Major Sins

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 56

Wearing Wigs and Hairpieces

Wearing wigs and hairpieces,

whether made from natural or artificial hair,

for men and women

Asmaa bint Abi Bakr said: "A woman came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said, O Messenger of Allaah, I have a daughter who is going to be married; she had a fever and lost much of her hair - can I give attach false hair to her head?
He said: Allaah has cursed the one who attaches false hair and the one who has this done.'"
(Reported by Muslim, 3/1676).



Jaabir ibn Abdullaah said: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) issued strict instructions that no woman should add anything to her head." (Reported by Muslim, 3/1679).


Examples of this include the things known nowadays as wigs and hair extensions, and the many evil things with which salons are crowded.

Also included are the artificial wigs worn by some actors and actresses who have no morals.

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 55
Women wearing short, tight or see-though clothes


One of the ways in which our enemies are attacking us in modern times is by means of the fashions which they design and promote, and which have become popular among Muslims. These fashions do not cover anything, because they are so short, transparent or tight; many of them are inappropriate for wearing even in front of other women or ones mahrams!



The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that these kinds of clothes would appear among the women of the last times, as was reported in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him): "There are two types of the people of Hell that I have not seen: people who have whips like the tails of cattle, with which they strike the people; and women who are dressed but naked, walking with an enticing gait, with their hair looking like the humps of camels, leaning sideways. They will not enter Paradise or even smell its fragrance, although its fragrance can be detected from such-and-such a distance." (Reported by Muslim, 3/1680).





Also included in this type of clothes are the garments worn by some women which have long slits from the hem, or pieces cut out here and there; when the wearer sits down, her awrah (i.e., everything except the face and hands) becomes visible, apart from the fact that by wearing such clothes a woman is resembling the kuffaar and following their fashions and trends of revealing clothes.





We ask Allaah to keep us safe from all that.



Another serious matter as regards clothing is the bad pictures which appear on some clothes, such as pictures of singers and rock groups, bottles of wine etc., pictures of animate beings which are forbidden in Islam, crosses, logos of immoral clubs and societies, or bad words which do not befit people of honour, which may be written in foreign languages.

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 53

Isbaal - wearing clothes that come down below the ankles for men.

One of the things which people treat as insignificant, although it is serious in the sight of Allaah, is isbaal, which means lengthening ones clothes below the ankles; some people let their clothes touch the ground, and some allow them to drag on the floor behind them.


Abu Dharr (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There are three to whom Allaah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection, nor look at nor praise:
the one who wears his lower garment below the ankles;
the one who reminds others of his gifts or favours; and
the one who sells his product by means of lies and false oaths."
(Reported by Muslim, 1/102).


The one who says, "I am not wearing my clothes below my ankles out of arrogance" is in fact praising himself in a way that is unacceptable. The warning against isbaal is issued to all, regardless of whether they do it out of arrogance or not, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whatever part of the lower garment is below the ankles is in Hell."
(Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 6/254; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 5571).


The person whose isbaal is the result of arrogance will be more severely punished than the one who has no such intention, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever trails his garment out of pride, Allaah will not even look at him on the Day of Resurrection."
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, no. 3465, al-Bagha edition) - this is because he is combining two sins in one action.


Wearing any clothes below the ankle is haraam, as is indicated in the hadeeth reported by Ibn Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him and his father): "Isbaal may be done with an izaar (lower garment), qamees (shirt or upper garment) and amaamah (turban); whoever drags any part of them on the ground out of pride, Allaah will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection."
(Reported by Abu Dawud, 4/353; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 2770).



Women are permitted to lengthen their garments by one or two handspans to cover the feet or as a precaution against anything being uncovered by the wind, etc., but it is not permitted to do more than that, as is done with some wedding dresses which may have a train several metres long, which has to be carried behind the bride.

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 54

Men Wearing Gold in any shape or form


Abu Moosa al-Ashari (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Silk and gold have been permitted for the females of my ummah, and have been forbidden for the males."
(Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 4/393; see also Saheeh al-Jaami, 207).


