Home › Dream dictionary › Shoes
Shoes in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
النعل في المنام
In Islam, shoes seen in a dream often announce a journey when you walk in them, and often stand for the wife when you own them without walking. The Ibn Sirin collection distinguishes the sandal, na’l, and the leather boot, khuff, which protects from misfortune when it is new. Ibn Sirin interpreted sandals lost and then found as money obtained after hardship.
وسأل رجل ابن سيرين فقال رأيت نعلي قد ضلتا فوجدتهما بعد المشقة فقال تلتمس مالا ثم تجده بعد المشقةIbn Sirin said: “A man asked Ibn Sirin and said: I saw that my sandals were lost, then I found them after much hardship. He replied: You are seeking money, and you will find it after hardship.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 29, vol. 1, p. 262
The collection deals with shoes in the chapter on clothing. It links them to travel, when you walk in them, to the wife, when you own them or wear them without walking, and to protection, especially in the case of a new boot. A good part of the passage concerns married life in intimate terms. We keep here only the cases that are not intimate.
The meaning according to what you saw
The Ibn Sirin collection speaks first of the leather boot, then of the sandal. Here are the main cases, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You wear boots | According to one opinion, a sea voyage. With weapons, a protection. Without weapons, a severe worry. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 259 |
| New boots | Protection from misfortune and protection of wealth.vol. 1, p. 259 |
| Boots that are too tight | A stronger worry. According to another opinion, a debt, prison and a restraint.vol. 1, p. 259 |
| Boots in winter or in summer | As winter approaches, good. In summer, a worry.vol. 1, p. 259 |
| You take off your sandals | You part from a servant or a wife. According to another opinion, further on in the text, it is safety and gaining an office, according to the verse: “so remove your sandals” (Qur’an 20:12).vol. 1, pp. 260 and 262 |
| You walk in sandals | A road and a journey. If the strap breaks, the journey does not take place. If the sandal breaks, an obstacle holds the dreamer back against his will.vol. 1, p. 260 |
| Black, red, green or yellow shoes | The colour tells the purpose of the journey. Black: seeking wealth and prestige. Red: seeking evil. Green: for religion. Yellow: for an illness and a worry.vol. 1, p. 260 |
| A sandal comes off your foot as you walk | You part from a brother or a partner.vol. 1, p. 260 |
| You walk with a single sandal | The dreamer divorces or parts from his partner. According to another opinion, he makes an incomplete journey.vol. 1, p. 261 |
| Your sandals are lost or fall into water | The dreamer’s wife comes close to death, then she is saved.vol. 1, p. 261 |
| Sandals of silver, lead, fire or wood | Here the sandal is the wife. Silver: a free and beautiful woman. Lead: a weak woman. Fire: a sharp-tongued woman. Wood: a hypocritical and treacherous woman. Black: a rich and respected woman.vol. 1, p. 261 |
| You walk in sandals, according to another opinion | A journey made in obedience to Allah. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 262 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the broken strap
أن رجلا أتى ابن سيرين فقال رأيت كأني أمشي في نعلي فانقطع شسع إحداهما وتركتها ومضيت على حاليIt is reported that a man came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw that I was walking in my sandals. The strap of one of them broke, I left it and went on my way.” Ibn Sirin asked him: “Do you have an absent brother?” “Yes.” “Did you set out together for a land, leave him there and come back?” “Yes.” Ibn Sirin then said the words of return to Allah and added: “I think your brother has left this world.” The news of his death arrived soon after.
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 29, vol. 1, p. 262
This story matches a case in the collection: a sandal that comes off the foot while walking announces parting from a brother or a partner.
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 shoes in a dream a good sign in Islam?
It depends on their state and on what you do with them. New boots protect from misfortune, and walking in sandals announces a journey, sometimes made in obedience to Allah. A broken strap, a sandal that comes off the foot or a single sandal announce an obstacle or a separation.
What does losing shoes in a dream mean in Islam?
Ibn Sirin interpreted sandals lost and then found after hardship as money that you seek and find after hardship (vol. 1, p. 262). The collection also says that sandals that are lost or fall into water announce a wife who comes close to death, then recovers.
What do new shoes mean in a dream?
The collection speaks mostly of the new boot: protection from misfortune and protection of wealth (vol. 1, p. 259). A worn boot protects less.
What do white or brown shoes mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection does not speak of white or brown shoes. It gives the meaning of four colours only, as the purpose of a journey: black for wealth and prestige, red for evil, green for religion, yellow for illness and worry (vol. 1, p. 260).
What does walking barefoot mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection gives two meanings. In the chapter on walking, walking barefoot shows sound religion and the end of worry, or, according to another opinion, a misfortune affecting the wife and her divorce (vol. 2, p. 323). In the chapter on the body, it points to fatigue and hardship (vol. 1, p. 175).
Does the meaning change for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman?
No, the collection makes no such distinction for shoes. It almost always speaks from the man’s point of view, for whom the sandal stands for the wife. It says nothing about high-heeled shoes or about the sex of an unborn child.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 29, vol. 1, pp. 259 to 262, with vol. 1, p. 175 and vol. 2, p. 323 for walking barefoot (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.