Death in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin

الموت في المنام

In Islam, dreaming of death does not usually announce a real death. The Ibn Sirin collection says: “Death in a dream is regret over a serious matter.” Dying and then coming back to life announces a sin followed by repentance. Dying without illness announces a long life. The meaning changes with the way of dying and the person who dies.

الموت في الرؤيا ندامة من أمر عظيمIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Death in a dream is regret over a serious matter.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 16, vol. 1, p. 104

The collection at once bases this reading on the Qur’an: the one who dies and then lives again commits a sin and then repents, according to the verse “Our Lord, You made us lifeless twice and gave us life twice, and we have confessed our sins” (Ghafir, 11). This page covers dreams in which someone dies, you or a living person. For a person who has already died and whom you see again in a dream, see the page on the dead person.

The meaning according to what you saw

Most cases come from chapter 16, on death, the dead and graves. Two others come from the chapters on angels and on travel.

In your dream	Meaning in the collection
You die and then come back to life	You commit a sin, then you repent.vol. 1, p. 104
You die without illness and without the look of a dying person	Your life will be long.vol. 1, pp. 104-105
You see that you will not die	Your term is near. If you believe in the dream that you will never die, you will be killed in the path of Allah.vol. 1, p. 105
You die with mourning, the funeral washing and a shroud	Your worldly life is kept safe, but your religion is spoiled.vol. 1, p. 105
You die without any sign of a funeral	A wall or a room of your house collapses.vol. 1, p. 105
You die naked on the ground, or on a carpet, a bed, a mattress	Naked on the ground: poverty. On a carpet: this world opens up to you. On a bed: elevation. On a mattress: a good that comes from your family.vol. 1, p. 105
Your son dies, or your daughter	The death of the son: you are freed from an enemy. The death of the daughter: you lose hope of a relief.vol. 1, p. 106
The sudden death of a person is announced	This person suffers a sudden grief, from which he may die.vol. 1, p. 106
An unmarried or a married person sees himself die	The unmarried person marries, the married person divorces, because death separates. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 106
You die and you are buried	A long journey in which you earn money.vol. 1, pp. 109-110
You see a living person dead	Affairs become difficult, because life is ease and death is difficulty.vol. 1, p. 111
You see the angel of death	Joyful: death as a martyr. Gloomy and angry: death without repentance. According to another opinion, seeing him announces a long life.vol. 1, p. 63

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 dreaming of your own death bad in Islam?

Not necessarily. The collection reads death first as regret over a serious matter. Dying without illness announces a long life, and dying then living again announces repentance after a sin (vol. 1, pp. 104 and 105).

What does dreaming of the death of a living relative mean in Islam?

The collection says that seeing a living person dead announces affairs that become difficult (vol. 1, p. 111). It also gives specific cases: the death of a son frees from an enemy, that of a daughter makes one lose hope of a relief (p. 106).

What does dying and coming back to life in a dream mean?

It is a sin followed by repentance. The collection relies on the verse “You made us lifeless twice and gave us life twice, and we have confessed our sins” (vol. 1, p. 104).

What does seeing the angel of death in a dream mean in Islam?

According to the collection, seeing him joyful announces death as a martyr, and seeing him gloomy and angry, death without repentance. Another opinion says that seeing him announces a long life (vol. 1, p. 63). The collection adds that whoever flees from the angel of death in a dream is caught and perishes (vol. 2, p. 325).

Does dreaming of death announce a real death?

Rarely in the collection. Most cases speak of regret, repentance, travel, marriage or divorce. Only a few cases announce death, for example seeing yourself wrapped in a shroud like the dead (vol. 1, pp. 107 and 108).

Sources

Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 16 (death, the dead, graves), vol. 1, pp. 104 to 111 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
Same collection, chapter 3 (the angels), vol. 1, p. 63, and chapter 55 (travel and flight), vol. 2, p. 325.
Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.