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Water in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الماء في المنام
In Islam, water seen in a dream stands first for Islam, knowledge, life and plenty. Drinking sweet, clear water is a good sign: recovery, marriage, knowledge or lawful wealth, depending on the dreamer’s situation. Murky, bitter or foul-smelling water points instead to illness or spoiled gain. Water that floods into houses brings no good.
الماء يدل على الإسلام والعلم وعلى الحياة وعلى الخصب والرخاء لأن به حياة كل شيءIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Water points to Islam and knowledge, to life, and to fertility and ease, because by it every thing lives.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 41, vol. 2, p. 160
The collection bases this meaning on the Qur’an: “We would have given them abundant provision” (the Arabic says, literally, “abundant water”), “So We might test them therein” (Surat al-Jinn, 72:16-17). It adds that water can also mean semen, since Allah calls it “water”, and money, because people earn their living through it. So the meaning depends on the state of the water, where it is drunk and the vessel that holds it.
The flowing spring in the hadith
After the death of Uthman ibn Maz’un, a woman of the Ansar, Umm al-Ala, had a dream about him. She said:
ورأيت لعثمان في النوم عينا تجري، فجئت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فذكرت ذلك له فقال: ذاك عمله يجري له“Later I saw in a dream, a flowing spring for ‘Uthman. So I went to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and mentioned that to him. He said, ‘That is (the symbol of) his good deeds (the reward for) which is going on for him.’”
Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7018, narrated by Umm al-Ala
The Ibn Sirin collection says the same: a flowing spring is a good that keeps benefiting its owner, in his lifetime and after his death, until the Day of Resurrection (vol. 2, p. 162).
The meaning according to what you saw
The Ibn Sirin collection deals with water at the start of chapter 41, on the sea, rivers, wells and waters. Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You drink sweet, clear water | For a sick person, recovery and a longer life. For an unmarried person, marriage. Otherwise, knowledge for the one who seeks it, or lawful wealth for the trader.vol. 2, pp. 160 and 161 |
| You drink murky, bitter or foul-smelling water | An illness, gain that goes bad, a life that turns bitter or a belief that changes, each according to the dreamer’s situation.vol. 2, p. 161 |
| You carry water in a vessel | A poor man earns money, an unmarried man marries, a married man sees his wife become pregnant.vol. 2, p. 161 |
| Water flows in the house or comes into your home | There is no good in this dream. If the water enters everyone’s homes: a trial, a loss of money or epidemics.vol. 2, p. 161 |
| You drink hot water | A worry. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 162 |
| A spring of flowing water | A good that keeps benefiting its owner, alive or dead, until the Day of Resurrection. A spring that does not flow is a good for pious people and a trial for others. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 162 |
| You drink a lot of water, more than usual | A long life.vol. 2, p. 163 |
| You fall into still water | Still water is always weaker than running water. According to another opinion, falling into it announces prison and worry.vol. 2, p. 163 |
| Murky, muddy or stagnant water | Murky water is hardship and fatigue, and drinking it announces an illness. Stagnant water is a hard life, foul-smelling water is unlawful money, salty water is a worry.vol. 2, p. 163 |
| You see your face in clear water | Great good. If your face looks beautiful in it, you will do good to the people of your household.vol. 2, p. 164 |
| You wash with cold water | Repentance, recovery, release from prison, the payment of a debt and safety after fear.vol. 2, p. 164 |
| Water overflows and floods the houses | A great trial (fitna). The collection recalls that the Qur’an calls overflowing water “transgression”.vol. 2, pp. 168 and 169 |
Two stories of Ibn Sirin about water
سئل ابن سيرين عن امرأة رؤي لها أنها تسقي الماء فقال لتتق الله هذه المرأة ولا تسعى بين الناس بالكذبIbn Sirin was asked about a woman who had been seen in a dream giving people water to drink. He replied: “Let this woman fear Allah and stop carrying lies between people.” A man also came to him and said: “I saw myself drinking cold, delicious water through a hole in my garment.” Ibn Sirin told him: “Fear Allah and do not be alone with a woman who is not lawful for you.” The man replied: “She is a woman I have asked in marriage.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 41, vol. 2, p. 165
In both cases, water keeps its basic meaning, and the dreamer’s action shapes the answer: giving others drink, or drinking through an opening that is not made for 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 water in a dream good in Islam?
Most often yes, when the water is clear and sweet: the collection sees in it Islam, knowledge, life and plenty. Murky, bitter or foul-smelling water, or water that floods the houses, has a negative meaning (vol. 2, pp. 161 to 163).
What does drinking water in a dream mean in Islam?
Drinking sweet, clear water announces recovery for the sick, marriage for the unmarried, knowledge for the student or lawful wealth for the trader. Drinking a lot of water, more than usual, announces a long life. Drinking murky water announces an illness.
What does water flowing in the house mean in a dream?
The collection says there is no good in water that flows in houses. For everyone in a place, it is a trial, a loss of money or epidemics (vol. 2, p. 161).
What does dirty or muddy water mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection speaks of murky water: it is hardship and fatigue, and drinking it announces an illness. Foul-smelling water is unlawful money and stagnant water a hard life (vol. 2, p. 163).
What about clear water or hot water in a dream?
Seeing your face in clear water announces great good. Drinking hot water is a worry, according to an opinion quoted in the collection (vol. 2, pp. 162 and 164). The collection does not speak of turquoise water or of ice-cold water.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 41, vol. 2, pp. 160 to 169 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of the Interpretation of Dreams, no. 7018 (English translation by Muhammad Muhsin Khan).
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.