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Needle in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الإبرة في المنام
In Islam, a needle in a dream points to what you are trying to mend or bring together in your life. This is the view of most of the interpreters quoted in the Ibn Sirin collection. A needle with thread announces that your affairs come together, a broken needle that an affair falls apart. The needle can also stand for a woman.
وقال أكثر المعبرين أن الإبرة في التأويل ما يطلب من صلاح أمره أو جمعه أو التئامهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Most interpreters say that the needle, in interpretation, is what one seeks in order to set one’s affair right, gather it or bring it together.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 49, vol. 2, p. 278
The collection speaks of the needle in the chapter on household furniture and craftsmen’s tools, just before thread. It points out that in Arabic thread is also called nisâh, from the same root as sincere advice. Dreams of sewing, mending and thread are covered on our page on thread. This page deals with the needle itself.
The meaning according to what you saw
Here are the cases the Ibn Sirin collection describes for the needle, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You see a needle | It stands for a woman or a servant girl.vol. 2, p. 277 |
| You sew with a needle | Sewing other people’s clothes: the dreamer gives them advice or tries to reconcile them. Sewing your own clothes: the poor man becomes rich and scattered affairs come together.vol. 2, p. 277 |
| The needle as a person | A man or a woman who brings people together.vol. 2, p. 277 |
| You eat a needle | The dreamer tells his secret to someone who will harm him.vol. 2, pp. 277 and 278 |
| You stick a needle into someone | The dreamer attacks this person with words. The rest of the sentence, unclear in Arabic, mentions someone stronger than him.vol. 2, p. 278 |
| Several needles | Two, three or four needles have the same meaning. Those that carry thread announce more surely that the affair comes together, in proportion to what is sewn. A few needles that are useful are better than many that are not, and come true sooner.vol. 2, p. 278 |
| You find a needle with thread | The dreamer’s affairs come together: what was scattered is gathered and set right.vol. 2, p. 278 |
| The needle you sew with breaks, gets chipped, is snatched from you or burns | One of his affairs falls apart.vol. 2, p. 278 |
| You lose your needle, or it is stolen from you | The dreamer comes close to seeing this affair fall apart, then it comes together again.vol. 2, p. 278 |
The dream of the five needles, in Ibn Sirin’s circle
الإبر الخمس التي لا ثقب فيهن أولاد والإبرة المثقوبة ولد غير تامA man came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw that I was given five needles without an eye.” One of Ibn Sirin’s companions interpreted the dream: “The five needles without an eye are children, and the pierced needle is a child who is not complete.” Children were born to him, according to this interpretation.
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 49, vol. 2, p. 278
The collection makes clear that the interpretation comes from a companion of Ibn Sirin, and not from Ibn Sirin himself.
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 a needle in a dream a good sign in Islam?
Often, yes. Most interpreters see in the needle what the dreamer is trying to mend or bring together (vol. 2, p. 278). A needle that is broken, lost or stolen, however, announces that an affair falls apart.
What does a needle and thread mean in a dream in Islam?
Finding a needle that carries thread, or sewing with it, announces that the dreamer’s affairs come together and are set right. The collection says that a needle with thread makes this meaning surer than a needle alone.
What does swallowing or eating a needle mean in a dream?
The collection says that whoever sees himself eating a needle tells his secret to someone who will harm him (vol. 2, pp. 277 and 278).
What does a needle prick mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection only speaks of someone who sticks a needle into another person: he attacks him with words. It says nothing of being pricked by a needle, of needles in the mouth, the hand or the foot, or of knitting needles.
Is a broken or lost needle in a dream serious?
A needle that is broken, chipped, snatched away or burnt announces that one of the dreamer’s affairs falls apart. If it is lost or stolen, the affair comes close to falling apart, then comes together again (vol. 2, p. 278).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 49, vol. 2, pp. 277 and 278 (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.