The market nowadays is filled with any number of items designed for men, such as watches, spectacles, buttons, pens, chains and so-called "medallions," made of gold of various standards, or completely gold-plated.

One of the common sins occurs in competitions where among the prizes are mens gold watches.


Ibn Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw a man wearing a gold ring; he took it and threw it aside, saying, "Would any of you take a burning ember from Hell and hold it in his hand?"
After the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had gone away, someone suggested to the man: "Why dont you take your ring and benefit from it (sell it)?"
He said, "No, by Allaah, I will never take it back when the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has thrown it aside."
(Reported by Muslim, 3/1655).

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 47

Bearing False Witness

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
". . . So shun the abomination (worship) of idols, and shun lying speech (false statements) - hunafaa'Lillah (i.e., to worship none but Allaah), not associating partners (in worship, etc.) unto Him . . ."
[al-Hajj 22:30-31]


Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Abi Bakrah (may Allaah be pleased with him and his father) reported that his father said:
"We were with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he said: I fear for you three major sins - three times:
associating partners with Allaah,
disobedience to parents, and - - he was reclining but he sat up at this point and said: -
and bearing false witness.
He kept repeating this with such fervour that we wished he would stop (for his own sake)."
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 5/261).


The warning against bearing false witness was uttered repeatedly because people take it too lightly and there are many motives for doing so, such as hatred and envy.

The resulting corruption is great indeed: how many people have lost their rights because of false witness! How many innocent people have been treated unjustly, and how many people have gained what they did not deserve, because of it!

An example of the ways in which people take this matter lightly is what sometimes happens in the courts, when a person might say to someone he has only just met, "Testify for me and I will testify for you."

So one might testify for the other in a case where he does not have the necessary knowledge of what really happened, like testifying that this person owns a piece of land or a house, or recommending him when he has never seen him before that day in court.

This is lying and false witness, whereas testimony should be as described in the Book of Allaah: ".. we testify not except according to what we know . . ."
[Yoosuf 12:81]

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 46

Using Vessels of Gold and Silver,

or Eating and Drinking from them

Nowadays hardly any household goods stores are free of vessels made of gold and silver, or plated with these metals.

The same applies to homes of rich people and many hotels. This kind of thing has become one of the precious gifts that people give one another on special occasions. Some people may not have these things at home, but they use them in other peoples homes and when invited to a meal.

All of these are actions which are forbidden in Islaam.


The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) issued a stern warning about using such vessels. Umm Salamah reported that he said: "The one who eats or drinks from a vessel of gold or silver is putting fire from Hell into his stomach."
(Reported by Muslim, 3/1634).


This ruling applies to every kind of vessel or utensil that is made of gold or silver, such as plates, forks, spoons, knives, trays on which food is offered to guests, boxes of sweets which are given to wedding guests, and so on.

Some people might say, "We are not using them, we are just putting them on display in a glass case." This is not permitted either, to prevent any possibility of these things being used.
(From the spoken statements of Shaykh Abd al-Azeez ibn Baaz.)

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 44

Consuming Haraam Wealth

The person who does not fear Allaah does not care where he earns his money or how he spends it; his only concern is to increase his bank balance,
even if it is haraam and ill-gotten by means of theft, bribery, extortion, forgery, selling haraam things, riba (usury), consuming an orphans wealth, earnings from haraam work like fortune-telling, immorality or singing, stealing from the Muslim treasury or public property, taking peoples money by coercion or high-pressure sales tactics, begging when one is not in need, etc.


Then he buys food, clothing and transportation with this ill-gotten money, and builds or rents a house, and furnishes it, and fills his stomach with haraam food.


The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Any flesh that grows from ill-gotten gains is more deserving of being touched by Hell-fire . . ."
(Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 19/136; see also Saheeh al-Jaami, 4495).


On the Day of Resurrection, each person will be asked how he earned money and on what he spent it, and there will be doom and loss. Anyone who still has haraam money should hasten to get rid of it; if it is due to anyone else, then he should hasten to return it and ask for his forgiveness before there comes a Day on which dinars and dirhams will be of no avail, and all that will count will be hasanaat and sayiaat.

