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War in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الحرب في المنام
In Islam, seeing war in a dream generally announces unrest for people, according to the Ibn Sirin collection. It distinguishes three wars: between two rulers, it is a trial or an epidemic; between the ruler and the people, lower prices; and between ordinary people, high prices. For soldiers and those whose trade is arms, war is a good sign instead.
والحرب اضطراب لجميع الناس ما خلا القواد وأصحاب الجيشIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “War is unrest for all people, except for commanders and the men of the army.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 31, vol. 1, p. 275
The collection adds to this sentence that, for commanders, soldiers and those whose work is done with weapons, war is a sign of good and success. The chapter opens with the distinction between the three kinds of war. In this opening sentence, the Arabic text has a typo: the word for “subjects” is written الرعيه instead of الرعية.
The broken sword and the battle of Uhud
The Prophet ﷺ told of a dream that announced the outcome of a battle:
رأيت في رؤيا أني هززت سيفا فانقطع صدره، فإذا هو ما أصيب من المؤمنين يوم أحد، ثم هززته أخرى، فعاد أحسن ما كان، فإذا هو ما جاء الله به من الفتح، واجتماع المؤمنين“I saw in a dream that I waved a sword and it broke in the middle, and behold, that symbolized the casualties the believers suffered on the Day (of the battle) of Uhud. Then I waved the sword again, and it became better than it had ever been before, and behold, that symbolized the Conquest (of Mecca) which Allah brought about and the gathering of the believers.”
Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7041, narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash’ari
In this dream, the broken sword announced the believers’ losses, and the sword made whole again announced their victory.
The meaning according to what you saw
The Ibn Sirin collection gives one chapter to war and weapons, and another to fighting in the path of Allah. Here are the cases that concern war itself.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| A war between two rulers | A trial (fitna) or an epidemic. The collection adds: may Allah protect us from it.vol. 1, p. 274 |
| A war between the ruler and his people | The price of food goes down.vol. 1, p. 274 |
| A war between ordinary people | Food becomes expensive.vol. 1, p. 274 |
| An army arrives in your town | Rain.vol. 1, p. 274 |
| You see troops gathered together | The ruin of the people of falsehood and the victory of the people of truth, based on the verse: “we will surely come to them with soldiers that they will be powerless to encounter” (Surah 27, verse 37).vol. 1, p. 274 |
| A small troop | Victory, based on the verse: “How many a small company has overcome a large company by permission of Allah” (Surah 2, verse 249).vol. 1, p. 274 |
| A soldier holds a whip or arrows | A good livelihood.vol. 1, p. 274 |
| You are a soldier or an army commander and you see war | A sign of good and success, whereas for others it is unrest.vol. 1, p. 275 |
| You go out to fight in the path of Allah | Victory, merit, a good reputation and elevation.vol. 1, p. 103 |
| You turn your back on the battle | You abandon your efforts for your family, you cut the ties of kinship and your religion is spoiled.vol. 1, p. 103 |
| You hear a trumpet sound | You will be called to a war or to a dispute.vol. 1, p. 270 |
| A wind full of dust | War. The collection also recalls that war and plague are interpreted one by the other.vol. 2, p. 42; vol. 1, p. 198 |
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 war in a dream bad in Islam?
For most people, yes: the Ibn Sirin collection says that war is unrest for everyone, except for commanders and soldiers. But some cases are favourable: a war between the ruler and the people announces lower prices, and an army arriving in the town announces rain.
What does escaping from war or hiding in a dream mean in Islam?
The collection does not speak of a dreamer who hides. The closest case is the man who turns his back on the battle: he abandons his efforts for his family, cuts the ties of kinship and his religion is spoiled (vol. 1, p. 103).
What does a dream about bombs, planes or missiles mean in Islam?
The Ibn Sirin collection, written long before these weapons existed, does not speak of them. It only distinguishes who is fighting the war: two rulers, the ruler and the people, or ordinary people among themselves. No meaning for these modern weapons should be attributed to it.
What does a civil war mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection speaks of war between ordinary people: it announces that food becomes expensive. War between the ruler and his subjects announces, on the contrary, lower prices (vol. 1, p. 274).
What does seeing soldiers or an army in a dream mean in Islam?
According to the collection, troops gathered together announce the ruin of the people of falsehood and the victory of the people of truth. A small troop announces victory, and an army entering your town, rain. A soldier holding a whip or arrows announces a good livelihood.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 31, vol. 1, pp. 274 and 275 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection, chapter 15 (vol. 1, p. 103), chapter 25 (vol. 1, p. 198), chapter 30 (vol. 1, p. 270) and chapter 38 (vol. 2, p. 42).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of the Interpretation of Dreams, no. 7041 (English translation by Muhammad Muhsin Khan).
- Qur’an, Surah 27 (an-Naml), verse 37, and Surah 2 (al-Baqarah), verse 249 (Sahih International translation).
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.