Body and health
Dreaming of lice in Islam
In short
For al-Nabulusi, numerous lice on the clothes or body signify good, grace, blessing, and release from worries; killing them means freedom from a worry, while numerous lice may also signify illness, loss, and poverty. The Muntakhab attributed to Ibn Sirin associates lice in new clothes with an increase in religion, and their bite with criticism by a weak enemy.
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
قملا كثيرا في ثيابه أو جسده فإنه ينال خيرا ونعمة وبركة وخلاصا من جميع الغموم والأحزان.
[Whoever sees] many lice in his clothes or on his body will obtain good, grace, and blessing, and be freed from all worries and sorrows.
قملا وهو يقتلها فهي تدل على خلاصه من كل هم وإن رأى قملا كثيرا فإنه دليل على مرض طويل وخسران وفقر
[Whoever sees] lice and kills them, this indicates that he will be freed from every worry; if he sees many lice, it is a sign of a long illness, loss, and poverty.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
إذا كانت في الثياب الجدد فإنها زيادة دين وإذا كانت على الأرض فإنها قوم ضعاف فإن دبت حواليه فإنه يصاحب قوما ضعافا لايناله منهم مضرة وقرص القملة طعن عدو ضعيف
If lice are in new clothes, they signify an increase in religion; if they are on the ground, they denote weak people. If they crawl around him, he associates with weak people from whom he will suffer no harm; a louse’s bite signifies criticism by a weak enemy.
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
- HairHair is, for al-Nabulusi, wealth and long life: hair growing longer announces a long life. Shaving the head is fulfilling a trust and being safe; for a woman, hair cut outside the pilgrimage announces a quarrel with her husband.
- Worms, maggotsFor both books, worms are the children and dependants who live off the dreamer’s wealth.
- IllnessAl-Nabulusi interprets illness as a weakness in faith, and specifies that whoever sees himself ill is in good health that year.
All the symbols in the dictionary