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 43

Seeking a Loan with

No Intention of Paying it Back

The dues owed by one person to another are very important in the sight of Allaah, so much so that if a person falls short in his duties towards Allaah, he may be forgiven if he repents, but when it comes to the rights of other people, he has to fulfil them before the Day comes when dinars and dirhams will be of no avail, and only hasanaat and sayiaat (good and bad deeds) will count.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, Allaah commands that you should render back the trusts to those to whom they are due . . ." [al-Nisaa' 4:58]

One of the widespread problems in our society is this casual approach to loans; some people take out loans not for some urgent need but because they want to expand their businesses or keep up with others by buying new cars or furniture or other temporary luxuries of this life. Often these people let themselves in for the confusion of installment plans, which are dubious or maybe even haraam.

A casual approach to loans leads people to delay repayments, which in turn leads to loss and financial ruin of others.

Warning of the consequences of this deed, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever takes peoples money with the intention of paying them back, Allaah will pay him back, but whoever takes peoples money with the intention of wasting it, Allaah will destroy him."
(Reported by al-Bukhaari; see Fath al-Baari, 5/54).

People take the matter of loans very lightly, but in the sight of Allaah it is a serious matter, so much so that even the shaheed (martyr), with his immense reward and high status, is not free of the consequences of debt.

Evidence of this is seen in the hadeeth: "Glory be to Allaah, Who has revealed the seriousness of debt. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if a man were slain in the way of Allaah, then brought back to life, then killed again and brought back to life again, then killed a third time, but he owed a debt, he would not be admitted to Paradise until his debt was paid off."
(Reported by al-Nisaai; see al-Mujtabaa, 7/314, and Saheeh al-Jaami', 3594).

Now will these squanderers be deterred from such a casual approach?

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 42

Asking people for money when one is not in need

Sahl ibn al-Hanzaliyyah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever asks people for money when he has what is sufficient for him is only asking for more of the embers of Hell."

They asked him, "O Messenger of Allaah, what is sufficient so that he does not have to ask for more?" He said: "Having enough to eat lunch and dinner."
(Reported by Abu Dawud, 2/281; see also Saheeh al-Jaami', 6280).

Ibn Masood (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever asks the people for money when he has what is sufficient for him will come on the Day of Judgement with scratches and lacerations on his face."
(Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 1/388; see also Saheeh al-Jaami, 6255).

Some beggars come to the mosques, interrupting peoples worship with their complaints; some of them lie, bringing forged papers and telling tall stories; some of them distribute their family members around different mosques, then they regroup and move on to other mosques. Some of these people may in fact be well-off, to an extent which only Allaah knows; only when they die do others find out what they have left behind.

Meanwhile, there are others who are truly in need, but people are not aware of it and may think they have enough, because they are too proud and do not beg of people at all; nobody knows their true situation so no-one gives them charity.

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 41

Not giving gifts equally to ones children

Some people show favouritism in the way they give gifts to some of their children but not others.

According to the soundest opinion, doing this is haraam unless there is some legitimate reason, such as one child being in greater need than the others due to sickness, being in debt, being rewarded for having memorized the entire Quraan, being unable to find a job, having a large family, being a full-time student, etc.

When a father/mother gives something to one of his children who is in need, he should have the intention to give similarly to any other children of his should the need arise.

General proof of this principle may be seen in the aayah ". . . Be just: that is nearer to piety, and fear Allaah . . ."
[al-Maaidah 5:8].

Specific evidence is found in the report of al-Numaan ibn Basheer (may Allaah be pleased with him), whose father brought him to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and said: "I have given this son of mine a slave that I had." The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked him, "Did you give all your children a similar gift?" He said, "No." The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Then take (the gift) back."
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, see al-Fath, 5/211).

According to another report, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Fear Allaah and be fair to your children," so he went away and took his gift back.
(al-Fath 5/211).

According to a third report, he said, "Do not ask me to be a witness, for I will not bear witness to injustice."
(Saheeh Muslim, 3/1243).

