When Isa Appears: Dreams of Jesus Among Muslims
There’s something strange happening in the Middle East. Throughout the decades and increasingly more so in recent years, has been the reports of hundreds of Muslims all sharing the same (relatively) same dream; Isa. Or as most of us who know Him…Jesus. God appearing in dreams is nothing new or unusual. Scripture is full of these dream visits to offer prophecy or warning.
Scriptural Foundations: When God Speaks Through Dreams
There’s something strange happening in the Middle East.
Across the decades—and increasingly so in recent years—reports have surfaced of hundreds of Muslims all describing the same hauntingly similar dream: a man they call ʿĪsā. To most of the world, we know Him as Jesus.
Men and women from across the Islamic world—villagers, soldiers, merchants, even imams—have told of encountering this radiant figure who speaks words of peace, forgiveness, and love. Some awaken trembling. Others weep. And for many, the experience marks the beginning of an astonishing conversion to Christianity.
Yet for all its mystery, God appearing in dreams is not new. Scripture is full of such divine encounters—moments when the veil between heaven and earth thins and the Almighty steps into the quiet of human sleep to warn, to guide, or to call.
1. Dreams in the Old Testament
Abraham and Abimelech (Genesis 20:3–7)
Before the law, before the prophets, God warns Abimelech in a dream not to touch Sarah, saying, “You are a dead man because of the woman you have taken.”
This early account shows that God’s messages in dreams were not limited to His chosen people; He speaks even to Gentile kings when necessary.
Jacob’s Ladder (Genesis 28:10–22)
As Jacob flees from Esau, he dreams of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with angels ascending and descending. God reiterates His covenant promise and awakens Jacob to awe: “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” This image—heaven reaching down to earth—foreshadows the Incarnation itself.
Joseph the Dreamer (Genesis 37–41)
Joseph’s dreams of sheaves and stars foretell his destiny; later, his ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams preserves Egypt from famine. Here, dreams serve both as divine revelation and as a means of salvation for nations.
Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel (Daniel 2 & 4)
In Babylon, the pagan king’s troubling dreams are interpreted by Daniel as messages from the “God of heaven.” Daniel declares, “There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” The divine message transcends ethnic and religious boundaries, anticipating the way God might later reach nonbelievers through similar means.
2. Dreams in the New Testament
Joseph, husband of Mary (Matthew 1–2)
Four times in Matthew’s Gospel, Joseph receives direction through dreams:
“Do not fear to take Mary as your wife.”
“Flee to Egypt.”
“Return to the land of Israel.”
“Avoid Judea; go to Galilee.”
In each case, the dream serves both to protect the Holy Family and to advance salvation history.
The Magi (Matthew 2:12)
After visiting the Christ Child, the Magi—Gentile seekers from the East—are “warned in a dream not to return to Herod.” Their obedience preserves the newborn Messiah. This is one of the most striking precedents for modern non-Christians encountering divine guidance in dreams.
Pilate’s Wife (Matthew 27:19)
At the trial of Jesus, Pilate’s wife sends word: “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”
Even on the eve of the Crucifixion, God gives a vision to a pagan woman, testifying to Christ’s innocence.
St. Paul’s Visions (Acts 16:9–10)
In Troas, Paul receives the “Macedonian vision”: “A man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’”
This dream redirects the course of the Gospel from Asia into Europe. Paul later reports similar night visions offering reassurance and guidance (Acts 18:9–10; 23:11).
From Genesis to Acts, the message is consistent: God is free to speak when and how He chooses. He warns kings and comforts exiles, calls prophets and protects saints. And if He once reached Pharaohs, Magi, and Roman wives through dreams, perhaps it should not surprise us that He still reaches Muslims today through the same divine language of the night.
