People
Dreaming of a man or someone you know in Islam
In short
A known man seen in a dream is, for both books, that man himself — or someone like him or bearing his name — from whom one expects something. The Muntakhab sees an unknown young man as an enemy; an unknown old man is good fortune.
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
(رجل) هو في المنام إذا كان معروفا فهو ذلك الرجل بعينه أو سميه أو شقيقه أو نظيره من الناس
A man in a dream, if known, is that very man, or someone bearing his name, or his brother, or his like among people.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
من رأى رجلا يعرفه دلت رؤياه على أنه يأخذ منه أو من شبيهه أو من سميه شيئا
Whoever sees a man he knows: his dream indicates he will receive something from him, or from someone resembling him or bearing his name.
والشاب في التأويل عدو الرجل
An [unknown] young man, in interpretation, is a man’s enemy.
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
- WomanFor al-Nabulusi a beautiful woman stands for a year of good and rest; her entering the house, joy; a young woman turning towards the dreamer, affairs that pick up again. An unknown woman is better than a known one.
- Religious scholar, sheikhSeeing a jurist or scholar indicates, for al-Nabulusi, intelligence and knowledge; for the sinner, repentance; for the misguided, guidance. An unknown old man is good fortune and happiness, and following him is following good.
- The dead, deathSeeing a deceased person looking happy is, for both books, a good sign for him; seeing him alive announces relief. Dreaming of one’s own death has varied meanings: a journey, poverty, repentance or even marriage.
All the symbols in the dictionary