The unseen
Dreaming of the devil in Islam
Did this dream upset you?Seek Allah’s protection, blow lightly three times to your left, turn onto your other side, pray if you can, and tell no one: “it will not harm you”.Details and sources
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)
In short
The devil is a cunning enemy, in religion and worldly life. But the Muntakhab is reassuring: the devil frightening you in a dream indicates the sincerity of your faith, and being touched by him while remembering Allah, enemies who will get nothing.
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
(شيطان) هو في المنام عدو في الدين والدنيا مكار خداع حريص مكابر لا يبالي ولا يكترث
The devil in a dream is an enemy in religion and in worldly life: cunning, deceitful, greedy, arrogant, caring for nothing.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
ومن رأى كأن الشيطان خوفه دلت رؤياه على إخلاصه في دينه وعلى أمن من خوف هو فيه
Whoever sees the devil frightening him: his dream indicates the sincerity of his religion, and safety from a fear he is in.
ومن رأى كأن طائفا من الشيطان مسه وهو مشتغل بذكر الله تعالى دلت رؤياه على أن له أعداء كثيرة يريدون إهلاكه فلا ينالون منه مرادهم
Whoever sees a touch of the devil brush him while he is busy remembering Allah: his dream indicates he has many enemies who want to destroy him, but they will not get what they want from him.
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)
Related symbols
- JinnBoth books see jinn as cunning people skilled at deception; teaching jinn the Quran, or their listening to it from you, announces a position of authority. Jinn near the house may point to an unfulfilled vow.
- 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.
- QuranReciting 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.
All the symbols in the dictionary