from Satan’s evil three times, and from the evil of what he has seen. He should say, “I seek refuge in Allah from Satan’s evil and from the evil of what I have seen,” three times, then roll over to the other side: if he was lying on his left, he turns to his right, and if he was on his right, he turns to his left.

Second, if this does not help—meaning that he changes sides yet the dream he detests returns—he should rise, perform ablution, and pray. He must not relate the dream to anyone: he should neither say, “I saw this and that,” nor seek out people to interpret it for him. In that case it will never harm him; it will be as though it never occurred, and he will find relief.

Some people, whenever they see something they dislike, go searching for someone to interpret it. We say to them: do not do that. The Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, used to experience dreams they disliked, but when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, taught them this ḥadith, they were put at ease. Thereafter, if one of them saw an unpleasant dream, he would spit three times to his left, seek refuge from its evil and from Satan, tell no one about it, and it would not harm him at all, as though he had never seen it.

The third type is the dream that arises from a person’s own thoughts: when someone is constantly attached to a matter, he may well see it in his sleep.