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Dreaming of a bed in Islam
In short
For al-Nabulusi, seeing oneself on a bed may signify the return of something lost, elevation, or travel; a bed without a mattress is associated with travel or a wife. The bed also signifies the dreamer’s wife and livelihood.
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 إذا كان بلا فراش فهو سفر لما في اسمه من لفظ السير وقيل هو زوجة.
A bed in a dream, if it has no mattress, signifies travel, because its name contains the word « السير »; it has also been said that it signifies a wife.
أنه على سرير فإنه يرجع إليه شيء قد كان خرج عن يده وإن كان سلطانا ضعف عن سلطانه ثم يقوى بعد الضعف فإن رأى أنه على سرير وعليه فراش فإنه ينال رفعة وعلوا وذكرا عل قوم منافقين في غفلة عن الدين فإن لم يكن عليه فراش فإنه يسافر
[Whoever sees himself] on a bed will have something that had left his possession return to him. If he is a ruler, his authority will weaken, then grow strong again after that weakness. If he sees himself on a bed with a mattress, he will attain elevation, high rank, and renown among people who are hypocritical and heedless of religion. If it has no mattress, he will travel.
والسرير وجميع ما ينام فوقه يدل على امرأة صاحب الرؤيا وعلى جميع معاشه
The bed and everything one sleeps on signify the dreamer’s wife and all of his livelihood.
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
- SleepFor al-Nabulusi, sleeping generally indicates heedlessness and inactivity, but may signify the end of worries for someone who is afraid or expects hardship. The Muntakhab attributed to Ibn Sirin associates sleep with heedlessness.
- 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.
- Marriage, weddingIn al-Nabulusi, marriage in a dream has contrasting meanings: Allah’s care, a repaid debt and relief for the worried, but also a burdensome commitment or a worry.
All the symbols in the dictionary