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Henna in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الحناء في المنام
In Islam, henna seen in a dream is first of all a covering: it hides what one does not want to show. On the beard, the Ibn Sirin collection sees in it attachment to the Sunnah. On a woman’s fingers, it is her husband’s kindness, and for women in general a joy. On the feet, the meaning is more serious. Everything depends on where the henna is and who wears it.
والخضاب ستر وإذا كان الخضاب بالحناء دل على تمسكه بالسنةIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Dyeing is a covering. If it is done with henna, it shows the dreamer’s attachment to the Sunnah.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 22, vol. 1, p. 155
The collection is speaking here of dyeing the beard. Elsewhere it develops the idea of covering: the dye hides good deeds, or hides poverty from people’s eyes. If the dye takes well, the dreamer’s situation stays covered. If it does not take, his situation is exposed. The plant itself, henna, is presented as a tool that a man prepares for his work.
The meaning according to what you saw
The collection speaks of henna about the beard, the hands and the feet, then in the chapter on miscellaneous meanings. Here are the cases it describes.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You dye your beard with henna | Attachment to the Sunnah. Dyeing is a covering.vol. 1, p. 155 |
| You dye your hair without the beard, or both | The hair alone: you keep your superior’s secret. The hair and the beard: you try to hide your poverty and keep your standing in people’s eyes.vol. 1, p. 155 |
| You dye yourself with clay or plaster | You are seeking something impossible, and your affair becomes known.vol. 1, p. 155 |
| Fingers dyed with henna | For a man: much glorification of Allah (tasbih). For a woman: her husband’s kindness to her. If the henna does not take on her fingers, her husband does not show his love.vol. 1, p. 161 |
| Both your hands are dyed with henna | What you have in hand comes into the open: good or bad, your money, your earnings or your trade.vol. 1, p. 161 |
| A man’s palm is dyed with an ugly dye | Hardship in earning his living.vol. 1, p. 161 |
| A man sees henna patterns on his hands | Having no income, he uses a trick to sell furniture from his house. His enemy rejoices at it and he suffers humiliation.vol. 1, pp. 161 and 162 |
| A woman sees patterns on her hands | She uses skill to adorn herself, in something that is her right. Patterns made with clay: much glorification. Patterns that run into each other: a trial touching her children.vol. 1, p. 162 |
| Feet dyed and decorated with henna | For a man, the death of a relative. For a woman, the death of her husband.vol. 1, p. 175 |
| Hands and feet dyed, in general | The dreamer adorns his children and his property with what does not suit them, such as silk and gold. If he is poor, he may be neglecting his ablutions and abandoning his prayer. For women, it is a joy and fine clothes, because henna is their adornment on festive days.vol. 2, p. 377 |
| Henna is put somewhere other than its usual place | Fear, then safety.vol. 2, p. 347 |
| You see the henna plant or henna powder | A tool or a provision that a man keeps for his work.vol. 2, pp. 233 and 361 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about dyeing the beard
وأتى ابن سيرين رجل فقال رأيت أن لحيتي بيضاء وأني أخضبها فلا يعلق بها الخضاب وكان الرجل شابا أسود اللحية فقال البياض نقص من ملكك وأنت تريد ستره وقد علم به قال صدقتA man came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw that my beard was white, that I was dyeing it and that the dye would not take.” He was a young man with a black beard. Ibn Sirin told him: “The white is a loss in your property. You want to hide it, but it is already known.” The man replied: “You have spoken the truth.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 22, vol. 1, p. 157
The story illustrates the collection’s rule: dye covers. When it does not take, what one wanted to hide comes to light.
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 henna in a dream a good sign in Islam?
Often, yes. On the beard, henna shows attachment to the Sunnah (vol. 1, p. 155). On a woman’s fingers, it is her husband’s kindness, and for women in general a joy. The collection also gives less good cases: dyed feet, an ugly dye on the palm, patterns on a man’s hands.
What does henna on the hands mean in a dream in Islam?
Both hands dyed with henna show that what you have in hand will come into the open, for good or bad (vol. 1, p. 161). For a woman, patterns on the hands are an adornment she has a right to. For a man, these patterns announce that he sells furniture from his house for lack of income.
What does henna on the feet mean in a dream?
The collection is clear and serious: dyed and decorated feet announce for a man the death of a relative, and for a woman the death of her husband (vol. 1, p. 175). Elsewhere, it says more broadly that dyeing one’s hands or feet means adorning one’s family with an adornment that is not that of the religion.
Is the meaning different for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman?
The collection separates men and women, and often speaks of the woman and her husband: the husband’s kindness, love he does not show, the husband’s death for the feet. It gives no meaning of its own to the single woman or the pregnant woman.
Does the collection speak of applying henna on the hair, or of black henna?
For the hair, yes: dyeing it without the beard means keeping your superior’s secret, and dyeing it with the beard means hiding your poverty (vol. 1, p. 155). The collection does not speak of the colour of henna, nor of black henna.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 22, vol. 1, pp. 155, 157, 161, 162 and 175 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection, chapter 44, vol. 2, p. 233; chapter 58, vol. 2, pp. 347, 361 and 377.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.