Q. May I ask about dreams that come true, and those that give us a bad or painful feeling. I would like also to ask about the souls of dead people and whether they meet or visit the living.
E. Khan
A. A dream that comes true is a good sign. It is well known that the first sign the Prophet (peace be upon him) was given of his impending mission was that his dreams always came true, within a very short period of time. A bad dream might be the effect of a hard day, or some stress, or a heavy meal before going to bed. I do not like to discuss this topic as there is no hard facts that apply to it. Nor do I enter into any discussion about the spirit and what it may or may not be or do after death. God says that knowledge of the spirit belongs to Him alone. Hence, whatever people may say about it does not have any real basis.
Q. As children we learn that Adam and Eve were sent down to earth, after they had been living in heaven, as punishment when Eve committed the great sin of disobeying God’s express orders. However, it was God’s will and design that man should live on earth. It is He who created the universe and made the earth suitable for human life. Please comment.
Emran
A. Let us clear first the myth that it was Eve, or Hawwa as her name is pronounced in Arabic, that was responsible for that sin and the fall from heaven. The Qur’an does not distinguish between the fault of Adam and that of Eve. On the contrary, in surahs 2 and 7, the Qur’an attributes the sin of eating from the forbidden tree to both of them together. In one instance, the Qur’an puts more blame on Adam: “They both ate of its fruit; and thereupon their shameful parts became visible to them, and they began to cover themselves with pieced-together leaves from the Garden. Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and thus did he stray into error.” (20: 121)
It is true that it was always God’s design to place man on earth. This is clear in His announcement to the angels about the forthcoming event: “Your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am appointing a vicegerent on earth.’ They said, ‘Will You appoint on it someone who would spread corruption and shed blood, whereas we celebrate Your praises and extol Your holiness?’ He said, ‘I surely know that of which you have no knowledge.’” (2: 30)
So, why were Adam and Eve placed in heaven first? We understand that this was all to give them the experience of what may happen when they disobey God and listen to the temptation presented by the Evil One. They were thus equipped to fight temptation. Their endeavors to steer the right way would thus be more successful. This was all by God’s grace who did not wish man to start life on earth without thorough knowledge of right and wrong, and how to do more of the first and less of the second.