What did the Sheikh mean when he said, “To dream a pious person is the 45th branch of prophecy?” I am confused; as some people claim to say they have seen the Prophet (ﷺ) and the Prophet (ﷺ) has praised them for how they are doing things. As the Sheikh saw the Prophet (ﷺ) and he mentioned that the Prophet (ﷺ) praised him on his method of teachings and Da'wah. I am confused as this Sheikh I know is a true Sufi and they have collective loud Zikr every month in the mosque. Please explain.

Dreams cannot be a basis for legislation, as there is no way of verifying that someone’s dream was true. The Shariah is already complete and perfect so it can’t be changed.

It is very easy for someone to lie that they have seen the Prophet (ﷺ) in a dream, or for Satan to pretend to be the Prophet (ﷺ) even though he can’t take his exact form, because the Prophet (ﷺ) said,

“Whoever sees me in a dream then surely he has seen me, for Satan cannot impersonate me,” [1]

Satan can’t impersonate the Prophet (ﷺ) directly but he can come in other forms and pretend to be him (ﷺ), as Dr. Bilal Philips explains in his book ‘The Fundamental of Tawheed”.[2] So it is best to avoid using dreams as a basis for anything as it is a grey area. Dreams are meant for personal glad tidings, not for elevating the status of some people above others, surely Allah knows the best.

References:

[1] [Saheeh Bukhari 1:3:110]

[2] See pages 166-168 for details.