Modern Testimonies: When Isa Appears
If the Old and New Testaments reveal a God who speaks through dreams, then the modern age offers its own continuation of that story — one now unfolding across deserts, refugee camps, and city apartments in the Islamic world. In these unlikely places, men and women who have never opened a Bible, never met a Christian, and never heard the Gospel preached are waking in the night to find a radiant man standing before them — a man they call ʿĪsā.
They describe Him in similar ways: clothed in white, sometimes with wounds in His hands, sometimes surrounded by a light so pure it hurts to behold. He speaks few words — often no more than a sentence — yet the effect is devastating. Many wake up trembling. Some say He called them by name. Others hear only that age old refrain: “Follow Me.”
For those who risk telling their stories, their lives are irrevocably changed.
Notable Accounts
Bilquis Sheikh — The Diplomat’s Wife (Pakistan, 1960s)
A respected Muslim aristocrat, Bilquis began receiving vivid dreams of a man bathed in light who called Himself “Father.” In confusion she turned to both imams and missionaries, eventually reading the Gospel of John and recognizing the voice from her dreams. Her conversion cost her family, status, and safety — yet her testimony, I Dared to Call Him Father, has become a classic of twentieth-century Christian witness.
An Iranian Soldier’s Dream (1979 Revolution)
During the chaos following the revolution, a young soldier claimed to see Isa standing in the smoke of a battlefield, reaching out to him and saying, “I am the Way.” Decades later, missionaries in Turkey met the same man — now an underground pastor — still marked by that single encounter.
“Mohamed’s Dream” (North Africa, 2010s)
As reported by multiple mission agencies, a shopkeeper named Mohamed dreamed of Jesus walking toward him across water, saying, “I am coming soon.” Terrified, he sought answers from a Christian friend, who introduced him to the Gospels. Today he secretly leads a house fellowship of new believers — all of whom first met Jesus in their dreams.
Recent Testimonies (2020s–2025)
According to the Assemblies of God’s “Live Dead” network and other missionary coalitions, reports of Muslims dreaming of Isa have become “commonplace.” In certain regions, missionaries claim nearly one in four converts from Islam first encountered Jesus through a dream or vision. These accounts appear across the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa — areas where open evangelism remains impossible.
The Shared Dream of Isa
Among the countless testimonies of Muslims who claim to have encountered Jesus in a dream, one particular vision keeps recurring — often with uncanny similarity across languages, cultures, and continents. Missionaries call it simply “The Isa Dream.”
A Common Pattern
The details vary slightly, but the core image remains constant:
A man clothed in brilliant white stands before the dreamer.
His face shines with light — sometimes too radiant to look upon.
He calls the dreamer by name and says words like “I am the Way,” or “Follow Me.”
The setting is often a road, a shoreline, or a door, each heavy with symbolic meaning.
Sometimes He stretches out His hands — and the dreamer sees wounds in His wrists or side.
Many describe the dream as more real than waking life, with a sense of overwhelming peace or holiness that lingers for days. Even those who resist conversion admit they can never forget it.
Reported Across Nations
In Egypt, refugees have told pastors of seeing “the Man in white” who tells them, “I am Isa. You will find Me in the Injil.”
In Iran, underground house churches report wave after wave of converts whose first encounter came through a dream of Jesus standing at a door knocking.
In Saudi Arabia, missionaries recount multiple unrelated dreamers describing the same phrase: “I am the light of the world.”
In Indonesia, a Muslim woman claimed that every night for three nights she saw a figure in white telling her, “Come to Me.” On the third night, she dreamed she touched His hand — and woke up healed from a chronic illness.
Each story stands alone, yet together they form a striking tapestry of shared spiritual experience. The consistency has led even secular sociologists to note that “the phenomenon demonstrates a pattern of religious cognition crossing cultural lines.”
Statistical Glimpse
Mission researchers estimate that over one-quarter of Muslim-background Christians worldwide cite a dream or vision of Jesus as a factor in their conversion. In some regions — especially Iran and North Africa — the number may be as high as half.
