DREAMS OF CAREER
Dr Umar Azam BA PHD DCL DIP.FJ DIP.IM FRSA
FRSSA
MANCHESTER, UK
MARCH 2004
INTRODUCTION
AT THE
TIME OF MY WRITING THIS ARTICLE, I AM MERELY TUTORING
SCHOOL-AGED PUPILS ON A PART-TIME BASIS. THE REST OF THE
TIME, I AM WRITING RESEARCH NOTES, RESEARCH ARTICLES,
PROMOTING MY WEBSITE AND DOING
OTHER, RELATED, VOLUNTARY WORK. THE
DREAMS WHICH FOLLOW ARE ONLY A LATTER-DAY SAMPLE OF THE MANY
SIMILAR DREAMS WHICH I HAVE EXPERIENCED IN THE PERIOD MAY
1984- MARCH 2004. THESE DREAMS ARE VALUABLE BECAUSE THEY
PROMISE THAT ONE DAY MY CAREER WILL BECOME LUCRATIVE
AND MUCH WIDER IN ITS
SCOPE.
DREAM
NO 1: SAT 9 AUGUST 2003
I DREAMT THAT,
WHENEVER MY VISITORS LOG ONTO MY SITE WWW.DR-UMAR-AZAM.COM , THEY ARE
TAKEN ON AN EXHILIRATING, ROLLERCOASTER
RIDE!
DREAM
NO 2: WEDNESDAY 9 JULY 2003
I DREAMT
OF A VERY CARING, LADY LIBRARIAN AND DEPOSITING MATERIAL TO A
LIBRARY CONSTRUCTED BENEATH FIVE OR SIX HUGE IRON OR
STONE PILLARS. THIS LIBRARIAN WAS SO PROFESSIONAL THAT
SHE WANTED ME TO DEPOSIT EVEN MORE MATERIAL AND,
MOREOVER, SHE GAVE ME A FRESH IDEA OR NEW ANGLE OF THOUGHT FOR
GIFTING TO THE LIBRARY EVEN MORE ARCHIVE DOCUMENTS IN
THE FUTURE!
DREAM
NO 3: FRIDAY 6 JULY 2003
I DREAMT
THAT ONE TEAM WENT TO PLAY A MATCH AGAINST ANOTHER TEAM WHOSE
GROUND WAS LIKE A GARDEN: IT WAS THICKLY WOODED WITH
TREES AND SO SPACIOUS THAT NO END OR RESTRAINING BORDER
COULD BE SEEN! [IN THE NEXT SCENE] I WAS DRIVING UPWARDS
ALONG A WINDING, MOUNTAIN ROAD. I MANAGED TO REACH A
VERY HIGH PEAK. THIS TOOK PLACE IN A FOREIGN
COUNTRY.
DREAM
NO 4: c. AUGUST 2003
I DREAMT
OF DESMOND LYNAM AGAIN!
CONTEXT
I
ENJOYED WATCHING THE PREMIERSHIP FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHTS IN THE
PROGRAMME 'MATCH OF THE DAY', PRESENTED BY DESMOND
LYNAM, ON BBC. FROM 1997 TO 2003, I HAD DREAMS OF
FAMILIAR FIGURES ON TELEVISION. THE DREAMS WERE TELLING
ME THAT I WOULD ALSO HAVE A CAREER IN TELEVISION.
BUT BECAUSE THIS HAD NOT HAPPENED FOR 6 YEARS, I THOUGHT THAT
MAYBE THE DREAMS WERE INCORRECT. THEN I HAD THE
ABOVE DREAM!
DREAM
NO 5: SUNDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2003
I HAD A
MOST BEAUTIFUL DREAM. IN IT THERE WAS A FEELING OF
TRANQUILITY. I SAW THE ATTRACTIVE TREE-LINED GARDENS OF
A UNIVERSITY CAMPUS. I WAS ADMIRING THE BEAUTY AND
LAYOUT OF THE GARDENS. I FELT GLAD THAT THEY BELONGED TO
AN ACADEMIC INSTITUTION. THIS WAS A UNIVERSITY
CAMPUS IN THE UK BECAUSE, IN THE NEXT SCENE, I SAW
THREE-STOREY HOUSES, IN EXCELLENT CONDITION, IN SOME
NEIGHBOURING AREA OF BRITAIN.
