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Sheep in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الكبش والغنم في المنام
In Islam, dreaming of sheep is most often a good sign. In the Ibn Sirin collection, sheep (al-ghanam) are spoils, and a single sheep announces a joy that lasts a year. The ram stands for a powerful man: a ruler, an imam, an army commander. The meaning changes if the ram attacks you, if you slaughter it or if a skinned sheep is in your house.
الكبش هو الرجل المنيع الضخم كالسلطان والإمام والأمير وقائد الجيشIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The ram is the strong and imposing man, such as the sultan, the imam, the emir and the army commander.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 33, vol. 1, p. 355
The collection adds that the ram also stands for the one who marches at the head of the troops, the muezzin and the shepherd. Its strength lies in its horns: without horns, it becomes a man removed from office or deprived of his supporters. Sheep in a flock, the ewe and the lamb each have their own meaning, most often a favourable one.
The meaning according to what you saw
The Ibn Sirin collection speaks of sheep in the chapter on horses, beasts of burden and livestock. Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| Sheep | Spoils. According to another opinion, the one who sees a flock of sheep keeps his joy for a long time.vol. 1, pp. 353 and 354 |
| A single sheep | A joy that lasts a year.vol. 1, p. 354 |
| Sheep’s heads or feet | A longer life.vol. 1, p. 354 |
| Sheep come towards you | Men come to fight you, and you overcome them.vol. 1, p. 354 |
| You follow a sheep without catching it | Your worldly affairs stand still for the year, and you are deprived of what you hope for.vol. 1, p. 354 |
| You slaughter a ram without knowing why | You overcome a man by surprise, or you bear true witness against him, if you slaughtered it according to the Sunna, facing the qibla and mentioning the name of Allah. If not, you kill a man, you wrong him or you torment him.vol. 1, pp. 355 and 356 |
| You slaughter a ram as a sacrifice | The sinner repents, the one in debt has his debt paid, the dreamer fulfils his vow and draws closer to Allah through an act of obedience. The one who fears being killed, the prisoner and the sick are saved.vol. 1, p. 356 |
| A ram jumps on you or butts you with its horns | You suffer from an enemy what you dislike. If it strikes you with its horns, these people harm you or insult you.vol. 1, pp. 356 and 357 |
| You are given a sacrificial sheep | A blessed child.vol. 1, p. 358 |
| A skinned sheep in your house | Someone dies in that house. The collection says the same of a limb of the animal.vol. 1, p. 358 |
| A ewe | A discreet and well-off woman. A ewe giving birth announces plenty and ease. If it comes into the house, the year will be fertile.vol. 1, p. 359 |
| A lamb | A child. Slaughtering it for any purpose other than eating it announces the death of a child of the dreamer or of his family. Obtaining lamb meat brings a little money.vol. 1, p. 359 |
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 sheep in a dream a good sign in Islam?
Most often, yes. The collection links sheep to spoils, joy and a longer life, and a sacrificial sheep received as a gift to a blessed child. It also gives bad cases: the ram that attacks you, the sheep you follow without catching it, and the skinned sheep in the house, which announces a death.
What does slaughtering a sheep in a dream mean in Islam?
The collection speaks of the slaughtered ram. As a sacrifice, it announces repentance, a debt paid and a vow fulfilled. Without knowing why, it announces victory over a man if the slaughter follows the Sunna; if not, the dreamer kills a man, wrongs him or torments him. Slaughtering a lamb for any purpose other than its meat announces the death of a child.
What does a sheep or ram attacking you in a dream mean in Islam?
A ram that jumps on you announces what you dislike from an enemy. If it butts you with its horns, these people harm you or insult you (vol. 1, pp. 356 and 357). The collection does not distinguish the colour of the attacking sheep.
What does a dead sheep in a dream mean?
The collection does not speak of a sheep that died on its own. It speaks of a skinned sheep seen in your home: someone dies in that house (vol. 1, p. 358). It also speaks of a lamb slaughtered for a purpose other than its meat, a sign of the death of a child.
What does a flock of sheep or a sheep’s head mean in a dream?
According to an opinion quoted in the collection, seeing a flock of sheep announces lasting joy. Sheep’s heads and feet announce a longer life. Sheep coming towards you are men coming to fight you, and you overcome them (vol. 1, p. 354).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 33, vol. 1, pp. 353 to 359 (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.