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Stairs in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الدرج والسلم في المنام
In Islam, stairs seen in a dream stand for the means of rising, in this world and in the Hereafter, according to the Ibn Sirin collection. Climbing them announces a rise, a post or a successful journey. Going down announces a return from a journey, or a loss of rank for someone in charge. The steps can also stand for the days of one’s life, which makes this dream delicate for a sick person.
الدرج تدل على أسباب العلو والرفعة والإقبال في الدنيا والآخرةIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Stairs point to the means of rising, of high rank and of success, in this world and in the Hereafter.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 90
The collection relies on Arabic usage: a man is said to be “of high rank” with the word daraja, which also means a step. It adds that stairs can point to the trap of gradual elevation, after the verse: “We will progressively lead them [to destruction] from where they do not know” (Qur’an 7:182). They can also point to the stages of a journey, the days of one’s life or, for known stairs, the servant of the house. The ladder (sullam) is dealt with just after.
The meaning according to what you saw
The passage on stairs and the ladder runs from page 90 to page 94 of volume 2, in the chapter on the earth and buildings. Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You climb unknown stairs, in good health, before a journey | You set off and reach provision, if the journey is for wealth. Otherwise, what you meet on the way up points to success or failure.vol. 2, p. 91 |
| You climb stairs without expecting anything in particular | Power and elevation: a post, giving fatwas, preaching, the call to prayer from the minaret, or another prominent position.vol. 2, pp. 91 and 92 |
| You climb unknown stairs while you are ill | Reaching the top announces death. Entering the highest room: your soul reaches Paradise. Being held back before it: you are veiled from it after death.vol. 2, p. 91 |
| You go down stairs | The traveller returns from his journey. The leader leaves his post. The rider goes on foot. If your wife is ill, she dies.vol. 2, p. 92 |
| While ill, you go down towards a known place, your family or property | You recover. Going down towards an unknown place, towards known deceased people, or falling into a hole or a well announces instead the end of life.vol. 2, p. 92 |
| You rebuild a staircase | What was damaged is repaired. In sun-dried bricks, it is good. In fired bricks, it is disliked.vol. 2, p. 93 |
| The steps of the stairs | According to another opinion, each step is a good deed: prayer, fasting, zakat, charity, hajj, jihad, then the Qur’an. Climbing stairs of earth or sun-dried bricks: a fine practice of the religion. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 93 |
| You are in an upper room with no stairs or ladder to climb up to it | The perfection of your religion and the elevation of your rank with Allah.vol. 2, p. 93 |
| Stairs of earth, stone or wood | Of earth: for the governor, elevation and honour with religion; for the merchant, trade with religion. Of stone: elevation with a hard heart. Of wood: elevation with hypocrisy and showing off.vol. 2, p. 93 |
| You climb one step | You gain in understanding and sharpness of mind, and you rise through them.vol. 2, p. 93 |
| A wooden ladder, or you climb it | The wooden ladder is a man of high position who is a hypocrite. Climbing it means bringing a proof, after the verse “or a stairway into the sky to bring them a sign” (Qur’an 6:35). According to other opinions, it means seeking help from hypocrites, or a journey.vol. 2, p. 94 |
| A ladder lying on the ground, or standing up | Lying on the ground: an illness. Standing up: health.vol. 2, p. 94 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the ladder
وقال رجل لابن سيرين رأيت كأني فوق سلم فقال أنت رجل تستمع على الناسA man said to Ibn Sirin: “I saw that I was at the top of a ladder.” He replied: “You are a man who listens in secret to people.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 94
This answer rests on the verse quoted just before in the collection: “Or have they a stairway [into the heaven] upon which they listen?” (Qur’an 52:38). The Arabic word sullam means both a ladder and a stairway.
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 climbing stairs in a dream mean in Islam?
For a healthy person, climbing stairs announces a rise: a post, a religious function or a journey that succeeds. Climbing one step means gaining in understanding. For a sick person, reaching the top of unknown stairs announces death (vol. 2, pp. 91 to 93).
What does walking down stairs in a dream mean in Islam?
The traveller returns from his journey, the leader leaves his post and the rider goes on foot. For a sick person, going down towards his family or property announces recovery, but going down towards an unknown place announces the end of life (vol. 2, p. 92).
Is falling from stairs or a ladder in a dream serious?
The collection only speaks of falling for a sick person: tumbling down the steps, or falling from the stairs into a hole or a well, announces the end of his life, because the steps are the days of his life (vol. 2, p. 92). It gives no meaning to a fall for a healthy person, nor to broken stairs.
Wooden, stone or concrete stairs: what is the difference?
The collection distinguishes by material. Of earth, it is elevation with religion. Of stone, elevation with a hard heart. Of wood, elevation with hypocrisy. It does not speak of concrete; the closest is fired brick, which it judges unfavourably (vol. 2, p. 93).
Is the meaning different for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman?
No. The passage on stairs does not distinguish the married woman, the single woman or the pregnant woman. It distinguishes other situations: the sick and the healthy, the traveller, the leader, the governor and the merchant. The only woman mentioned is the dreamer’s sick wife, whose death is announced if he goes down stairs.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 39, vol. 2, pp. 90 to 94 (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.