Organizations like Frontiers, Operation Mobilization, and Live Dead have compiled hundreds of such testimonies, many collected independently yet describing the same radiant visitor.
A 2023 Southeastern Theological Review study by Sam Martyn noted the “remarkable thematic consistency” among 44 documented cases, suggesting that the “shared dream” often acts as a preparatory grace rather than a full catechesis — the spark that ignites a search for truth.
Possible Meanings
Theologically, Christians interpret this recurring dream in two primary ways:
As Divine Initiative
God is reaching hearts closed to traditional evangelism — revealing Himself directly when no preacher can enter. As one Iranian pastor put it, “The mosques are locked, but dreams are open.”As Fulfillment of Prophecy
Joel 2:28 foretold, “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams.”
Many see the Isa dreams as one of the most dramatic fulfillments of that promise in modern times.
Skeptical Voices
Skeptics have tried to explain the phenomenon psychologically — mass suggestion, cultural imagery, or subconscious longing for a merciful figure. Yet such explanations falter when the accounts emerge from remote regions, with no knowledge of Christianity and no shared media exposure.
Even Muslim scholars who deny the Christian interpretation acknowledge that “an unusually high number” of believers report visions of ʿĪsā, particularly during Ramadan and periods of crisis.
The Question Remains
Whether viewed as mass vision, cultural archetype, or direct act of God, the shared dream of Isa stands as one of the most extraordinary religious phenomena of the 21st century.
It echoes the same divine pattern seen in Scripture — the God who warned Pharaoh, called the Magi, and comforted Joseph still moves through the shadows of sleep, calling men and women by name.
And when they wake, they find their world — and their eternity — forever changed.
So What? What Christians Should Understand
So what are we to make of all this?
It’s tempting to treat these reports of Muslims dreaming of Jesus as curiosities — exotic, distant, even romanticized. But to do so would miss the deeper truth. These dreams are not about them; they are a reminder to us.
First, they remind us that God still moves. He is not confined to our pulpits or mission boards. The same Lord who spoke to Joseph and to the Magi still speaks into the lives of those who have never held a Bible. He is the missionary. He is the evangelist. The Gospel does not advance because of our cleverness, but because God wills to be known.
Second, these dreams should awaken a sense of humility in the Church. Many of us in the West have come to assume that faith spreads through strategy, programming, and apologetics. Yet here are people coming to Christ without any of those tools — simply because the risen Lord chose to reveal Himself. Perhaps, in our comfort, we have forgotten that conversion is always miracle before it is method.
Third, these visions challenge our complacency. While we argue over liturgy and language, men and women in the Middle East risk their lives for the Name they first heard in a dream. Their encounter costs them everything — family, livelihood, safety — and yet they count it joy. If we call ourselves disciples of the same Christ, what excuse do we have for lukewarmness?
Finally, this phenomenon calls us to prayer and participation. The God who moves in dreams invites us to move in daylight — to be ready to receive those seekers when they wake. For every Muslim who dreams of Isa, there must be a Christian ready to explain who He is. God may plant the seed, but He often uses us to water it.
A Closing Thought
When Peter preached at Pentecost, he quoted the prophet Joel:
“Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”
Perhaps what we are witnessing in our own century is the fulfillment of that promise on a global scale — the Spirit poured out not only on the Church but upon the nations, even upon those who do not yet know His Name.
So when you hear that a man or woman halfway across the world has dreamed of a figure in white, radiant and wounded, speaking peace into their heart — don’t dismiss it as superstition. Remember: this is how God has always worked. He met Jacob in the wilderness, Pharaoh in his palace, Pilate’s wife in her anxiety, and Paul on the road. He meets people where they are — sometimes even in their sleep.
The dreams of Isa are not a novelty. They are a mercy. A reminder that the Lord of history still walks among His creation, calling every nation, tribe, and tongue to Himself — even in the quiet hours of the night.
