while its root remains in the body. It reaches wherever Allah wills, and as long as it is away, the person remains asleep. When it returns to the body, the person awakens. It is thus like a ray falling upon the earth while remaining connected at its source to the sun.”
Ibn Mandah said:
I was informed on the authority of ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmān al-Samarqandī, from ‘Alī ibn Yazīd al-Samarqandī—who was a man of learning and letters, with knowledge of medicine and dream interpretation—that he said:
“Souls extend outward from a person’s nostril, while their vehicles and their source remain within the body. Were the soul to leave, the person would die, just as a lamp’s flame would go out if separated from its wick. Do you not see that the flame rests upon the wick, while its light and radiance fill the house? Likewise, during sleep, the soul extends outward from a person’s nostril until it reaches heaven, roams through the lands, and meets the souls of the dead.
“When the angel entrusted with the souls of Allah’s servants sees it, he shows the person what he wishes him to see. If that person, while awake, is sensible, intelligent, and truthful, paying no heed to anything false, his soul returns to him and faithfully conveys to his heart what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has shown him, in proportion to his truthfulness.
“But if he is frivolous and rash, fond of falsehood and watching it, then, when he sleeps and Allah shows him something good or bad, his soul returns and pauses wherever it encounters any of Satan’s tricks or anything false, just as he pauses over such things while awake. It conveys these things to his heart as well, so he cannot comprehend what he saw, because he has mixed truth with falsehood. No dream interpreter can interpret it for him once truth has become mixed with falsehood.”
Imam Ibn Mandah said:
“What supports this account is what we have related from ‘Umar, ‘Alī, and Abū al-Dardā’, may Allah be pleased with them.”
I say: Ibn Qutaybah also recorded a report in his book Ta‘bīr al-Ru’yā (Dream Interpretation), saying: “There narrated to me