INTERPRETATION
THIS
DREAM IS TELLING ME THAT I WILL BE LECTURING AT UNIVERSITIES
ALL OVER THE UK, AND INDEED THE WORLD [INFORMATION PROVIDED BY
OTHER DREAMS], IN THE FUTURE.
DREAM
NO 6: WEDNESDAY 8 OCTOBER 2003
I HAD A
DREAM THAT SOME AUNTIE [A FAMILY FRIEND FROM THE COMMUNITY]
WAS GETTING READY TO TRAVEL ABROAD. SHE TOLD ME THAT
GOOD THINGS WOULD BE HAPPENING IN MY LIFE [WEALTH, PROMOTION,
TRAVEL] AND GAVE ALL THESE A SPECIAL AND BLESSED NAME,
WHICH WAS IN ARABIC AND HAD FIVE SYLLABLES: SOMETHING
LIKE, 'RIAD-UL-MUSHTAQEEN '. ALSO, I
DREAMT OF EATING THE MEAT OF A CUCKAR
[ROOSTER].
DREAM
NO 7: WEDNESDAY 22 OCTOBER 2003
I DREAMT
THAT I TRAVELLED TO ST. AUSTELL IN CORNWALL [ON BEHALF OF THE
BBC, PROBABLY] [REGARDING ISSUES CONCERNING ISLAM,
PRESUMABLY].
DREAM
NO 8: THURSDAY 23 OCTOBER 2003
I DREAMT
THAT I WAS DRIVING UP A HILL OR MOUNTAIN. FROM MY
POSITION BELOW, I SAW TWO PROMINENT MARKS [LIKE THE HEAVY
SKIDS OF CAR TRACKS] ON HIGH. I REACHED THE TWO MARKS
EASILY! THEN I FOUND MYSELF GOING HIGHER. I
FELT AFRAID OF LOOKING OUT OF THE SIDE WINDOWS BECAUSE
I WAS SO HIGH UP. EVERYTHING WAS BEAUTIFUL AND
GRASSY AND LIKE A GARDEN, BUT IT WAS A LONG WAY TO GET
DOWN! [IN ANOTHER SCENE] I DREAMT THAT THE BBC INFORMED
ME THAT THEY KNEW THAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT AN [UNKNOWN]
WIFE+ AND THAT THEY WOULD ANNOUNCE IT ON TELEVISION [SINCE IT
WAS A TOPIC THEY COULD RELATE TO!].
+ MY OWN
DREAMS WHICH EMPHASISE THE FACT THAT AN UNKNOWN WIFE
SYMBOLISES ALLAH'S REWARD HAVE ALREADY BEEN PRESENTED IN
'DREAMS IN ISLAM',
'ROMANTIC DREAMS', 'DREAMS OF
REWARD IN PARADISE' AND OTHER RESEARCH PAPERS
[ALL ARE ON THIS
SITE].
DREAM
NO 9: SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER 2003
I DREAMT
THAT I WAS POSTING TWO SETS OF 'PRACTICAL ISLAMIC
ADVICE' TO AN ADDRESS IN LONDON [YOU CAN READ THIS
WORK ON THIS SITE].
DREAM
NO 10: MONDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2003
I WAS
GIVEN THE MESSAGE THAT DAVINA MURPHY [DAVINA McCALL?]
HAD BEEN WAITING FOR ME IN FRONT OF THE EMPTY ROWS OF SEATS IN
A TELEVISION STUDIO! I WAS DUE TO CO-START A BBC
[INFORMATION] SHOW WITH HER.
CONTEXT
I HAD
SEEN A PHOTO OF DAVINA McCALL IN 'WHAT'S ON TV?'
MAGAZINE BUT I DID NOT FOR ONE MOMENT THINK THAT I WOULD BE
HER PARTNER IN FUTURE TELEVISION
PROGRAMMES!
DREAM
NO 11: THURSDAY 8TH JANUARY
2004
I DREAMT THAT MY WEB SITE
WWW.DR-UMAR-AZAM.COM HAD BEEN TRANSFERRED ONTO
POWERFUL, NEW SERVERS BY MY WEB-HOSTING COMPANY NETWORLD
NETWORKS. I WAS TOLD THAT MY SITE WAS IN A
MUCH STRONGER POSITION THAN IT HAD BEEN UNDER MY OLD
WEB-HOSTING COMPANY, AND THAT THIS STRONG POSITION WOULD
ENDURE.
