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Dreaming of clothes in Islam
In short
The 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.
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
فمن رأى أنه لبس الخضرة فإن الأخضر للحي دين وعبادة للميت حسن حاله عند الله تعالى
Whoever sees himself dressed in green: green is, for the living, religion and devotion; for the deceased, his good standing with Allah.
(ومن رأى) أن عليه ثوبا أسود ولم يعتد لبسه أصابه بعض ما يكره وهو لمن اعتاد لبسه في اليقظة شرف وسلطان ومال وسؤدد
Whoever sees himself wearing black without being used to it suffers something unpleasant; for one who usually wears it, it is honour, power, wealth and eminence.
Muntakhab al-Kalām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām (attributed to Ibn Sirin)
Attribution to Ibn Sirin rejected: why
وأفضل الثياب ما كان جديدا صفيقا واسعا وغير المقصور خير من المقصور وخلقان الثياب وأوساخها فقر وهم وفساد في الدين والوسخ والشعث في الجسد والرأس هم والبياض من الثياب جمال في الدنيا والدين
The best clothes are new, thick and ample, and unfulled cloth is better than fulled cloth. Worn and dirty clothes are poverty, worry and corruption of religion; dirt and dishevelment of body and hair, a worry. White clothing is beauty in this world and in religion.
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
- NakednessNakedness indicates, for al-Nabulusi, inner soundness, but may lead to regret; being naked before a gathering warns of a scandal, whereas being naked alone means an enemy looks for a fault without finding it.
- Gold, jewelleryFor 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.
- The dead, deathSeeing a deceased person looking happy is, for both books, a good sign for him; seeing him alive announces relief. Dreaming of one’s own death has varied meanings: a journey, poverty, repentance or even marriage.
All the symbols in the dictionary