But there are some families where fathers do not fear Allaah, and their favouritism creates hatred and jealousy among the children. A father may give one child more because he looks like his paternal uncles, and give less to another child because he looks like his maternal uncles; or he may give more to the children of one wife and less to the children of another wife; or he may put one wifes children in private schools, but not the other wifes children.

This will ultimately backfire on him, because in most cases the one who is deprived in this way will not respect his father or treat him kindly in the future.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) asked the man who showed favouritism to one son, "Do you not want all your children to respect you equally?"
(Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 4/269; see also Saheeh al-Jaami, 1623).

Favoritism among children....an injustice indeed
By Asma bint Shameem

"My brother is the only one in the house who gets any attention. He always gets everything he wants!"

"My Dad prefers our oldest sister to the rest of us. He always praises her, and no matter what good we do, he never appreciates it!"

This is a common problem that we see today. And that is the problem of favoritism among children.

Parents may show their favoritism for many reasons. Favoritism could be shown to the oldest or the youngest. It could be a preference of a son over a daughter or the preference of a child more beautiful than the other or simply for no apparent reason at all.

Favoritism comes in many ways. It could be in the form of showing more affection to a child, or excessive praise of one to the neglect of others, giving gifts to one child only or giving better, more expensive gifts to one child in preference to others. It can even be favoritism by simply ignoring one child as compared to the others.

Islam condemns all kinds of biases and injustices and indeed, favoritism is a kind of injustice. A person is not being just if he shows favoritism.

Verily, Allah enjoins justice, and doing good, and giving (help) to kith and kin. (Qur'an, Surah an-Nahl:90)

Justice must be maintained in everything, even in how often we look at or speak to each of our children. The following Hadith shows us how important it is to avoid favoritism when dealing with our kids.

Numaan ibn Basheer said: "My father gave me a gift of some of his wealth, but my mother, 'Amrah bint Rawaahah, said, 'I will not approve of it until you ask the Messenger of Allah (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) to bear witness to it.' So my father went to the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) to ask him to bear witness to the gift. The Messenger of Allah (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said to him, 'Have you done the same for all of your children?' He said, 'No.' He said, 'Fear Allah and treat your children justly.' So my father came back and took back that gift." (Bukhari, Muslim)

In fact, it is one of the rights of our children that we treat them equally. The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
Your children have the right of receiving equal treatment, as you have the right that they should honor you. (Abu Dawoud)

And he (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) also said:
Do justice among your sons (kids), and repeated it thrice. (Muslim)


Why is it wrong??

Showing favoritism is wrong no matter how you look at it. It is injustice to the child who is being neglected, it is injustice to the one who is being preferred over the other and it is even injustice to the parent showing the favoritism in the first place.

Showing preferential treatment to one child over the other siblings nurtures a kind of jealousy and even hatred in the heart of the one being neglected. And as the experts tell us, this may lead to various psychological and social problems that can last well into adolescence and adulthood. While the one who is always preferred and praised over the other may think he/she is somehow superior or better than others and lead him/her to being arrogant and spoiled. And surely that is not fulfilling our responsibility in raising our children in accordance with the way Islam requires us to raise and educate our kids.

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
There is no person to whom Allah has given responsibility and dies neglecting that responsibility, but Allah will deny him Paradise . (Muslim)

The parent who is showing this favoritism is not being just to himself either since he is supposed to be fair to all his children and is answerable to Allah as to how he treated his family. By showing favoritism, he/she is being sinful and not fulfilling his/her duty as a parent according to the teachings of Islam.

The Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:
Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock.....A man is the shepherd of the members of his household and is responsible for them. A woman is the shepherd of her husband's house and children and is responsible for them......Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. (Bukhari, Muslim)


Are you one of them?

Many mothers and fathers who show preferential treatment to some of their children do so without realizing it. They do so unconsciously and if asked about preferring one child over the other, they will immediately deny it. However, since it is a matter about which one will have to answer to Allah one day, each of us parent has to sincerely look deep into our soul to see if we are guilty of this injustice.

