Dream analysis as a method of understanding and treatment from the perspective of Quran and psychology

Quran views sleep as a divine sign with deep meaning and interpretation. The aim of this study was to investigate the content of dreams from the perspective of Quran and psychology, as an appropriate method for understanding human characteristics and presenting a proper treatment approach. The present study is a descriptive, content analysis one. First a collection of psychology and interpretation books on this issue were considered. Then 75 students at Arak University of Medical Sciences were asked to report their dreams on daily or weekly basis which totaled 5688 dreams over a 6.5 month period. The dreams were analyzed using content analysis method and descriptive statistics, including the number of dreams, age, mean, and frequency of the reported parameters. Noticing the nature of dreams, the interpretation of their content and concepts is of significance to the understanding of human traits and provision of treatment methods. The content of the reported dreams were, respectively, indicative of a high percentage of ethnic (93.33%), university and professors (89.33%), family (88%), religious beliefs (86.66%), friends (86%), nightmares (66.66%) returning to the past (61.33%), lucid dreaming (42.7%), and neurosis (41.33%). In the view of commentators on divine verses and psychologists, the elements present in the content of dreams can be utilized in obtaining a better understanding of the unconscious stream of human mind, knowing more about human beings, and treating mental disorders. The difference between these two perspectives, religious and psychological, is in dreams known as "true dreams" which are emphasized in Quran and Islamic sources, while psychology has failed to recognize them.