Faith and worship
Dreaming of the Kaaba or Mecca in Islam
In short
Seeing the Kaaba announces good coming or evil going away, and looking at it, safety. Setting out for Hajj in its season announces, in the Muntakhab, healing, a settled debt and safety; entering Mecca, repentance.
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
(ومن رأى) الكعبة هو بشير له بخير يقدمه أو يدبر عنه شر ينويه أو يهم به
Seeing the Kaaba heralds good coming to him, or evil turning away from him that was intended for him or threatening him.
والنظر إليها أمن مما يخافه
Looking at it is safety from what one fears.
ودخول مكة للعاصي توبة وللكافر إسلام وللأعزب زوجة
Entering Mecca is, for the sinner, repentance; for the unbeliever, Islam; for the unmarried, a spouse.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
ومن رأى كأنه خارج إلى الحج في وقته فإن كان صرورة رزق الحج وإن كان مريضا عوفي وإن كان مديونا قضى دينه وإن كان خائفا أمن
Whoever sees himself setting out for Hajj in its season: if he has never performed it, he will be granted it; if sick, he recovers; if in debt, he settles it; if afraid, he is safe.
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.
- MosqueFor al-Nabulusi the mosque stands for a scholar who gathers people for good; building a mosque announces goodness, the Sunna and family ties, and seeing one’s house become a mosque, piety and honour.
- Travel, journeyTravelling, for al-Nabulusi, is moving from one state to another; for the poor, becoming rich. Returning from a journey is repentance and a need fulfilled. Planes and trains, later than the book, do not appear in it.
All the symbols in the dictionary