Home › Dream dictionary › Son
Seeing Your Son in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الابن في المنام
In Islam, the Ibn Sirin collection has no passage of its own on the son. It speaks of him through other dreams. Seeing your son die means being freed from an enemy. A dead son who comes back to life announces an unexpected enemy. Some signs also point to the son: an injured right foot announces his illness, and a shield stands for the child of someone who has one.
فإن رأى كأن ابنه مات تخلص من عدوهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “If he sees that his son has died, he is freed from his enemy.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 16, vol. 1, p. 106
From its introduction, the collection also recalls the dream of the prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him): he saw himself in a dream sacrificing his son and, on waking, obeyed the order he had received in the dream (vol. 1, p. 35). In ordinary dreams, the son appears mostly in the passages on death, on the limbs of the body and on certain objects that stand for him.
The meaning according to what you saw
The cases about the son are scattered through the collection. Here they are, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| Your son dies | You are freed from an enemy. The same passage says that if it is the daughter who dies, one loses hope of relief.vol. 1, p. 106 |
| Your dead son comes back to life | An enemy rises against you from where you did not expect. For a dead daughter who comes back to life, it is joy.vol. 1, pp. 112-113 |
| Your upper arm grows or shrinks | The upper arm stands for the brother. If it grows, the affairs of your brother and of your grown son go well. If it shrinks, a misfortune strikes them, in proportion to what is missing.vol. 1, p. 159 |
| Something harms your fingers | A trial that strikes your children. If you have no children, it is neglect of the prayers.vol. 1, p. 208 |
| Your little finger is cut off | According to one opinion, your child disobeys you. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 208 |
| Your right foot is sick, broken or dislocated, with a wound | Your son falls ill.vol. 1, p. 213 |
| You eat roast camel | According to some, roast camel is a son: a son is born to you, grows up and lives from his own earnings. Well cooked, your son receives a good upbringing. Undercooked, he will not be skilled in his work. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 227 |
| You carry a shield and you have a child | Your child takes care of all your burdens and protects you from misfortunes and from what you dislike.vol. 1, p. 285 |
| You ride a red bull | According to one opinion, your son falls ill. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 345 |
| You catch a gazelle and bring it into your home | You marry off your son. If your wife is pregnant, she gives birth to a boy.vol. 1, p. 362 |
| You build a vault of baked bricks | You bring up your child.vol. 2, p. 88 |
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 a son dying in a dream mean in Islam?
According to the Ibn Sirin collection, whoever sees his son die is freed from an enemy (vol. 1, p. 106). The same passage says that the death of the daughter announces losing hope of relief.
What does it mean to see your dead son alive in a dream?
The collection says that whoever sees a dead son come back to life sees an enemy rise from where he did not expect (vol. 1, pp. 112 and 113). It sets this case against that of a dead daughter who lives again, which announces joy.
What does a sick or injured son mean in a dream?
The collection does not describe a sick son seen in a dream. It does say that a sick or broken right foot, with a wound, announces the son’s illness (vol. 1, p. 213). According to another opinion, riding a red bull also announces it (p. 345).
What does marrying off your son in a dream mean?
The collection does not describe the son’s wedding seen as such. It says that whoever catches a gazelle and brings it into his home marries off his son, and that if his wife is pregnant, she gives birth to a boy (vol. 1, p. 362).
What about losing your son, or seeing him small again?
The collection does not speak of a lost son, or of a grown son seen as a small child. For dreams of babies and small children, see the page on babies in a dream, which sets out what the text says.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, introduction, vol. 1, p. 35; chapters 16, 22, 25, 27, 31, 33 and 34, vol. 1, pp. 106 to 362; chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 88 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.