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Face in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الوجه في المنام
In Islam, a face seen in a dream points first to modesty. According to the Ibn Sirin collection, a beautiful face shows modesty, and an ugly or cracked face shows a lack of it. Its colour then changes the meaning: a face whiter than before announces a religion made beautiful, and a blackened face can announce the birth of a daughter, a lie about Allah or death, depending on the details.
حسن الوجه دليل على الحياء في التأويلIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The beauty of the face indicates, in interpretation, modesty.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 25, vol. 1, p. 203
This sentence comes from the chapter on illnesses and bodily defects: the face is the seat of modesty (al-hayâ’), and whatever spoils it speaks of a lack of modesty. The colour of the face is treated separately, at the very start of the chapter on the parts of the body (vol. 1, pp. 135 to 137). For the blackened face, the collection quotes the verse: “And when one of them is informed of [the birth of] a female, his face becomes dark” (Surah 16, verse 58).
The meaning according to what you saw
The passage on the colour of the face is in chapter 22, on the parts of the body. The other cases are in the chapters on people, illnesses and remedies. Here are the main ones.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| Your face turns black while you are wearing white clothes | A daughter will be born to you, according to the verse of Surah 16. The caliph al-Mahdi saw his face blackened in a dream, and a daughter was born to him that same night.vol. 1, p. 135 |
| Your face is black and your clothes are dirty | You are lying about Allah.vol. 1, p. 135 |
| Your face is black and covered in dust | Your death.vol. 1, p. 135 |
| A brave man sees his face black | According to another opinion, he becomes a coward. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 136 |
| Your face is whiter than it was | Your religion becomes beautiful and you remain upright in faith.vol. 1, p. 136 |
| Your cheek is white | You gain honour and generosity.vol. 1, pp. 136 and 137 |
| Your face is yellow | An illness. According to another opinion, a bright yellow face announces that you will be held in esteem in the Hereafter, among those brought near to Allah. Elsewhere, the collection reads a yellow paleness of the face as sadness (vol. 1, p. 204). (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 136 |
| Your face is fresh and handsome, or on the contrary dry and cracked | Fresh and handsome: you are a man of modesty. Dry and cracked: little modesty.vol. 1, p. 214 |
| Freckles on the face | Many sins.vol. 1, p. 204 |
| Your face is anointed with oil | You are a man who fasts constantly.vol. 1, p. 219 |
| You oil your head and the oil runs down your face | A worry, if the oil goes beyond the usual measure. Within the usual measure, it is an adornment.vol. 1, p. 219 |
| A young woman turns towards you, her face facing you | Your affairs pick up again after declining.vol. 1, p. 132 |
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
What does seeing your own face in a dream mean in Islam?
According to the Ibn Sirin collection, the face is first a sign of modesty: beautiful, it shows modesty; ugly or cracked, a lack of it. Its colour then gives the exact meaning, from a whiter face, a sign of a religion made beautiful, to a blackened face, whose meaning depends on the clothes and the dust.
Is seeing a black or dark face in a dream bad in Islam?
Not always. With white clothes, the collection sees in it the birth of a daughter, according to Surah 16. With dirty clothes, it is a lie about Allah, and a black face covered in dust announces death (vol. 1, p. 135). For a brave man, another opinion sees cowardice in it.
What does a white or glowing face mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection speaks of a face whiter than it was: the dreamer’s religion becomes beautiful and he remains upright in faith. A white cheek announces honour and generosity (vol. 1, pp. 136 and 137). The word “glowing” itself does not appear in these passages.
What does an ugly, injured or deformed face mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection reads an ugly or cracked face as a lack of modesty, and freckles as many sins. It does not speak of an injured face in general. The only close case concerns the forehead: whoever sees his forehead scratched will die soon (vol. 1, p. 211).
What does seeing your face in a mirror or in water mean in a dream?
These cases are explained on the page about the mirror. There the collection distinguishes the mirror, its size and the beauty of the face seen in it.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 22, vol. 1, pp. 135 to 137 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection: chapter 21, vol. 1, p. 132; chapter 25, vol. 1, pp. 203, 204, 211 and 214; chapter 26, vol. 1, p. 219.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.