Going Down in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin

الهبوط في المنام

In Islam, going down in a dream depends on what the climb stood for. The collection attributed to Ibn Sirin sets the rule: every descent is a lowering. If the climb was a worry, coming down is relief. If the climb was an office, coming down is removal from it. Coming down from a high place can also announce a matter that fails, or a worry.

وكل هبوط ضعة وكل طلوع يدل على هم فنزوله فرج وكل صعود يدل على ولاية فنزوله عزلIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Every descent is a lowering. Every climb that points to a worry, coming down from it is relief. Every ascent that points to an office, coming down from it is removal.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 66

This sentence is found in the passage of the collection given to mountains. It is the key to almost every dream of going down: you first look at what the climb would have meant, then take the opposite meaning. The place where you arrive also counts, above all for a sick person and a traveller.

The meaning according to what you saw

The collection has no chapter of its own on going down. The cases are spread across the passages on the mountain, the stairs, the sky, the bridge and mounts. Here they are, with their reference.

In your dream	Meaning in the collection
You come down from a hill, a palace or a mountain	The matter you are seeking falls apart and does not succeed.vol. 2, p. 67
You come down from a high place	Worry and sorrow reach you.vol. 2, p. 71
You come down a mountain	In the chapter on opposites, it is relief. According to another opinion, a change of situation and means of living that become hard to find. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 308
You come down a mountain pass	The pass is a penalty and a hardship. The text adds: “if he comes down from it, he is saved”. The Arabic pronoun is masculine and may also refer to the mountain, which the whole passage is about.vol. 2, p. 66
You come back down from the sky after climbing up to it	Humiliation after might. According to another opinion, the blessings of this world together with authority in religion. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 308
You climb to the sky without a ladder, reach it, then come back to earth	Climbing to the sky without a ladder or means is great fear coming from the ruler and a risky venture. Reaching it is reaching the end of the matter. Coming back to earth is being saved from what you had entered. For a sick person, the harm reaches its peak, his family loses hope for him, then he is saved, if Allah wills, unless he goes down into a well or a pit and does not come out: that is then his grave.vol. 2, p. 11
You go down stairs	The traveller returns from his journey, the leader leaves his office, the rider goes on foot. For a sick person, everything depends on the place where he comes down: a known place or his family announces recovery. An unknown place, a desert or dead people he knew announce, on the contrary, the end of his life. If it is his wife who is sick, she dies. The page about stairs gives these cases in detail.vol. 2, p. 92
As a traveller, you come down from a bridge	If you arrive at a fertile place, straw, barley or dates, profit and wealth. If you arrive on land or in a mosque, you reach the aim of your journey: the hajj, fighting in the way of Allah or guarding the frontiers. If a lion, mud, drought, figs, black grapes, water that cuts the road or a torrent meet you, there is no good in anything you meet on your journey or when you return to your family.vol. 2, p. 126
You go down into the sea	You persist in sins.vol. 2, p. 168
You come down from a walnut tree	Being in a walnut tree is attaching yourself to an important man. Coming down from it: what binds you to that man does not come about.vol. 2, p. 201
You get off a donkey meaning to ride it again	You spend your wealth to the very end. If you get off for a need meaning to ride it again, the matter you are seeking does not come about.vol. 2, p. 414
Angels come down from the sky to the earth	If they have their own appearance, it is a sign for the people of truth, the humiliation of the people of falsehood and victory for those who fight. The page about angels gives the other cases.vol. 1, p. 64

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 going down in a dream bad in Islam?

Not always. The collection says that every descent is a lowering, but the meaning depends on the climb. If climbing meant a worry, coming down is relief. If climbing meant an office, coming down is removal from it.

What does coming down a mountain mean in a dream in Islam?

The collection gives two readings. In the chapter on opposites, coming down a mountain is relief, and according to another opinion a change of situation with means of living that are hard to find. In the chapter on mountains, coming down from a hill or a mountain announces a matter that does not succeed (vol. 2, pp. 67 and 308).

What does going down stairs in a dream mean in Islam?

The traveller returns, the leader leaves his office and the rider goes on foot (vol. 2, p. 92). For a sick person, the meaning depends on the place where he arrives: a known place, his family or goods announce recovery. An unknown place or dead people he knew announce his death (vol. 2, p. 92).

What does coming down from the sky mean in a dream?

Coming back down from the sky after climbing up to it is humiliation after might. Another opinion sees in it the blessings of this world with authority in religion (vol. 2, p. 308). Someone who climbs to the sky without a ladder, reaches it and then comes back to earth is saved from the risky matter he had entered (vol. 2, p. 11).

Does the collection speak of getting off a bus, a train or going down a slope?

No. The collection speaks neither of buses, nor of trains, nor of slopes as such. It speaks of coming down a mountain, a hill, a pass, stairs, a bridge, a tree and a mount such as the donkey.

Sources

Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 3 (vol. 1, p. 64), chapter 38 (vol. 2, p. 11), chapter 39 (vol. 2, pp. 66, 67, 71, 92 and 126), chapter 41 (vol. 2, p. 168), chapter 43 (vol. 2, p. 201), chapter 53 (vol. 2, p. 308) and chapter 59 (vol. 2, p. 414) (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.