Actions and situations
Dreaming of prison in Islam
In short
Prison has several meanings in al-Nabulusi: attachment to religion, or worry. Entering it may announce a long life and reunion with loved ones; leaving it, recovery.
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
(سجن) هو في المنام دال على لزوم الدين إن كان سجن الشرع وإن كان سجن السلطان دل على الهم والنكد بسبب ذم أو نفاق
Prison in a dream indicates adherence to religion if it is a prison of the Law; if it is the ruler’s prison, it indicates worry and trouble due to blame or hypocrisy.
ودخول السجن دال على العمر الطويل والاجتماع بالأحبة
Entering prison indicates a long life and reunion with loved ones.
(ومن رأى) أنه خرج من سجن نجا من مرض وإذا رأى المسجون أن أبواب السجن مفتحة نجا من سجنه
Whoever sees himself leaving a prison recovers from an illness; if a prisoner sees the prison doors open, he is freed from his confinement.
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
- 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.
- IllnessAl-Nabulusi interprets illness as a weakness in faith, and specifies that whoever sees himself ill is in good health that year.
- 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.
All the symbols in the dictionary