I have trouble during my sleep. Why am I not protected despite Athkar?
Prophet Mohammed stated in an authentic Hadith “When you go to bed, use your undershirt to dust off your bed because you do not know what occupied your bed after you. Then say: “In the name of Allah, I lay down on my side, and in His name, I get up. If you (God), hold my soul (as in death), then have mercy on my soul, and if you (God) release my soul then guard it as you guard your righteous slaves.””
What the Hadith teaches us is that we do not know if something or someone evil is on the bed from Shaitan. So while you are not present, Sheitan may have left something invisible (outside knots) to trouble you in your sleep on your bed.
Athkar are your weapon against Shaitan. But Athkar provides timed protection. Watch for time gaps in your Athkar recitations. Athkar are timed. This means that Evening Athkar will protect you till Fajr time. This is why some Sheitan and Jinn attacks happen after Fajr. To protect yourself, you need to get up before or at Fajr time to say the Athkar and then sleep again if you need to.
Realize that “Going to bed Athkar” is different from “Evening Athkar”. They do not substitute for each other.
Some claim that they have said the Athkar but yet they experience attacks from Jinn and Shaitan. However, when you observe how they recite Athkar, you would find that they say them inattentively and skip a significant portion of them. Keep in mind that when you are under a strong attack of Jinn or Shaitan, Athkar should be audible. At a minimum, you should be able to hear yourself.
There is a difference between protection and treatment mode. In a lot of cases treatment mode is the same as protection mode but at hundreds of times of repetition.
A man came to Prophet Muhammed complaining of Horrible Nightmares in his sleep. Prophet Muhammed told him when you go to sleep say: “I seek refuge in the Perfect Words of Allah from His wrath and His punishment, from the evil of His slaves, and from the whispers of devils and from their presence.”
“A`ūdhu bikalimāti ‘llāhit-tāmmāti min ghaḍabihi wa `iqābihi wa sharri `ibādih, wa min hamazātish-shayāṭīni wa an yaḥḍurūn.”
A man complained to the Prophet (ﷺ) saying: ‘Messenger of Allah, I do not sleep at night due to Insomnia.’ So Allah’s Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘When you go to your bed, say: “Allah, Lord of the Seven Heavens and what they have shaded, Lord of the earths and what they carry, Lord of the Shayatin and those they have misguided, be for me a Protector against the evil of Your creation, all of them together, so that none of them should transgress against me, or oppress me, mighty is the one who seeks protection in You, and glorified is Your praise, and there is none worthy of worship other than You, and there is none worthy of worship except You.”
(Allāhumma rabbas-samāwātis-sab`i wa mā aẓallat, wa rabbal-arḍīna wa mā aqallat, wa rabbash-shayāṭīni wa mā aḍallat, kun lī jāran min sharri khalqika kullihim jamī`an an yafruṭa `alayya aḥadun minhum, aw an yabghiya `alayya, `azza jāruka wa jalla thanā’uka, wa lā ilāha ghairuka wa lā ilāha illā anta).”
Nightmares?
Dreams could cure you or destroy you. If they are from Allah “Rouayah” they would be in the form of glad news and good tidings. They could also be a warning. Typically, when you have a Rouaya (true dream from Allah) It is before Fajr time. Prophet Muhammed said: “The most truthful of dreams are during dawn time.”
Prophet Muhammed said “Nothing could override destiny except for Duaa (supplication)”
It was narrated from Thawban that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Nothing increases one’s life span except for righteousness and nothing overrides destiny except for Duaa (supplication), and a man could be deprived of provision because a sin that he commits.’”
True story: This man had a dream that a black car hit his car at a certain location on the highway. He was in a state of Tahara (purity) and recited all Athkar before going to bed. So, he felt it was from Allah. He panicked in the beginning but then thought, if this is from Allah then He is warning me. How can I change this? He learned from scholars that he could avoid this accident, but he must humbly pray to Allah asking Him to save him and say the morning and evening Athkar in full. He also learned that he needs to give out charity to poor Muslims (not panhandlers on the street). The charity helps your Duaa to be answered by Allah. A few days later, he was driving on the highway and found the same black car that he saw in the dream, swerved in front of him on the highway. He hit the brakes knowing that he couldn’t escape it. He swears to Allah that he felt something, like powerful angels holding his car in place. He did not crash, not even a scratch. He was saved from the accident. Prayers, Athkar, and charity could override your destiny.
Prophet Muhammed said: “Dreams are of three types: Glad tidings from Allah, what is on a person’s mind, and frightening dreams from Satan. If any of you sees a dream that he likes, let him tell others of it if he wishes, but if he sees something that he dislikes, he should not tell anyone about it, and he should get up and perform prayer.” Authentic
Shaitan can take over someone’s dreams so they keep seeing evil nightmares. So many couples divorced because of dreams of betrayal and adultery. We see men who claim that he knows that his wife is betraying him just because of repeated dreams that felt so real. People who see their brothers and sisters hurting them and stealing their money. It is the way Shaitan targets us. In order for Shaitan to control someone, it has to separate them from their loved ones. That makes this person an easier prey. The repetition of these nightmares and how real they feel should never make you believe that they are real.
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “A good dream is from Allah, and a bad or evil dream is from Satan; so if anyone of you has a bad dream of which he gets afraid, he should spit on his left side and should seek Refuge with Allah from its evil, for then it will not harm him.”
Yet despite all the above, in your dreams, you could see the cure for your spiritual disorder. Some people after reciting the Quran daily and suppressing their sinful desires, see dreams through which they know who gave them Iyen, where Sihr is hidden, and how to treat themselves.
Real-life examples: a man was afflicted by the whippers of Sheitan to jump off a cliff, and his son had a dream that his father is sick and that his cure is in reciting Surah Al-Fatihah and Al-Falaq and Al-Nass. Another example is a man who was harassed consistently by Sheitan in his sleep. He sees in his dreams scary eyes staring at him. He had a dream to take Sidr leaves and recite Ayat Al-Korsi to be cured.