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Brother in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الأخ في المنام
In Islam, the Ibn Sirin collection speaks of the brother mostly through symbols. The upper arm is the brother: if it grows in a dream, the brother’s affairs go well; if it shrinks, it is a misfortune for him. The shoulders, the back and the spear also point to the brother. The collection even reports that it has been said, in interpretation, that the brother is an enemy.
وأما العضد فإنه أخ فمن رأى في عضده زيادة فهي صلاح أمر أخيه وابنه البالغIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “As for the upper arm, it is a brother. Whoever sees his upper arm grow, it means the affairs of his brother and of his adult son go well.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 22, vol. 1, p. 159
This sentence is found in the chapter on the parts of the body. The link between the arm and the brother comes from the Qur’an: Allah said to Musa (peace be upon him), “We will strengthen your arm through your brother.” The collection quotes this verse a little further on. It has no passage on simply seeing your brother in a dream. It speaks of him through the limbs, objects and the stories of the prophets.
The meaning according to what you saw
The brother appears in several chapters of the Ibn Sirin collection: seeing the prophets, death, the parts of the body, illnesses, weapons, birds, jewellery and household objects. Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| The sun, the moon and stars prostrate before you | This is the dream of the Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him). His father Yaqub (peace be upon him) understood its meaning: the moon was his father, the sun his mother, and the stars his brothers.vol. 1, p. 37 |
| You see the Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him) | You suffer injustice, imprisonment and harshness from your relatives, and you are slandered. Then you receive power and your enemies submit. The collection adds that it has been said, in interpretation, that the brother is an enemy.vol. 1, p. 52 |
| A dead brother comes back to life | You regain strength after weakness, according to the verse: “Increase through him my strength.”vol. 1, p. 113 |
| A dead sister comes back to life | An absent person returns from a journey, and a joy comes to you.vol. 1, p. 113 |
| You have pain in your shoulders | Illness or death of the brothers, because the two shoulders are brothers.vol. 1, p. 158 |
| Your upper arm shrinks | A misfortune for your brother and your adult son, in proportion to what is missing.vol. 1, p. 159 |
| Your arm is cut off at the upper arm | Your brother dies, if you have one, according to the verse: “We will strengthen your arm through your brother.” If you have neither a brother nor anyone who takes his place, your money decreases.vol. 1, p. 206 |
| You have back pain | The death of a brother: it is said that a brother’s death breaks the back. According to another opinion, the back stands for the one a man leans on: a son, a leader or a friend.vol. 1, p. 210 |
| A spear on its own, without other weapons | A spear on its own is a son or a brother. If the spear breaks and can be repaired, the son or the brother falls ill and then recovers. If it cannot be repaired, one of them dies. Losing the head of the spear is the death of the son or the brother.vol. 1, pp. 278 and 279 |
| You see a crow at the king’s door | You commit a crime you will regret, or you kill your brother and then repent, according to the verse: “Then Allah sent a crow searching in the ground.”vol. 1, p. 400 |
| A man wears a bracelet on his upper arm | Strength that comes to him through his brother, because the upper arm is a brother.vol. 2, p. 151 |
| You hold scissors | You will need a judge in a dispute. If your mother is alive, she gives birth to a brother for you, from your father.vol. 2, p. 276 |
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 your brother in a dream mean in Islam?
The Ibn Sirin collection gives no meaning for simply seeing your brother. It speaks of the brother through symbols: the upper arm, the shoulders, the back, the spear. In the passage on the Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him), it also reports that it has been said that the brother is an enemy (vol. 1, p. 52).
What does seeing a dead brother in a dream mean in Islam?
Whoever sees a dead brother come back to life regains strength after weakness, according to the verse: “Increase through him my strength” (vol. 1, p. 113). Other dreams of the dead are not covered on this page.
Which dreams announce a brother dying in Islam?
The collection mentions the arm cut off at the upper arm, back pain, the lost head of a spear, and pain in the shoulders, which announces illness or death of the brothers. A sandal slipping off the foot while walking announces a separation from a brother, a sister or a partner, on a journey (vol. 2, pp. 381 and 382).
What does killing or fighting with your brother in a dream mean?
The collection does not speak of a dreamer who sees himself killing or fighting his brother. It only mentions the crow seen at the king’s door: the dreamer commits a crime he will regret, or kills his brother and then repents, in reference to the crow sent to the son of Adam (vol. 1, p. 400).
Does the collection also speak of the sister?
Yes, more rarely. A dead sister who comes back to life announces the return of an absent person and a joy (vol. 1, p. 113). Pain in the shoulders concerns brothers in general.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 22, vol. 1, pp. 158 and 159; chapter 25, vol. 1, pp. 206 and 210; and passages from the introduction and chapters 2, 16, 31, 35, 40, 49 and 58 (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.