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Dates in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
التمر في المنام
In Islam, dreaming of dates is generally a good sign. The Ibn Sirin collection says that seeing dates announces rain, and that eating them is pure provision that comes to the dreamer. Other opinions see in them the recitation of the Qur’an or money put aside. The Prophet ﷺ saw in a dream that fresh dates were brought to him in the house of Uqba ibn Rafi’, and interpreted it from the names: elevation and a good end.
والتمر لمن يراه يدل على المطر ولمن أكله رزق عام خالص يصير إليهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Dates, for the one who sees them, point to rain. For the one who eats them, it is general and pure provision that reaches him.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 27, vol. 1, p. 235
Just before this, the collection reports that Umar saw in a dream that he was eating dates, and that the Prophet ﷺ said to him: “It is the sweetness of faith.” This story is in the collection, not in the two Sahih collections we use. The passage is in the chapter on foods, and the collection comes back to fresh dates, rutab, in the chapter on fruit trees.
Fresh dates in the dream of the Prophet ﷺ
Anas ibn Malik reports that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
رأيت ذات ليلة فيما يرى النائم كأنا في دار عقبة بن رافع فأتينا برطب من رطب ابن طاب فأولت الرفعة لنا في الدنيا والعاقبة في الآخرة وأن ديننا قد طاب“I saw during the night that which a person sees during the sleep as if we are in the house of ‘Uqba b. Rafi‘ that there was brought to us the fresh dates of Ibn Tab. I interpreted it as the sublimity for us in the world and good ending in the Hereafter and that our religion is good.”
Sahih Muslim, no. 2270, narrated by Anas ibn Malik
Here the Prophet ﷺ draws the meaning from the names: Rafi’ recalls elevation, Uqba the end, and Ibn Tab goodness. For fresh dates themselves, the collection gives another meaning: lawful provision, healing and relief (vol. 2, p. 221).
The meaning according to what you saw
Here are the cases described in the Ibn Sirin collection, first in the chapter on foods, then in the chapter on fruit trees.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You see or eat dates, according to other opinions | The recitation of the Qur’an, or money put aside. Eating good dates: you hear a fine and useful word. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 235 |
| You bury dates | You put money in reserve, or you obtain money from a treasure.vol. 1, p. 235 |
| You open a date and take out the stone | A child is given to you. The collection cites the verse: “Indeed, Allah is the cleaver of grain and date seeds.”vol. 1, p. 235 |
| Scattered dates, or a measure of dates | Scattering dates: the intention to travel. A measure of dates: spoils. According to another opinion, scattered dates are dirhams that do not last.vol. 1, pp. 235 and 236 |
| You pick a date from a palm tree, in its season | Marriage to a noble, rich and blessed woman. According to other opinions, money received from generous people without effort, or useful knowledge that you put into practice. Out of season, knowledge heard but not practised.vol. 1, p. 235 |
| You pick fresh dates from a dry palm tree | You learn useful knowledge from a corrupt man. If you are in grief, relief, as for Maryam under the palm tree.vol. 1, p. 236 |
| Someone picks dates for you | Money gathered for you by important men, over whom you will have authority.vol. 1, p. 236 |
| You eat sour dates, with your head plunged into a waterskin | Ibn Sirin saw in it a man plunged into the search for money, without caring whether it is lawful or not. He added that he knew this money to be unlawful, and so it was.vol. 1, p. 237 |
| Fresh dates (rutab) | Lawful provision, healing and relief.vol. 2, p. 221 |
| You eat fresh dates out of season | Healing, blessing and joy, as for Maryam, who received them out of season. According to another opinion, eating freshly picked dates is a consolation.vol. 2, p. 221 |
| A date stone | The intention to travel.vol. 2, p. 368 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the forty dates
أن رجلا أتى ابن سيرين فقال رأيت كأني وجدت أربعين تمرة فقال تضرب أربعين عصاIt is reported that a man came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw that I found forty dates.” He replied: “You will receive forty blows of the stick.” Later, the man came back with the same dream, but at the ruler’s door. Ibn Sirin said to him: “You will receive forty thousand dirhams.” The man was surprised at these two answers. Ibn Sirin explained: “The first time, the trees were dry and the year was ending. This time, the sap is rising in the trees.” Both interpretations came true.
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 27, vol. 1, p. 236
This story shows that for Ibn Sirin the season of the dream counts: the same dream does not have the same meaning at the end of the year and when the sap returns.
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 dates in a dream a good sign in Islam?
Yes, in most cases. The collection sees in them rain, pure provision, the recitation of the Qur’an or money put aside. Fresh dates are lawful provision, healing and relief (vol. 2, p. 221). Ibn Sirin interpreted a dream of sour dates as unlawful gain (vol. 1, p. 237).
What does eating dates mean in a dream in Islam?
According to the collection, whoever eats dates receives general and pure provision (vol. 1, p. 235). Eating good dates also means hearing a fine and useful word, according to another opinion.
What do fresh dates mean in a dream?
Fresh dates are lawful provision, healing and relief (vol. 2, p. 221). Eaten out of season, they announce healing, blessing and joy, as with Maryam.
What does receiving or giving dates mean in a dream?
The collection does not speak of dates given or received as a gift. The closest case is dates that someone picks for you: money gathered by important men (vol. 1, p. 236). Nor does it give a meaning to the number of three dates.
Does the meaning change for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman?
The collection does not distinguish the married woman, the single woman or the pregnant woman for dates, and it says nothing of the sex of the unborn child. The only case linked to a child is the date opened to take out its stone, which announces a child, for any dreamer (vol. 1, p. 235).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 27, vol. 1, pp. 235 to 237, chapter 43, vol. 2, p. 221, and chapter 58, vol. 2, p. 368 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Sahih Muslim, Book of Dreams, no. 2270 (English translation by Abdul Hamid Siddiqui).
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.