Wall in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin

الحائط في المنام

In Islam, a wall seen in a dream first stands for a man. In the Ibn Sirin collection, he is a well-protected man with religion, wealth and standing, in proportion to the width, strength and height of the wall. The wall can also be the dreamer’s situation: as long as he stands on it, his situation holds. A falling wall therefore announces a loss.

والحائط رجل ممتنع صاحب دين ومال وقدر على قدر الحائط في عرضه وإحكامه ورفعتهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The wall is a well-protected man, with religion, wealth and standing, in proportion to the wall’s width, its strength and its height.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 86

The collection places the wall among the parts of the house. It gives the general rule a little earlier: in a house, the walls are the men and the roofs are the women, because men protect and support their household. The passage on the wall adds a second meaning: it can be the dreamer’s situation in this world, if he sees himself standing on it.

The meaning according to what you saw

The main passage on the wall is in the chapter on lands, towns and houses. The collection comes back to the wall in other chapters. Here are the cases it describes.

In your dream	Meaning in the collection
You are standing on a wall, or you fall from it	The wall is your situation in this world. If you fall from it, you lose this situation. If the wall is solid, your situation is good.vol. 2, pp. 86 and 355
You push a wall and bring it down	You bring a man down from his rank and cause his ruin.vol. 2, p. 86
A wall falls on you	You have committed many sins and their punishment comes quickly.vol. 2, p. 86
Walls still standing but in need of repair	A scholar or an imam whose power has passed. If people repair them, he has companions who set his affairs right.vol. 2, p. 86
The walls of your house are worn away by time	A just imam whose companions and relatives have left. If you rebuild them, they come back and take their place again.vol. 2, pp. 86 and 87
A cracked wall	One person of your household becomes two, like the two earrings…vol. 2, p. 86
You cling to a wall	You attach yourself to a man of high position. Your place with him depends on the hold you have on the wall.vol. 2, p. 87
You look at a wall and see your own image on it	The dreamer dies and his name is written on his grave.vol. 2, p. 87
You fall from the top of a wall	You part from what the wall stands for: a ruler, a scholar, a spouse, a job. In the first chapter, falling from a wall is also a sign of the anger of Allah.vol. 2, p. 64; vol. 1, p. 49
You make the call to prayer on a wall	You call a man to reconciliation.vol. 1, p. 83
Water bursts out of a wall	Sadness coming from men, such as a brother, a brother-in-law or a friend.vol. 2, p. 162
You drive a peg into a wall	Driven into a wall or into the ground: the unmarried man marries, and the married man’s wife becomes pregnant by him. According to another opinion, a peg driven into a wall shows that you love a man of high rank. In the wall of a house, you love a woman. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 291

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 falling wall mean in a dream in Islam?

It depends on where the dreamer is. A wall falling on you announces sins and a quick punishment (vol. 2, p. 86). Falling from the wall yourself means losing your situation, or parting from what the wall stands for. Pushing a wall down means bringing a man down from his rank.

What does a cracked or broken wall mean in a dream?

The collection says that a crack in a wall shows that one person of the household becomes two, like the two earrings… (vol. 2, p. 86). The text says no more. For a damaged wall that needs repair, it speaks of a scholar or an imam who has lost his power.

What does building a wall mean in a dream?

The collection does not speak of building a simple wall. It speaks of the rampart: whoever builds a rampart around himself, his house or his town protects himself, according to his state. The ruler is kept safe from his enemy, the scholar writes a useful work, the unmarried man finds a wife (vol. 2, p. 123).

Is the meaning different for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman?

The collection gives no meaning of its own to the married woman, the single woman or the pregnant woman for the wall. Its meanings apply to everyone. It only mentions the unmarried man, for whom building a rampart can announce a wife. For the peg driven into a wall, it separates the unmarried man, who marries, from the married man, whose wife becomes pregnant (vol. 2, p. 291).

Does the collection speak of the colour of the wall or of painting a wall?

No. The Ibn Sirin collection speaks neither of a white, yellow or blue wall, nor of a dirty or mouldy wall, nor of painting a wall. It judges the wall by its strength, its height and its condition. For the house as a whole, see the page on the house.

Sources

Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 39, vol. 2, pp. 64, 79, 86, 87 and 123 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
Same collection, chapter 1, vol. 1, p. 49; chapter 9, vol. 1, p. 83; chapter 41, vol. 2, p. 162; chapter 49, vol. 2, p. 291; chapter 58, vol. 2, p. 355.
Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.