Animals
Dreaming of sheep in Islam
In short
The ram is a noble, powerful man; the flock, spoils and wealth. Finding sheep announces, for al-Nabulusi, authority and blessings.
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
(كبش) هو في المنام رجل شريف منيع
A ram in a dream is a noble and powerful man.
(غنم) هي في المنام رعية صالحة طائعة والغنم تدل على الغنيمة والأزواج والأملاك والأولاد والزرع والأشجار الحاملة بالثمار
Sheep in a dream are righteous, obedient subjects; they stand for spoils, spouses, property, children, crops and fruit-bearing trees.
(ومن رأى) أنه وجد غنما فإنه ينال ولاية ورياسة وملكا وحكما وقضاء ونعمة
Whoever sees himself finding sheep obtains office, leadership, power, judgeship and blessings.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
(الكبش) هو الرجل المنيع الضخم كالسلطان والإمام والأمير وقائد الجيش
The ram is the powerful, imposing man: a ruler, an imam, a prince or an army commander.
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
- MeatFor al-Nabulusi cooked meat is wealth, raw meat pains and illnesses; eating a human being’s flesh means backbiting him, as the Quran likens backbiting to eating one’s dead brother’s flesh (49:12).
- MilkThe Prophet ﷺ interpreted the milk he drank in a dream as knowledge (al-Bukhari, Muslim). For al-Nabulusi milk is the innate nature of Islam and lawful wealth gained without toil.
- 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.
All the symbols in the dictionary