Faith and worship
Dreaming of reading the Quran in Islam
In short
Reciting the Quran in a dream is honour, joy and victory. Interpreters look at the meaning of the passage: a verse of mercy is mercy, a warning is a call to amend oneself. Al-Fatiha, al-Falaq and an-Nas are protections.
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
(قرآن) هو في المنام قراءته من مصحف أمر ونهي وشرف وسرور ونصر
The Quran in a dream: reading it from a written copy is command and prohibition, honour, joy and victory.
فإن كان تنزيله في رحمة أو بشارة فتأويل رؤيته رحمة أو بشارة يصيبها وإن كان تنزيله في وصية فهو وصية ينفعه الله بها إن هو عمل بها وإن كان تنزيله في وعيد أو عذاب فإن ذلك إنذار بنقمة في معصية ارتكبها
If [the passage] was revealed about mercy or good tidings, the dream means mercy or good tidings he will receive; if it is an exhortation, it is advice from which Allah will benefit him if he acts on it; if it is a threat or punishment, it is a warning about a sin he has committed.
(سورة يس) من قرأها في المنام أو شيئا منها أو قرئت عليه حشره الله تعالى في زمرة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وآله
Surat Ya-Sin: whoever recites it in a dream, or part of it, or has it recited to him, Allah will resurrect him among the company of Muhammad ﷺ and his family.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
(ومن رأى) كأنه يقرأ فاتحة الكتاب فتحت له أبواب الخير وأغلقت عنه أبواب الشر
Whoever sees himself reciting al-Fatiha: the doors of good open for him and the doors of evil close.
ومن قرأ سورة الفلق فإن الله يدفع عنه شر الإنس والجن والهوام والحساد ومن قرأ سورة الناس عصم من البلايا وأعيذ من الشيطان وجنوده ووسواسهم
Whoever recites Surat al-Falaq, Allah wards off from him the evil of humans, jinn, vermin and the envious; whoever recites Surat an-Nas is kept from afflictions and protected from the devil, his troops and their whisperings.
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
- PrayerFor both books, dreaming of prayer is praiseworthy for religion and worldly life alike: fulfilling a duty, a debt or a trust. Asking Allah’s forgiveness facing the qibla after prayer announces an answered supplication.
- The Prophet ﷺThe authentic hadith says the devil cannot take the Prophet’s ﷺ form. Ibn Sirin asked dreamers to describe what they had seen, and interpreters say that seeing him in a fine form reflects the good state of the dreamer’s religion.
- Sorcery, black magicSorcery in a dream is, for al-Nabulusi, trial, deception and scheming. The Muntakhab recalls that incantations are futile, except those made of the Quran or the remembrance of Allah.
All the symbols in the dictionary