Animals
Dreaming of a cat in Islam
In short
In both books the cat is a servant or someone living in the house — sometimes a thief. A calm female cat announces a restful year; a bite or scratch, harm or illness.
A summary of the passages quoted below. These are authors’ interpretations, not a prediction: a dream is understood through the dreamer and all its details.
What the interpretation books say
al-Nabulusi — Taʿṭīr al-Anām fī Taʿbīr al-Manām
(سنور) هو في المنام خادم وقيل لص من أهل البيت وقيل الأنثى منه امرأة سوء خداعة
A cat in a dream is a servant; it has also been said: a thief from within the household; and the female cat: a bad, deceitful woman.
ومن عضه السنور وأخدشه فإنه يمرض سنة وإن كان السنور وحشيا فهو أشد وإذا كانت سنورة ساكنة فإنها سنة فيها راحة وإذا كانت وحشية كثيرة الأذى فإنها سنة نكدة يكون له فيها تعب ونصب
Whoever is bitten and scratched by a cat will be ill for a year; if the cat is wild, it is worse. A calm female cat is a year of rest; a wild and very harmful one is a hard year of fatigue and toil.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
(السنور) هو الهر وهو القط قد اختلف في تأويله قيل هو خادم حارس وقيل هو لص من أهل البيت
The cat — the hirr, the qitt —: its interpretation is disputed. Some said it is a servant who guards [the house]; others that it is a thief from within the household.
فإن عضه أو خدشه خانه من يخدمه أو يكون ذلك مرضا يصيبه وكان ابن سيرين يقول هو مرض سنة
If it bites or scratches him, the one who serves him betrays him, or it is an illness that befalls him. Ibn Sirin used to say: it is an illness lasting a year.
Keep in mind
- An interpretation is a human effort: Abu Bakr himself was partly wrong before the Prophet ﷺ. (al-Bukhari 7046 and Muslim 2269)
- Appearances deceive: an unpleasant-looking dream may be interpreted as good, and vice versa. (al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
- A dream is not a fatwa: make no serious decision on its strength alone. (al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 1/115)
If this dream upset you: what the Sunnah asks
The Prophet ﷺ taught that an unpleasant dream comes from Satan, and that it does not harm the one who does the following. (al-Bukhari 7045 · al-Bukhari 3292)
Seek Allah’s protection, three times
Against the evil of this dream and against Satan. The wording given by al-Nawawi: “aʿūdhu billāhi mina sh-shayṭāni wa min sharrihā” — I seek refuge with Allah from Satan and from the evil of this dream. (al-Bukhari 7044 · Muslim 2262 · al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
Blow lightly three times to your left
The narrations say “blow” (nafth), “spit lightly” (tafl) or “spit” (basq): a light breath, to drive Satan away. (Muslim 2261 · al-Bukhari 7044 · Muslim 2262)
Turn over onto your other side
Change the side you were sleeping on. (Muslim 2262)
Get up and pray
If you can; al-Nawawi recommends two units of prayer (rakʿa). (Muslim 2263 · al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
Tell no one about it
Neither recount it nor seek to have it interpreted. A Bedouin dreamt that his head was cut off; the Prophet ﷺ told him: “Do not tell of how Satan toys with you in your sleep.” (al-Bukhari 7045 · Muslim 2263 · Muslim 2268 · al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
“It will not harm him”: that is the promise of the hadith. Al-Nawawi adds that doing only some of these acts is enough, by Allah’s leave. (al-Bukhari 7045 · al-Nawawi, Sharh Sahih Muslim 15/18)
Related symbols
- Mouse, ratBoth books see the mouse as a dishonest woman or a thief; yet many mice playing in the house announce provision, and black and white mice are nights and days.
- DogThe dog is most often a foolish man or a lowly enemy; its bite, harm coming from an enemy. A dog guarding the house, by contrast, stands for the protection of the home.
- HouseThe house stands for the dreamer’s life and those who live in it: a new, well-equipped house announces ease and relief; what happens to the house happens to its occupants. The “bayt”, the room one retires to, stands for the wife.
All the symbols in the dictionary