Animals
Dreaming of a dog in Islam
In short
The 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.
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
(كلب) هو في المنام رجل سفيه يجترئ على المعاصي فإذا نبح فهو سفيه شنيع طبع
A dog in a dream is a foolish man who dares to commit sins; if it barks, it is a fool of hateful character.
(ومن رأى) كلبا عضه أو خدشه نال ضررا من عدوه بقدر الألم
Whoever is bitten or scratched by a dog suffers harm from his enemy in proportion to the pain.
والكلاب التي تحفظ المنزل تدل على حفظ امرأة الرجل ومتاعه
Dogs that guard the house stand for the protection of the man’s wife and belongings.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
(الكلب) قد اختلف في تأويله فمنهم من قال هو عبد وقيل هو رجل طاغ سفيه مشنع إذا نبح
The dog: its interpretation is disputed. Some said it is a slave; others, a tyrannical, foolish man who abuses when he barks.
ومن توسد كلبا فالكلب حينئذ صديق يستنصر به
Whoever uses a dog as a pillow: the dog is then a friend from whom he seeks support.
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
- CatIn 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.
- LionThe lion stands above all for a formidable man of power; avoiding it or escaping it announces deliverance from what one fears.
- 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