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Blood in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الدم في المنام
In Islam, blood seen in a dream most often stands for a sin or unlawful money. This is why the Ibn Sirin collection sees in blood leaving the body repentance, a way out of sin, and sometimes good health. Blood that stains clothes, that one rolls in or falls into announces, on the other hand, unlawful gain or a trial.
فإن كان الدم أسود فإنه مصر على ذنب عظيم لأن الدم إثم وخروجه توبةIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “If the blood is black, the dreamer persists in a great sin, because blood is a sin, and its coming out is repentance.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 26, vol. 1, p. 217
This sentence comes from the passage on bloodletting, yet it gives the rule for the whole symbol. The collection repeats it elsewhere in a shorter form: “blood is unlawful money or a sin” (vol. 1, p. 291). We do not quote that form at the top of the page because the Arabic text there has a printing error (“أوأثم”, two words joined). The rest of the meaning depends on where the blood comes from and what it touches.
The river red like blood, in the hadith
In the long dream that the Prophet ﷺ told his Companions one morning, two visitors came to him and took him to see several scenes. One of them took place by a river:
فانطلقنا فأتينا على نهر حسبت أنه كان يقول أحمر مثل الدم وإذا في النهر رجل سابح يسبح وإذا على شط النهر رجل قد جمع عنده حجارة كثيرة … وأما الرجل الذي أتيت عليه يسبح في النهر ويلقم الحجر فإنه آكل الربا“…we proceeded and came across a river.” I think he said, “…. red like blood.” The Prophet (ﷺ) added, “And behold, in the river there was a man swimming, and on the bank there was a man who had collected many stones.” … “And the man whom you saw swimming in the river and given a stone to swallow, is the eater of usury (Riba).”
Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7047, narrated by Samura ibn Jundab
The hadith speaks of a river that the narrator thinks was red like blood. It gives no meaning to this colour: it describes the punishment of the one who devours usury.
The meaning according to what you saw
The Ibn Sirin collection speaks of blood in several chapters: the one on what comes out of the body (chapter 23), the one on remedies and bloodletting (chapter 26) and the one on wounds and fighting (chapter 31). Here are the main cases, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| Your nose bleeds | If the blood is plentiful and thin, lasting wealth. If it is thick, a child born without life. One or two drops are a benefit.vol. 1, p. 181 |
| Blood from your nose stains your clothes | Ill-regarded money and a sin. If nothing is stained, you come out of a sin. If it drips on the road, you pay your zakat and give charity.vol. 1, p. 182 |
| You spit blood | Unlawful gain. The collection adds that saliva mixed with blood announces a lie mixed into what you say.vol. 1, pp. 184 and 185 |
| You vomit a lot of blood of a fine colour | According to a reported opinion, the birth of a child. If the blood flows into a vessel, the child lives. If it flows onto the ground, the child soon dies. For a poor man, wealth. This dream is bad for someone who wants to deceive another, because his affair will come to light. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 186 |
| You vomit corrupt blood | Illness, whoever the dreamer is. According to another opinion, vomiting blood is repentance from a sin or from unlawful money.vol. 1, p. 186 |
| You are bled and the blood comes out | Repentance, because blood coming out is repentance. If the blood is black, you persist in a great sin.vol. 1, p. 217 |
| A fresh wound bleeds on your body | Damage to your wealth and words spoken against you, for which you are rewarded. A head wound that bleeds: a good whose trace shows on you.vol. 1, p. 287 |
| Someone wounds you and the blood flows | He speaks ill of you behind your back by saying true things, and you come out of a sin. If the blood does not flow, he says a fair word about you.vol. 1, p. 288 |
| You roll in blood | You are plunged into unlawful money or a great sin.vol. 1, p. 291 |
| Blood on your shirt, without knowing where it comes from | People lie about you without your knowing it, as the brothers of Joseph (peace be upon him) lied with his shirt stained with blood.vol. 1, p. 292 |
| You fall into a well of blood | You are tried by a matter of blood or by unlawful money. On the other hand, blood flowing from the body is health and safety, and the absent one returns safe and sound.vol. 1, p. 292 |
| Blood spurts onto you | A bad word reaches you from the one the blood comes from, like the spark that flies from the fire.vol. 2, p. 363 |
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 blood in a dream a bad sign in Islam?
Not always. Blood stands for a sin or unlawful money, but its coming out of the body is repentance (vol. 1, p. 217). Blood flowing from the body is even health and safety (vol. 1, p. 292). It becomes bad when it stains, when one rolls in it or falls into it.
What does black blood mean in a dream in Islam?
According to the collection, if the blood that comes out during bloodletting is black, the dreamer persists in a great sin, because blood is a sin and its coming out is repentance (vol. 1, p. 217).
What does vomiting or spitting blood in a dream mean in Islam?
Spitting blood is unlawful gain (vol. 1, p. 184). Vomiting a lot of blood of a fine colour announces, according to a reported opinion, the birth of a child, and vomiting corrupt blood an illness. Another opinion sees repentance in vomited blood (vol. 1, p. 186).
What does blood on your clothes mean in a dream?
Whoever sees blood on his shirt without knowing where it comes from is the victim of a lie he does not know about, as the brothers of Joseph lied with his shirt stained with blood (vol. 1, p. 292). Blood from the nose that stains the clothes is ill-regarded money and a sin (vol. 1, p. 182). The collection does not separate white clothes from others.
Does the meaning change for a married, single or pregnant woman?
The collection makes no difference between the married woman, the single woman and the pregnant woman for blood: its meanings apply to everyone. It does not speak of a blood test either. The closest case is bloodletting, where the blood that comes out is repentance.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 23, vol. 1, pp. 181 to 186; chapter 26, vol. 1, p. 217; chapter 31, vol. 1, pp. 287 to 292; chapter 58, vol. 2, p. 363 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, book of the interpretation of dreams, no. 7047.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.