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Beard in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
اللحية في المنام
In Islam, a beard seen in a dream speaks mainly of the dreamer’s wealth and standing. According to the Ibn Sirin collection, a beard of a fine length announces money, rank and a pleasant life. Too long, it announces a debt and worry, and down to the ground, death. Shaving it means losing money and rank. A white, shining beard brings honour and renown.
فإن رأى أن طولها قدر حسن موافق نال مالا وجاها وعيشا طيباIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “If he sees that its length is of a fine and fitting measure, he obtains money, rank and a pleasant life.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 22, vol. 1, p. 153
The passage on the beard follows the one on the ears, in the chapter on the parts of the body. The rule is measure: a fitting beard is a good thing, any excess becomes a burden, and a slight reduction brings relief. Dyeing the beard with henna is explained on the page about henna.
The meaning according to what you saw
The main passage is in chapter 22, vol. 1, pp. 153 to 157. A further passage appears in the chapter on miscellaneous subjects. Here are the cases, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| Your beard is longer than its measure | A debt and worry.vol. 1, p. 153 |
| Your beard grows until it falls to the ground | Death, according to the verse: “From the earth We created you, and into it We will return you” (Surah 20, verse 55).vol. 1, p. 153 |
| Your beard grows until it touches your belly | You obtain money and rank, with toil, in proportion to the length lying on your belly.vol. 1, p. 153 |
| Your beard reaches your navel | According to another opinion, you are not in obedience to Allah. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, pp. 153 and 154 |
| Your beard becomes shorter | If it shrinks a little: ease, a debt paid off and relief. If it shrinks a lot: humiliation, and the loss of money and rank.vol. 1, p. 154 |
| Your beard is very black | Wealth: you will no longer need others. If the black turns towards green, you obtain power and much money, but you will be a tyrant, because that was the colour of Pharaoh’s beard.vol. 1, p. 154 |
| Your beard is yellow or red | Yellow: poverty and want. Red: scrupulous piety.vol. 1, p. 154 |
| Hairs from your beard fall into your hand | If you keep them, money leaves your hand and then comes back to you. If you throw them away, it goes and does not come back.vol. 1, p. 154 |
| You shave your beard, or cut what goes beyond a fistful | Shaving the beard: the loss of money and rank. Cutting what goes beyond a fistful: you pay the zakat on your wealth.vol. 1, p. 154 |
| Your moustache grows or shrinks | A fuller moustache is disliked. Its reduction is praiseworthy.vol. 1, p. 154 |
| Your beard is white and shining | You obtain honour, rank, a name and renown in the land, because the beard of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was white.vol. 1, p. 156 |
| A woman sees herself with a beard | She will not have a child (a probable reading of a word miscopied in the text). According to other opinions: an illness, or more wealth for her husband and her son and honour for her child. If she is married, according to another opinion, her husband’s absence. If she is pregnant, she will have a boy whose affairs will be fulfilled. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 155 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the beard
رأيت كأني قابض على لحية عمي وقرصنتها حتى استأصلتها فقال إنك تأكل ميراث عمك ولا يكون له وارث غيركA man came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw in a dream that I was holding my paternal uncle’s beard and cutting it down to the root.” Ibn Sirin replied: “You will inherit from your uncle, and he will have no other heir but you.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 22, vol. 1, p. 156
The collection then adds: if only part of it is taken, the inheritance is in proportion. Taking someone else’s beard and pulling it, it also says, means inheriting his wealth (vol. 1, p. 154).
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 seeing a beard in a dream mean in Islam?
According to the Ibn Sirin collection, the beard points to wealth and rank. Of a fine length, it announces money, rank and a pleasant life. Too long, it is a debt and worry; slightly shortened, a relief.
What does a white beard mean in a dream in Islam?
White hairs in the beard are dignity and prestige (vol. 1, p. 155). A white, shining beard brings honour and renown, like the beard of Ibrahim (peace be upon him). But if the beard turns white with nothing left of its black, the dreamer sees something he dislikes in his face and in his standing among people (vol. 2, p. 367).
What does shaving or losing your beard in a dream mean in Islam?
Shaving the beard means losing your money and rank. If only half of it is shaved, the dreamer becomes poor (vol. 1, p. 156). If the hairs fall into his hand and he keeps them, the lost money comes back; if he throws them away, it does not.
What does a woman with a beard mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection gives several opinions: she will not have a child, or an illness, or more wealth for her husband and her son. For a married woman, one opinion sees her husband’s absence in it. For a pregnant woman, the birth of a boy (vol. 1, p. 155).
What does a very long beard reaching the navel mean in a dream?
One opinion in the collection sees in it a man who is not in obedience to Allah. Ibn Sirin answered a man who saw his beard reach his navel as he looked at it: “You are a muezzin who looks into the neighbours’ houses” (vol. 1, p. 154).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 22, vol. 1, pp. 153 to 157 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection: chapter 58, vol. 2, p. 367.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.