Dreaming of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) is a very serious and important aspect of Islam. Even some of the Muslim sects or school of thoughts, for example tahir-ul-qadri group's religion, is being authenticated indirectly by a dream.
We know that there is Sahih Hadith that
Only those person could see the Prophet (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in their dream who had seen him in wakefulness, i.e. in real life. Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) saying, “Whoever sees me in a dream will see me in his wakefulness, and Satan cannot imitate me in shape.” Abu ‘Abdullah said, “Ibn Sirin said, ‘Only if he sees the Prophet in his (real) shape.’” (Sahih Bukhari Book #87, Hadith #122)
There is no dispute that Satan can not imitate Prophet Muhammad صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم). But Satan can disguise into Saint like appearance (
anybody other than Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)). Now tahir-ul-qadri never saw Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) alive then how can tahir-ul-qadri claim with
100% confidence that he actually saw Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم)??
Let me explain this topic with an example. Lets assume two scenarios below:
Scenario#1:
During the time when Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) were alive, any Shabi (RA) who knew the face of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم), upon seeing Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in his (RA) dream he (RA) could recognize the face of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) and could say with
100% confidence that he (RA) actually saw Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in his dream on the basis of Hadith that Satan could not imitate the shape of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم).
Scenario#2:
Now, 1000 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) if somebody claims that he has seen Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in his dream than his claimed
can not be accepted with 100% confidence because that person was unable to recognize the face of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم). There were no pictures of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) available. Satan can not come in the shape of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) but Satan can certainly come in the shape of a saint and can make that person believe that he has seen Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in his dream.
Conclusion:
In Scenario#1, If any Sahabi (RA) saw Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in his dream could declare it with
100% confidence.
In Scenario#2, 1000 years after death of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم), if somebody claims that he has seen Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in his dream then his claim
can not be accepted with 100% confidence. He might have seen or might not have seen.
I do not say whoever saw Prophet Muhammad in their dream after the death of Prophet is Kazab. My point is that
one can not claim with 100% confidence that he has actually seen Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in his dream.
He might have seen or might not have seen Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) . Because (say 100 years after the death of Prophet (PBUH)) nobody was able to recognize the face of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم). As 100 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) no survivor can claim that he can recognize Prophet Muhammad if he sees him (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم). There were no pictures of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) available. Satan can not come in the shape of Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) but Satan can certainly come in the shape of a saint and can make that person believe that he has seen Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in his dream.
Sultan Noor Ud Din Zangi had a dream in which he saw the Prophet asking him to save him (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) from the conspiracy of two men also shown to him in the dream. He saw this dream repeatedly and immediately returned to Medina where scrutiny of the matter ultimately transpired the two persons involved in the conspiracy of removing the body of the prophet. Based upon this incident some people deduct that the person of Muhammad is alive and still guides his ummah through dream.”
The corpus (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) of Islamic beliefs and practices is not based upon dreams of ordinary people like the referred Sultan. On the contrary, it is based upon the clear and unadulterated teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم).
Thus, if the Qur'anic teachings do not require Muslims to ascribe to the belief of the continuity of the Prophet's life - as they, in fact, do not - then no dream of an individual can render it a belief of Islam.
Furthermore, even Sultan Zangi's argument does not proves that if somebody claims to have seen our beloved prophet Mohammad (صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم) in his dream then his claim may be accepted with 100% confidence. In the best interest of Muslim ummah it is better to close this door which often leads to innovation in Shariah, following of fake peer, fake faqeer and fake wali like, Yousuf Kazab.
Reference: http://www.siasat.pk/forum/showthread.php?34771-Official-Response-of-Dr.-Tahir-Ul-Qadri-on-Objections-about-his-Dreams!!!&p=168731#post168731
