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Pearls in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
اللؤلؤ في المنام
In Islam, dreaming of pearls points first of all to the Qur’an and to knowledge. The Ibn Sirin collection says that pearls on a string stand for the Qur’an and knowledge, and that the pearl is the perfection and beauty of everything. The meaning depends on what you do: piercing, selling, swallowing, scattering or counting pearls does not announce the same thing.
واللؤلؤ كمال كل شئ وجمالهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The pearl is the perfection of everything and its beauty.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 40, vol. 2, p. 153
The passage on pearls opens with this main meaning: pearls on a string are the Qur’an and knowledge. The collection also quotes other opinions, for which the pearl is a wife, a servant or a child. In the stories placed at the end of the passage, Ibn Sirin interprets the pearl as the Qur’an.
The meaning according to what you saw
The collection speaks of pearls in the chapter on gold, silver and precious stones. Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| A pearl necklace | A necklace strung with pearls and coral is scrupulous piety and reverent fear of Allah, with memorisation of the Qur’an, in proportion to the beauty, number and value of the pearls.vol. 2, p. 148 |
| You pierce a pearl straight through | The dreamer interprets the Qur’an correctly.vol. 2, p. 153 |
| You sell or swallow pearls | The dreamer forgets the Qur’an. According to another opinion, selling pearls announces knowledge that he will spread among people.vol. 2, p. 153 |
| You put pearls in your mouth | A sound religion.vol. 2, p. 153 |
| Pearls come out of your mouth and people pick them up | If the dreamer takes none of them, he is a preacher whose exhortation benefits people. But Ibn Sirin interpreted a similar dream as that of a judge who says what he does not practise.vol. 2, p. 153 and 155 |
| The pearl, according to other opinions | A woman whom the dreamer marries, or a servant. According to another opinion, a child, from the verse that compares the young servants of Paradise to “scattered pearls”. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 153 |
| You borrow a pearl | A child who will not live.vol. 2, p. 153 |
| You bring up many pearls from the bottom of the sea or a river | Lawful wealth coming from a king. Many pearls are also an inheritance: for a governor, an office; for a scholar, knowledge; for a merchant, a profit.vol. 2, p. 153 |
| You swallow a pearl or chew it | Swallowing a pearl is hiding a testimony that you hold. Chewing it is speaking ill of people behind their backs.vol. 2, p. 153 |
| You count pearls | According to one opinion, the dreamer suffers a punishment. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 153 and 154 |
| You throw pearls into a river or a well | The dreamer does good to people.vol. 2, p. 154 |
| Large or small pearls | Large pearls are better than small ones. They can stand for the long surahs of the Qur’an.vol. 2, p. 154 |
Ibn Sirin’s story of the two pearls
إني رأيت في حجري لؤلؤتين إحداهما أعظم من الأخرى فسألتني أختي إحداهما فأعطيتها الصغرى فقال لها أنت امرأة تعلمت سورتين إحداهما أطول من الأخرى فعلمت أختك الصغرى فقالت صدقت تعلمت البقرة وآل عمران فعلمت أختي آل عمرانA woman came and said to Ibn Sirin: “I saw two pearls in my lap, one bigger than the other. My sister asked me for one of them and I gave her the smaller one.” He told her: “You are a woman who has learned two surahs, one longer than the other, and you taught the shorter one to your sister.” She said: “That is true. I learned al-Baqara and Al Imran, and I taught Al Imran to my sister.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 40, vol. 2, pp. 154 and 155
The collection then reports several dreams of pearls interpreted by Ibn Sirin. In almost all of them, the pearl is the Qur’an: swallowing it and then bringing it back up is learning the Qur’an and then forgetting it; having a mouth full of pearls without letting them out is knowing the Qur’an well without reciting it.
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 pearls in a dream a good sign in Islam?
Most of the time, yes. The Ibn Sirin collection says that pearls on a string stand for the Qur’an and knowledge, and that the pearl is the perfection and beauty of everything (vol. 2, p. 153). Some actions have a negative meaning, though: selling or swallowing pearls is forgetting the Qur’an, and chewing them is speaking ill of people.
What does a pearl necklace mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection says that a necklace strung with pearls and coral is scrupulous piety and reverent fear of Allah, with memorisation of the Qur’an, in proportion to the beauty, number and value of the pearls (vol. 2, p. 148).
What does seeing a white pearl in a dream mean in Islam?
The collection does not distinguish pearls by colour. It speaks of pearls in general, which stand for the Qur’an and knowledge, and only distinguishes large pearls, better than small ones and linked to the long surahs.
What does swallowing pearls in a dream mean?
According to the collection, swallowing pearls is forgetting the Qur’an, and swallowing a pearl is also hiding a testimony that you hold (vol. 2, p. 153). Ibn Sirin told a man who swallowed pearls and then brought them back up: “You are a man who, each time he learns the Qur’an, forgets it and neglects it. So fear Allah.”
What does finding or collecting pearls from the sea mean in a dream?
Bringing up many pearls from the bottom of the sea or a river announces lawful wealth coming from a king. Many pearls are also an inheritance, an office for a governor, knowledge for a scholar and a profit for a merchant (vol. 2, p. 153).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 40, vol. 2, pp. 148 and 153 to 155 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.