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Paper in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الورق في المنام
In Islam, dreaming of paper points first to a matter that is not clear. The Ibn Sirin collection says that paper stands for a matter that is confusing to the dreamer. The meaning changes with what you do: writing on a sheet (sahifa) or reading its front announces an inheritance, writing on a paper (qirtas) seems to mean denying one’s ties to people, folded writings a near death.
ويدل القرطاس على أمر ملتبس عليهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Paper stands for a matter that remains confusing to him.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 45, vol. 2, p. 250
The collection bases this meaning on the verse in which the Qur’an speaks of those who make the Scripture into pages, disclosing some of it and concealing much (al-An’am, 6:91). Paper appears in the chapter on the pen, ink, paper and writing. There the collection distinguishes the sheet (sahifa), the paper (qirtas) and the written document or letter (kitab).
The meaning according to what you saw
Here are the cases the Ibn Sirin collection describes for paper, the sheet and the written document, in the order of the text. For the written Qur’an, see the page on the Qur’an.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You write on a sheet (sahifa) | An inheritance. The collection quotes the verse: “Indeed, this is in the former scriptures, the scriptures of Abraham and Moses” (al-A’la, 87:18-19).vol. 2, p. 249 |
| You write on a paper (qirtas) | The text of this edition is damaged. It seems to say that he denies what binds him to people: this is how another edition of the collection reads the passage.vol. 2, p. 249 |
| The ruler gives you a paper | He fulfils a need that you bring to him.vol. 2, pp. 249-250 |
| Paper in general | A matter that remains confusing to the dreamer.vol. 2, p. 250 |
| You hold a written document in your hand | Strength, after the verse addressed to Yahya (John): “O John, take the Scripture with determination” (Maryam, 19:12). An open document is a good known to all. A sealed document is a hidden good.vol. 2, p. 250 |
| Folded writings in your hand | He dies soon, after the verse: “The Day when We will fold the heaven like the folding of a [written] sheet for the records” (al-Anbiya’, 21:104).vol. 2, p. 250 |
| You receive your record in your right hand or in your left hand | In the right hand, it is entirely good: for someone in a dispute, the truth comes to light; for someone who suffers, relief comes; for someone in debt, worried or away from home, his affair is made easy and he returns home joyful. In the left hand, he regrets something he has done.vol. 2, p. 251 |
| You look at a sheet without reading it | An inheritance he obtains.vol. 2, p. 251 |
| You tear up a written document | According to another opinion, his worries go away, trials and harm move away from him and he obtains some good. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 251 |
| You write your own document | Ibn Sirin said that he makes an unlawful gain, after the verse: “Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn” (al-Baqarah, 2:79).vol. 2, pp. 251-252 |
| You read the front or the back of a sheet | Reading the front: an inheritance. Reading the back: debts pile up on him.vol. 2, p. 252 |
| You read a document with ease | He obtains a post if he is worthy of it, or trade if he is a merchant, in proportion to his ease. If he reads his own record, he repents to Allah for his sins.vol. 2, p. 252 |
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 paper in a dream good or bad in Islam?
It depends. Paper alone stands for a confusing matter (vol. 2, p. 250). Writing on a sheet (sahifa), looking at it or reading its front announces an inheritance, and a paper given by the ruler a need fulfilled. Writing on a paper (qirtas), on the other hand, seems to mean denying one’s ties to people (vol. 2, p. 249), and folded writings in the hand announce a near death.
What does a written paper mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection says that holding a written document in the hand is strength. If it is open, it is a good known to all. If it is sealed, it is a hidden good (vol. 2, p. 250). Receiving one’s record in the right hand is good, in the left hand a regret.
What does tearing paper in a dream mean?
The collection reports this opinion: whoever tears up a written document sees his worries go, trials and harm move away from him, and he obtains some good (vol. 2, p. 251).
What does white paper mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection does not speak of a white or blank sheet. The closest case is a sheet one looks at without reading, which announces an inheritance (vol. 2, p. 251).
What do signing papers, eating paper or paper money mean in a dream?
The collection speaks of none of these. It only speaks of the sheet, the paper and the written document. The meanings found elsewhere for these dreams do not come from this text.
What about toilet paper, wallpaper or identity papers?
The collection does not speak of them. It only speaks of the sheet, the paper and the written document.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 45, vol. 2, pp. 249 to 252 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.