a monstrous face, burning red eyes, wearing a green kilt tied with a red sash. He is depicted walking into a mosque, with the Second Caliph following close behind him. In front of them is a man deep in prayer and another deep in the thrall of sleep. Iblis observes that, of the two, he would spare the dreamer, as he is in the oblivion of sleep.
Though Iblis spares the dreamer, it is not because he has put him to sleep or even caused his dreams. He is merely in a state that is preferred by Iblis. Hence, this is an example of the passive agency dreams can have to Iblis.
ii. Second, there is an active agency that Iblis has relative to dreamers.
That is, Iblis may induce or cause someone to sleep or dream. In fact, there is a legend about this. It says that Iblis is active in inducing dreams.
"The night is long, so keep on sleeping."
In addition to their role as an example of active agency relative to dreams by Iblis, they may also signify our susceptibility to suggestion in dreams. That is, in dreams we are most prone to the whispers, or "waswas" [وسوس], of Iblis.
iii. Third, the active agency of Iblis may involve producing bad dreams.
Iblis is not only passively interested in dreamers and capable of actively inducing sleep or dreams, but also impart bad dreams; that is, nightmares.
In the Sahih al-Bukhari, a Hadith collection, it remarks that: "A good vision (ru'ya) is from Allah and a bad dream (hulm) is from Satan" and if a man has "a dream which he dislikes, he should spit on his left side thrice and seek refuge with Allah from its evil, and then it will never harm him." That is, bad dreams come from Iblis, and this includes nightmares, a belief prominent in other textual sources.
In The Kitab al-Ruya, or The Book of Dreams, it is reiterated: A bad dream (hulm) comes from Iblis: "The evil dream which causes pain is from the Satan." There are at least three of this sort: Nightmares, dreams that incite mischief, and "confused" or futile dreams, as Iblis allegedly provokes all futility. In Book 29, Number 5619, it is urged that such dreams be kept to oneself, not told to others.
In this scene from this well known film, Karris experiences an unsettling dream of his slowly dying mother: Pazuzu, a precursor to Iblis, is his Jungian shadow, giving shape to his fears that she will soon succumb to death.
To summarize, there is a link between Iblis and dreams that comes out of the role of Iblis in Islam. These include sleeping as passive tool of Iblis, sleeping as active tool of Iblis, and lastly, "bad dreams" as the creations of Iblis.
In The Kitab al-Ruya, or The Book of Dreams, it is reiterated: A bad dream (hulm) comes from Iblis: "The evil dream which causes pain is from the Satan." There are at least three of this sort: Nightmares, dreams that incite mischief, and "confused" or futile dreams, as Iblis allegedly provokes all futility. In Book 29, Number 5619, it is urged that such dreams be kept to oneself, not told to others.
In this scene from this well known film, Karris experiences an unsettling dream of his slowly dying mother: Pazuzu, a precursor to Iblis, is his Jungian shadow, giving shape to his fears that she will soon succumb to death.
To summarize, there is a link between Iblis and dreams that comes out of the role of Iblis in Islam. These include sleeping as passive tool of Iblis, sleeping as active tool of Iblis, and lastly, "bad dreams" as the creations of Iblis.