CONTEXT
THIS
DREAM CAME TO ME AT A TIME WHEN I WAS DISTRESSED: THE
TRANSFER BETWEEN THE TWO COMPANIES HAD THROWN UP SEVERAL
LENGTHY HITCHES!
DREAM
NO 12: 15 JUNE 2003
I DREAMT
THAT MY MIDDLE SISTER AND I WERE JOURNEYING ABROAD IN A
LUXURIOUS, SPACIOUS AEROPLANE AMIDST A WONDERFUL, VACATIONAL
ATMOSPHERE [THOUGH I WOULD PROBABLY BE GOING FOR ISLAMIC
RESEARCH/LECTURES].
DREAM
NO 13: SUNDAY 1 FEBRUARY 2004 [THE DAY OF
EID-UL-ADHA]
I DREAMT THAT FOR EXERTING
GREAT EFFORTS, [AND ENCOUNTERING PAINFUL FRUSTRATION] TRYING
TO UPDATE MY FILES FOR CERTAIN DOCUMENTS OF WWW.DR-UMAR-AZAM.COM IN THE 'FILE MANAGER' OF
THE CONTROL PANEL OF NETWORLD NETWORKS, AND ALSO FOR
DIFFICULTIES IN TUTORING MOBEEN +, I HAD BEEN GRANTED THE
REWARD OF MORE THAN ONE HAJJ [IN FACT, OF
SEVERAL HAJJ].
+ MOBEEN
WAS A SEVEN YEAR-OLD BOY OF BELOW AVERAGE ABILITY AND HIS
READING ABILITY NEEDED DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT. I EXERTED
GREAT EFFORT IN GIVING HIM SUITABLE COMPREHENSIONS AND THE
MARKING HIS EACH ANSWER THOROUGHLY ONE-BY-ONE. AFTER A
FEW MONTHS, MOBEEN HAD IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY!
DREAM
NO 14: TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2003
I DREAMT
THAT I WAS TUTORING A PUPIL. I WAS WRITING SOMETHING
HURRIEDLY AND WITHOUT FIRM COMMITMENT [I WAS RATHER
CARELESS]. THEN I FELT WORRIED ABOUT MY WORK.
I THOUGHT, 'OH NO! I HAVE TO SHOW HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN THIS
WORK, AND I'VE DONE IT UNTIDILY!'
CONTEXT
THE DAY
BEFORE, I HAD BEEN LOOKING AT AN ARTICLE IN THE DAILY
MAIL ABOUT THE VARIOUS CELEBRITIES WHO HAVE SPURNED
H.M. THE QUEEN BY REJECTING VARIOUS HONOURS SUCH AS OBE's,
MBS's, KNIGHTHOODS etc. IN SOME CASES, THIS WAS A
PROTEST AGAINST ELITISM. IN OTHERS, IT WAS A GAMBLE TO
AWAIT THE BESTOWAL OF HIGHER HONOURS WHICH WOULD HAVE BECOME
UNAVAILABLE HAD THE LOWER HONOUR BEEN ACCEPTED [BUT THERE WAS
NO GUARANTEE A HIGHER HONOUR WOULD BE OFFERED ANYWAY]! I
RESOLVED TO HAPPILY ACCEPT WHATEVER I WAS OFFERED BY H.M. THE
QUEEN IN THE FUTURE.
DREAM
NO 15: THURSDAY 15 JANUARY 2004
MY
MOTHER WAS TELLING ME TO BUY A HOUSE. I REPLIED THAT I
AM VERY CLOSE TO BUYING ONE BECAUSE I AM VERY CLOSE TO GREAT
SUCCESS IN MY ISLAMIC WORK.
DREAM
NO 16: MONDAY 12 JANUARY 2004
I DREAMT
THAT I WENT TO TEACH ADNAN AND WAS HANDED AN A4-SIZE
ENVELOPE. WHEN I TOOK A SHEET OF PAPER OUT OF IT, I
NOTICED THAT IT WAS A LETTER FROM A PRIVATE BOYS' SCHOOL IN
BIRMINGHAM; IT CONFIRMED THAT ADNAN HAD BEEN ACCEPTED FOR
ENTRY! IT WAS CLEAR FROM THE CORRESPONDENCE THAT THE
SCHOOL WAS OF A VERY HIGH STANDARD [VERY ACADEMIC]. THEN
I SAID TO ADNAN'S FAMILY, 'SO ALL THOSE CUPS OF TEA+ HAVE BEEN
WORTH IT!'
