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Dreaming of stairs in Islam
In short
For al-Nabulusi, stairs can symbolize elevation and success in this world and the hereafter; climbing them indicates gradual elevation. The Muntakhab attributed to Ibn Sirin also associates stairs with elevation and success, and distinguishes the effects of ascending and descending according to the circumstances.
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
في المنام يدل على أسباب العلو والرفعة والإقبال في الدنيا والآخرة
In a dream, it indicates the causes of elevation, high rank, and success in this world and the hereafter.
والارتقاء في الدرج رفعة ينالها تدريجا قليلا قليلا
Climbing the stairs indicates an elevation attained gradually, little by little.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
تدل على أسباب العلو والرفعة والإقبال في الدنيا والآخرة لقول العرب درجة فلان وفلان رفيع الدرجة
They indicate the causes of elevation, high rank, and success in this world and the hereafter, according to the Arabic expression: “So-and-so has a high rank.”
وأما نزول الدرج فإن كان مسافرا قدم من سفره
As for descending the stairs, if [the dreamer] is travelling, he returns from his journey.
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
- 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.
- FallingFalling from a high place indicates, for al-Nabulusi, a change of situation; where one lands tells the outcome: a green meadow or a safe place announce a good end.
- FlyingFlying in a dream is, for al-Nabulusi, a journey — a restful one if flying on one’s back —; for one who is not travelling, a time of idleness. Flying over a mountain announces authority obtained without effort.
All the symbols in the dictionary