O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones... (Qur'an, Surah al-Tahreem:6)

Therefore, the Muslim parent is the one who fears Allah in his dealings with his children, one who is just in his speech and judgments. His sayings, actions and dealings with his children are based upon justice with no degree of discrimination or preference.

The just will be with Allah on thrones of light ....those who are just in their rulings and are fair with their families and those of whom they are in charge.(Muslim)

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 39

Accepting a Gift in Return for Interceding

To have a position of high standing among people is one of the blessings of Allaah to His slave, if he is grateful.

One way in which a person may give thanks for this blessing is by using his position to benefit other Muslims.

This is part of the general meaning of the hadeeth: "Whoever among you is able to benefit his brother, then let him do so."
(Reported by Muslim, 4/1726).

The person who uses his position to benefit others by averting injustice or bringing some good, without doing anything that is haraam or infringes on the rights of others, will be rewarded by Allaah, so long as his intention is sincere, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us: "Intercede, you will be rewarded."
(Reported by Abu Dawud, 5132; the hadeeth is also reported in al-Saheehayn, see Fath al-Baari, 10/450, Kitaab al-adab, Baab taaawun al-mumineen baduhum badan).

It is not permitted to accept anything in return for this intercession or mediation.

Evidence for this may be seen in the hadeeth narrated by Abu Umaamah (may Allaah be pleased with him): "Whoever intercedes for someone then accepts a gift (in return for it), has committed a serious type of riba."
(Reported by Imaam Ahmad, 5/261; see Saheeh al-Jaami, 6292).

Some people offer the opportunity to benefit from their position, in return for a sum of money, in order to help someone get a job, or a transfer from one office or area to another, or treatment for the sick, etc.

The soundest opinion is that this exchange is haraam, because of the hadeeth of Abu Umaamah quoted above, whose apparent meaning is that accepting such gifts is wrong, even if no agreement was previously made. (From the spoken statements of Abd al-Azeez ibn Baaz).

The reward which the doer of good will receive from Allaah on the Day of Judgement should be sufficient.

It is worth pointing out here that there is a difference between hiring someone to do legal paperwork for you and paying him wages in return, which has to do with the legitimate hiring of labour, and using a persons position to intercede for you in return for money, which is haraam.

[darkwitch]

Major Sins # 38

Seizing Land by Force

When there is no fear of Allaah, strength and cunning are a disaster because the one who possesses these qualities uses them to oppress others, such as seizing other peoples possessions, including their land.

The punishment for this is extremely severe.

Abdullaah ibn Umar reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever seizes any piece of land unlawfully, on the Day of Resurrection Allaah will make the ground swallow him up to the seventh depth of the earth." (Reported by al-Bukhaari; see al-Fath)

Yalaa ibn Murrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Any man who seizes a hand span of land, Allaah will tell him to dig it (according to al-Tabaraani: to bring it) to the seventh depth of the earth, then it will be placed around his neck on the Day of Resurrection, until Allaah has finished judging mankind." (Reported by al-Tabaraani in al-Kabeer, 22/270; see also Saheeh al-Jaami, 9/27).

This also includes changing landmarks and boundaries in order to make ones own land bigger at the expense of a neighbour, as is indicated by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "Allaah has cursed the one who changes the boundary-markers of the land."
(Reported by Muslim, with commentary by al-Nawawi, 13/141).

[Catya Sher]

Darkwitch - you sound GOOD, not bad!
Why did you choose the name witch?
I used to avoid your posts because of that!!

These are wonderfully presented.

The last one might mean certain govts might be swallowed whole
I wish they would read 38 and leave other people's countries while there's still time.

[Ashiq]

Dream is a Dream.

"According to Freud, every dream represents a wish fulfillment. Dreams are representative of the imaginary fulfillment of a wish or impulse in early childhood, before such wishes have been repressed." Freud

Interpretation of dreams, Sigmund Freud

If somebody came up to me and said I saw a Dream that I met Prophet Mohammad, I would say to his/her face, how could you when nobody knows what he looks like.

