Nature and elements
Dreaming of a flood 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
For al-Nabulusi a torrent is first an enemy’s attack; but clear, calm water from which people benefit announces successive blessings, and seeing a torrent may herald rain.
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
(سيل) هو في المنام هجوم العدو كما أن هجوم العدو سيل
A torrent in a dream is an enemy’s attack, just as an enemy’s attack is a torrent.
فإن انتفع الناس به في المنام بسبب صفائه وعذوبته وهدوءه دل على القفول المتتابعة بالخيرات وانتفاع الناس بذلك
If, in the dream, people benefit from it because it is clear, sweet and calm, it indicates successive caravans laden with good things from which people benefit.
ورؤية السيل دليل على نزول الغيث
Seeing a torrent indicates the coming of beneficial rain.
وكل ماء صاف لا يخاف عاديته ولا يحذر غائلته فإن ذلك حياة طيبة لمن ملكه أو شربه أو نال منه
Any clear water whose violence and damage are not feared is a good life for whoever owns it, drinks it or benefits from it.
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
- SeaThe sea stands for a king or anyone with authority over people; seeing it means obtaining what one hoped for. Swimming means overcoming an opponent; walking on water, firm faith.
- RainRain that does no damage is, for both books, good, provision and Allah’s mercy, and relief for the indebted or worried; a rain of blood or stones stands for sins.
- WaterFor both books clear water is life, knowledge and ease, and drinking it is a good sign. Al-Nabulusi also reports the view attributed to Ibn Sirin: water can be a trial in religion.
All the symbols in the dictionary