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Donkey in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الحمار في المنام
In Islam, a donkey seen in a dream stands for the dreamer’s luck, his share in this world. The Ibn Sirin collection says so in its first sentence. A large, handsome donkey, or one that walks well, announces rise and profit. A thin donkey announces poverty. Ibn Sirin preferred the donkey to other mounts. Only its braying is disliked.
الحمار جد الإنسان كيفما رآه سمينا أو مهزولاIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The donkey is a person’s luck, whether he sees it fat or thin.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 33, vol. 1, p. 332
The Arabic word jadd means luck, fortune and each person’s share in this world. The collection comes back to it at the end of the passage: nothing about the donkey is disliked except its voice, and at root it stands for a person’s luck and share. It also says that Ibn Sirin preferred the donkey to other mounts, and that he chose a black one.
The meaning according to what you saw
The Ibn Sirin collection speaks of the donkey in the chapter on horses, beasts of burden and livestock. Here are the cases it describes.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| A large, handsome, fat or thin donkey | Large, it announces the dreamer’s rise. If it walks well, a worldly profit. If it is handsome, an adornment for its owner. Fat, it is its owner’s wealth. Thin, it is his poverty.vol. 1, p. 332 |
| A white, black or green donkey | White, it is the dreamer’s religion and its radiance. Black, it is his joy, his authority, kingship, honour, prestige and power. Green, it is scrupulous piety and religion.vol. 1, p. 332 |
| A saddled donkey, or one with a long tail | A saddled donkey announces a child who will live in honour. A long tail announces that the dreamer’s power will last in his descendants.vol. 1, p. 332 |
| Your donkey dies | The death of the donkey points to the death of its owner. According to another opinion, his money goes, or his ties are cut. Or else the slave who served him dies, or his father or grandfather who provided for him, or the master he depended on, or that master sells him or goes far away from him. For a woman, her husband leaves her through divorce or death.vol. 1, pp. 332 and 333 |
| You have several donkeys | You keep company with ignorant people. The collection quotes the verse: “As if they were alarmed donkeys.”vol. 1, p. 334 |
| You ride a donkey | If it walks well, your luck favours you. For the traveller, the donkey is a good, though with slowness, and his journey goes in the measure of his donkey.vol. 1, pp. 334 and 335 |
| You eat donkey meat | You obtain money and ease. Slaughtering a she-donkey to eat its meat also brings money and ease. Slaughtering it without that intention spoils the dreamer’s livelihood.vol. 1, p. 334; vol. 2, pp. 413 and 414 |
| Your donkey only moves when beaten with a stick | The dreamer is in need: he receives his livelihood only through supplication.vol. 1, p. 334 |
| A loaded donkey enters your house | Your luck comes to you with good, according to the nature of what it carries. Owning a donkey, tying it up and bringing it into your home: Allah brings the dreamer every good and frees him from a worry.vol. 1, pp. 334 and 335 |
| You fall off your donkey | You become poorer. If the donkey belongs to someone else, the bond between you and its owner is broken.vol. 1, p. 335 |
| A donkey braying | Slanderous talk from a foolish enemy. The collection says that nothing about the donkey is disliked except its voice.vol. 1, pp. 195 and 335 |
| A she-donkey | A woman of low standing, a servant, or the dreamer’s trade and the source of his profit. Drinking she-donkey’s milk: a minor illness, then recovery; another passage speaks of a serious illness, then recovery. Your she-donkey gives birth to a foal: the doors of livelihood open for you. If the foal is male, you gain renown; if it is female, it points to your being overlooked.vol. 1, p. 336; vol. 2, p. 414 |
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 donkey in a dream a good sign in Islam?
Most often, yes. The collection makes the donkey the dreamer’s luck, and Ibn Sirin preferred it to other mounts. It also gives bad cases: a thin donkey, a sign of poverty, falling off your donkey, the death of the donkey, and braying, a sign of slander from an enemy.
What does a white or black donkey in a dream mean in Islam?
A white donkey stands for the dreamer’s religion and its radiance. A black donkey stands for his joy, his authority, honour and power, and it is the colour Ibn Sirin preferred (vol. 1, p. 332). A green donkey stands for scrupulous piety and religion.
What does seeing a dead donkey in a dream mean in Islam?
According to the collection, the death of the donkey points to the death of its owner. Another opinion sees in it the loss of his money, the breaking of his ties, or the loss of someone he depends on: a slave, a father, a grandfather or a master. For a woman, separation from her husband (vol. 1, pp. 332 and 333).
What does riding a donkey in a dream mean in Islam?
Riding a donkey that walks well announces favourable luck. For the traveller, the donkey is a good, though with slowness (vol. 1, pp. 334 and 335). Falling off your donkey announces poverty (vol. 1, p. 335).
What does eating donkey meat in a dream mean in Islam?
The collection says that whoever eats donkey meat obtains money and ease (vol. 1, p. 334). Elsewhere (vol. 2, pp. 413 and 414) it says that slaughtering a she-donkey to eat its meat also brings money and ease, and that slaughtering it without that intention spoils the dreamer’s livelihood.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 33, vol. 1, pp. 332 to 336 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection, chapter 24 (vol. 1, p. 195) and vol. 2, pp. 413 and 414.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.