Home › Dream dictionary › Snow
Snow in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الثلج في المنام
In Islam, snow seen in a dream has two faces. The Ibn Sirin collection says it is a worry, unless it is light, falls in its season and in a place where it usually snows: it then announces abundance. If it is so heavy that it cannot be cleared away, it announces a punishment on that place. Snow that melts quickly is a hardship that passes quickly.
فإن كان كذلك فإن الثلج خصب لأهل ذلك الموضع وإن كان كثيرا غالبا لا يمكن كسحه فإنه حينئذ عذاب يقع في ذلك المكانIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “In that case, the snow is abundance for the people of that place. But if it is heavy and overwhelming, so that it cannot be cleared away, it is then a punishment that falls on that place.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 38, vol. 2, p. 57
Just before this sentence, the collection sets out the rule: “snow is a worry”, except when it is light, falls in its season and in a place where snow is nothing unusual. Chapter 38 deals with snow, ice and hail together. It recalls that they can damage crops, hold ships fast and make the poor suffer, which is why their meaning is often hard. The Arabic text of this passage contains a few misprints, for example “يمنزلة” for “بمنزلة” on page 57, with no effect on the meaning.
The meaning according to what you saw
The passage on snow covers pages 55 to 58 of volume 2, in the chapter on the sky and the weather. Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| Snow falls from the sky and covers the land, over fields and in the season when it is useful | A blessed land and great abundance: these places fill with food as they filled with snow.vol. 2, pp. 55 and 56 |
| The same snow, outside the season when it is useful | The injustice of the ruler, and news of the death of those who guard the frontiers.vol. 2, p. 56 |
| Snow in houses and neighbourhoods, where it does not usually snow | A punishment, a trial, illnesses or deaths, fines imposed on people. Sometimes a siege, or a halt to travel and to work.vol. 2, p. 56 |
| Snow that harms no one and that people gather in containers | Profits, harvests, fruit, spoils and white dirhams.vol. 2, p. 56 |
| Snow falls on you | A long journey in which you will suffer an affront. According to another opinion, your enemy gets the better of you.vol. 2, pp. 57 and 58 |
| You are struck by the cold of snow, in winter or in summer | Poverty.vol. 2, p. 57 |
| You buy a load of snow in summer | Wealth that brings you relief, and the end of a worry through a kind word or a prayer.vol. 2, p. 57 |
| Snow melts quickly | Fatigue and worry that leave quickly. If snow covers you and then melts, the worry goes away.vol. 2, pp. 57 and 58 |
| Dry cultivated land covered with snow | Like rain: mercy and abundance.vol. 2, p. 57 |
| Snow falls on you while you are well protected | It does not trouble you: you are a prudent man, and it does not frighten you.vol. 2, pp. 57 and 58 |
| You sleep on snow | A restraint that holds you back.vol. 2, p. 58 |
| Ice | A worry and a punishment. Unless you put water in a container and it freezes: that is a lasting good.vol. 2, p. 58 |
Before you interpret your dream
Not every dream carries a meaning. The Prophet ﷺ described three kinds: a good dream, which is glad tidings from Allah; a distressing dream, which comes from Satan; and what a person tells himself during the day (Sahih Muslim, no. 2263). Only the first is read with a collection like Ibn Sirin’s. See the three kinds of dreams, and if your dream frightened you, what to do after a bad dream.
Frequently asked questions
Is seeing snow in a dream a good sign in Islam?
Not as a general rule: the collection says that snow is a worry. It becomes a good sign when it is light, falls in its season, where it usually snows, or when it covers dry land, like rain. When it is overwhelming, it announces a punishment on the place (vol. 2, p. 57).
What does falling snow mean in a dream in Islam?
Over fields and in the useful season, it is abundance. Out of season, it is the injustice of the ruler. If the snow falls on you, it is a long journey in which you will suffer an affront, or, according to another opinion, an enemy who gets the better of you (vol. 2, pp. 56 to 58).
What does a lot of snow mean in a dream?
Heavy snow that cannot be cleared away is a punishment for the place. According to another opinion, overwhelming snow is the ruler who torments his subjects or speaks harshly to them (vol. 2, p. 57). The collection does not speak of a snowstorm as such.
What does snow in summer mean in a dream?
Buying a load of snow in summer brings wealth that gives relief and the end of a worry. On the other hand, being struck by the cold of snow, in winter as in summer, announces poverty (vol. 2, p. 57). The collection gives no particular meaning to white snow or to a snowy mountain.
Does the meaning change for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman?
No. The passage on snow makes no difference between men and women, nor between a married, single or pregnant woman. The only distinction between people concerns hail carried in a sieve or a cloth: for the rich man, his earnings melt away, and the poor man keeps nothing of what he earns (vol. 2, p. 57).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 38, vol. 2, pp. 55 to 58 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.