Secondly, Dreams should not be associated with Morals or sins, Dreams should be seen as Imaginary images of the mind. If somebody falls for it, then more fool them.

Just my own view.

Kind Regards

Dreams can also be true.

Did you know how the sewing machine came into being? It was by a dream. Note that the person was not a Muslim.

[Ashiq]

The Creative Impulse in Dreams

There is an archetypal creative impulse woven into the fabric of every dream. Sometimes this creative energy is clearly visible to the dreamer, but more often it is hidden by the emotional experience of the dream. It may require an unusual effort of imagination (often aided by the suggestions and assistance of other people) to bring the dream's message more fully into the light of conscious self-awareness, but with careful study, we often find dreams provide solutions to problems the conscious mind is grappling with to no avail.

The story of Elias Howe's invention of the sewing machine in 1845 is a case in point. Howe had been struggling to invent a machine that would sew with the same speed and efficiency as Hargreaves' and Cartwright's new machines would spin and weave, but with no success. As the tale goes, exhausted by frustration, Howe fell asleep at his workbench one night and had this dream:

He is in Africa, fleeing from cannibals through the jungle. Despite his frantic efforts to escape, the natives capture him, tie him up hand and foot, and carry him back to their village slung from a pole. There they dump him into a huge iron pot full of water. They light a fire under the pot and start to boil him alive.

As the water starts to bubble and boil around him, he discovers that the ropes have loosened enough for him to work his hands free. He tries repeatedly to take hold of the edge of the pot and haul himself out of the hot water, but every time he manages to heave himself up over the edge of the pot, the natives reach across over the flames and forcibly poke him back down into the pot again with their sharp spears.

When Howe awoke from this "nightmare," much of his mind was absorbed with sorting through the emotions of the dream--but another part was able to note with objectivity, "That's odd--those spears all have holes in the points...." As Howe came more fully awake, he thought, "Holes in the points... holes in the points! That's it! That's the answer!

As he awoke, Howe realized that the trick to making his sewing machine work was to move the thread transport hole up to point of the needle (as opposed to a handheld needle, where the hole is on the base). It then was a relatively simple matter to design a system of gears that would cause the needle to poke the thread down through the layers of cloth, wrap it around a second thread, and then pull it up again, all very neatly and efficiently. And with the invention of the sewing machine, the last bottleneck to the mechanical production of clothing was broken--this dream lead very directly to the realization of the industrial revolution!

Unfortunately, I do not know enough about Howe's personal life and emotional history to make anything more than vaguely educated guesses about the layers of meaning and significance in this historic dream that refer to his personal psychology. Even though I can only guess at them, they certainly exist. At the level of Freudian sexual imagery, for example, the sewing machine itself is a prime example of the sublimation of primitive libidinal energy into creative expression and cultural artifacts, and the specific imagery of the dream evokes that layer of possible meaning very strongly. In any case, it is very likely that the hot water was also metaphoric of the sweat of Howe's intense mental efforts.

Even more importantly, the dream offers an extraordinary example of the Jungian archetype of the "shadow" and its creative and gift-giving aspect. In Howe's dream, the creative solution to the technical problem is literally in the hands of the darkest, scariest, and most repugnant figures--the cannibals. This imagery manifests one of the deepest truths about the archetypal energy of the shadow: The conventional waking consciousness views all that is not yet clearly manifested and understood in the world of the ego as nasty, ugly, frightening, dark, and dangerous. Yet the deep unconscious contains the things the waking unconscious desires and longs for the most (the energies of love, creativity, and communion with the divine, to name a few); strip away the dark and frightening mask of the shadow, and that which is devoutly wished for and sought is revealed.

In all our nightmares there is this challenge to look into "the magic mirror that never lies," see the reflections of the least understood and most problematic shadow aspects of the self, and consciously acknowledge, "I am that, too." When we have the courage and imagination to do this, we are invariably rewarded with the gift of greater awareness of the creative impulse that is part of every dream.

http://www.jeremytaylor.com/pages/creativity.html