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Apple in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
التفاح في المنام
In Islam, an apple seen in a dream stands for the dreamer’s ambition, what he is trying to reach, according to the Ibn Sirin collection. For a king, it is his kingdom. For a merchant, his trade. For a farmer, his crops. Getting or eating apples means reaching part of that aim. According to another opinion, a sweet apple is lawful gain and a sour apple unlawful gain.
التفاح هو همة الرجل وما يحاول وهو بقدر همة من يراهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The apple is a man’s ambition and what he is trying to obtain. It is in proportion to the ambition of the one who sees it.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 43, vol. 2, p. 212
The Arabic word himma means what occupies a person’s mind and what he strives for: his plan, his aim, his main concern. So the apple takes a different meaning depending on who has the dream. The collection places it in the chapter on fruit trees and their fruit, between the fig and the pear, on a single page.
The meaning according to what you saw
The passage on the apple is short and dense. Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You see apples | Your ambition. For a king, his kingdom. For a merchant, his trade. For a farmer, his crops.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| You get, eat or own apples | You reach part of what you are aiming for, in proportion to what you saw.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| A sweet or sour apple | Sweet: lawful provision. Sour: unlawful provision. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 212 |
| The ruler throws an apple to you | A messenger who brings you what you hope for.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| An apple tree | A believing man, close to people.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| You plant an apple tree | You raise an orphan.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| You eat an apple | You enjoy wealth that people look at. The Arabic text can also be read differently: you enjoy what people do not look at.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| You pick an apple | Wealth received from a noble man, along with a good reputation.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| Counted apples, or an exact number of apples | Counted silver coins. The collection also reports that Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, before he became caliph, dreamed that he got nineteen and a half apples. The interpreter, who is not named, told him he would reign for nineteen and a half years.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| You smell an apple in a mosque | You will marry. The same applies to a woman.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| A woman smells an apple in a gathering, or eats it | In a gathering, she becomes well known. If she eats it in a known place, she gives birth to a beautiful child.vol. 2, p. 212 |
| A branch of an apple tree | Wealth, a wish fulfilled and a profit.vol. 2, p. 212 |
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 an apple in a dream good in Islam?
Generally, yes. The Ibn Sirin collection sees the apple as the dreamer’s ambition, and getting or eating apples as success in that aim. The only reservation comes from another opinion it quotes: a sour apple would be unlawful gain.
What does eating an apple in a dream mean in Islam?
According to the collection, eating an apple means enjoying wealth that people look at or, in another reading of the Arabic text, what people do not look at. More broadly, getting or eating apples means reaching part of what you are aiming for. For a woman who eats it in a known place, it is a beautiful child (vol. 2, p. 212).
What does a red or green apple mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection does not distinguish apples by their colour. It only distinguishes the sweet apple, lawful gain, from the sour apple, unlawful gain, according to an opinion it quotes. Meanings given to colours do not come from this text.
What does seeing an apple in a dream mean during pregnancy?
The collection speaks of women in two cases: smelling an apple in a mosque announces a marriage, for a man as for a woman, and eating it in a known place announces a beautiful child. It does not speak of pregnant women and says nothing about the sex of the child to be born.
What does an apple tree or picking apples mean in a dream in Islam?
An apple tree is a believing man, close to people, and planting one means raising an orphan. Picking an apple means receiving wealth from a noble man, along with a good reputation (vol. 2, p. 212).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 43, vol. 2, p. 212 (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.