Home, wealth, objects
Dreaming of gold in Islam
In short
For both authors gold is not a good sign for a man — its name, dhahab, evokes what goes away — with exceptions: a bracelet worn is an inheritance, a large piece received is authority. For women, wearing jewellery is praiseworthy adornment.
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
(ذهب) هو في المنام أمر مكروه وغرم مال والسوار منه إذا لبسه ميراث يقع في يده
Gold in a dream is something disliked and a financial loss; a gold bracelet, if he wears it, is an inheritance that falls into his hands.
(ومن رأى) أنه أعطى قطعة ذهب كبيرة فإنه ينال سلطانا ورياسة
Whoever sees himself given a large piece of gold obtains power and leadership.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
(الذهب) لا يحمد في التأويل لكراهة لفظه وصفرة لونه
Gold is not a good sign in interpretation, because of its word [dhahab, “to go away”] and its yellow colour.
وجميع لباس الحلى محمود للنساء وهو لهن زينة
Wearing jewellery is always praiseworthy for women: it is an adornment for them.
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
- Money, coinsThe books speak of coins: silver dirhams and gold dinars. They mostly see in them speech, knowledge and religion; receiving money is better than giving it. Banknotes, later than these books, do not appear in them.
- ClothesThe best clothes are new, thick and ample; worn and dirty clothes are poverty and worry. White is beauty in this world and in religion, green is religion and devotion; black, worn without being used to it, something unpleasant.
- HennaHenna is, for al-Nabulusi, an adornment in wealth and family; dyeing grey hair with henna is following the Sunna. Hennaed hands, however, warn of a risk to one’s wealth or trade.
All the symbols in the dictionary