+ THE
CHOUDHRY FAMILY ALWAYS GAVE ME REFRESHMENTS, AND OFTEN FULL
DINNERS TOO. ADNAN'S YOUNGER SISTER, AYESHA, PASSED THE
ENTRANCE EXAM FOR WILLIAM HULME'S GRAMMAR
SCHOOL, MANCHESTER, IN MARCH 2004 [I
REALLY DID TAKE THE CONGRATULATORY LETTER OUT OF THE
A4 ENVELOPE!] AS A RESULT OF MY TUITION.
DREAM
NO 17: FRIDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2004
I HAD A
WONDERFUL DREAM ABOUT A MARVELLOUS, HONOURABLE AND SUCCESSFUL
CAREER WITH THE BBC.
DREAM
NO 18: MONDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2004
SOMEONE
ASKED ME IF IWOULD LIKE HIGH TEA, AND I REPLIED, 'YES'.+ [IN
ANOTHER SCENE] I SAW VERY SCOLARLY-LOOKING SHEETS OF
PAPER. ON ONE OF THE SHEETS, I HAD SET COLLEGE STUDENTS
QUESTIONS ON ISLAM. ONE STUDENT APPEARED IN THE DREAM
AND WAS ASKING ME VARIOUS QUESTIONS, AND DISCUSSING THE HIS
WORK WITH ME.
+ 'HIGH
TEA' PROBABLY SIGNIFIES PROMOTION AND RECOGNITION IN MY
ISLAMIC CAREER.
DREAM
NO 19: THURSAY 4 MARCH 2004
I HAD A
VERY SWEET DREAM ABOUT OXFORD UNIVERSITY. THE UNIVERSITY
ASKED AN APPLICANT [FOR THE POST OF LECTURER] TO FORWARD
FIVE REFERENCES [EVEN THOUGH THE APPLICANT WAS A MEMBER
OF THE UNIVERSITY (MEMBER OF THE BODLEIAN
LIBRARY)]. [IN ANOTHER SCENE] ONLY TWO REFEREES HAD
BEEN SUPPLIED, AND THE REFERENCES WERE VERY UNTIDILY
WRITTEN IN CARELESS WRITING. HOWEVER, THEY TURNED
OUT TO BE SUFFICIENT [SO THAT I WAS SUCCESSFUL IN MY
{INADEQUATE} APPLICATION!
CONCLUSION
THESE
DREAMS ARE VALUABLE BECAUSE THEY ARE TELLING ME OF A NUMBER OF
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS IN MY CAREER THAT I WOULD OTHERWISE HAVE
NO MEANS OF KNOWING: MY TUTORING IS OF A HIGH STANDARD
[N0S 14, 16]; MY WEBSITE IS EFFICIENT [NO 11]; MY
VISITORS HAVE FUN VISITING MY WEB SITE [NO 1]; LIBRARIANS
[JOHN RYLANDS UNIVERSITY LIBRARY OF MANCHESTER, BODLEIAN
LIBRARY, OXFORD] ARE GRATEFUL FOR MY WORK [NO
2]; MY PERSONALITY IS AMBITIOUS AND WILL MEET WITH
SUCCESS [NOS 3, 8, 15, 18]; A CAREER IN TELEVISION WITH THE
BBC AWAITS ME [NOS 4, 7, 8, 10, 17]; I WILL BECOME
A UNIVERSITY LECTURER [NOS 5, 18, 19]; I WILL
BE LECTURING AT UNIVERSITIES ALL OVER THE WORLD
[NOS 6, 12]; I WILL CONTINUE TO DISTRIBUTE MY WORK [NO 9]; HER
MAJESTY THE QUEEN WILL BESTOW SOME HONOUR UPON ME IN THE
FUTURE AND I WILL ACCEPT IT HUMBLY [NO 14]. HARD WORK BRINGS
AMAZING REWARDS FROM ALLAH MOST MERCIFUL [NO 13].