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Door in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الباب في المنام
In Islam, seeing open doors in a dream is a good sign. The Ibn Sirin collection says that open doors are the doors of provision. The door of the house stands for the person in charge of it: what happens to the door, whether broken, burnt or torn off, touches that person. Knocking on a door announces a prayer that is answered.
الأبواب المفتحة أبواب الرزق وباب الدار قيمها فما حدث فيه فهو قيم الدارIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Open doors are the doors of provision. The door of the house is the one in charge of it: what happens to the door happens to the one in charge of the house.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 94
The collection speaks of doors in the chapter on the earth, houses and their parts. There, the door of the house stands for the qayyim, the person who runs the house and looks after the people living in it. Open doors, for their part, point to provision and the goods of this world.
The meaning according to what you saw
Here are the cases the collection describes, mostly in the passage on doors in chapter 39.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| The door of the house has fallen, been torn off, burnt or broken | A misfortune that strikes the person in charge of the house.vol. 2, p. 95 |
| The door of the house becomes larger and stronger | The person in charge of the house is in a good state. But if it widens beyond the normal size of doors, people enter your home without permission, at a time of misfortune.vol. 2, p. 95 |
| You look for the door of your house and cannot find it | You are confused about a matter of this world.vol. 2, p. 95 |
| You enter through a door while you are in a dispute | You win, according to the verse: “Enter upon them through the gate, for when you have entered it, you will be predominant.”vol. 2, p. 95 |
| Doors open, in known or unknown places | The doors of this world open for you, as long as they do not go beyond their normal size. If they do, it means the house is abandoned and ruined.vol. 2, p. 95 |
| You go out through a narrow door into a wide place | You pass from hardship to ease, and from worry to relief.vol. 2, p. 95 |
| The door of the house is blocked up | A great misfortune for the people of the house.vol. 2, p. 96 |
| You lock the door of your house with a bolt, or you cannot close it | With a wooden bolt: you keep your worldly goods well. Without a bolt: you have no hold over your affairs. You want to close the door and it will not close: you give up a matter you cannot carry through.vol. 2, pp. 96 and 97 |
| You enter a house and close the door behind you | You hold yourself back from disobeying Allah, according to the verse in the story of Yusuf: “She closed the doors.”vol. 2, p. 85 |
| You close a door | You marry a woman. If the door is made of iron, it is better and happier.vol. 2, p. 356 |
| You knock on a door | Your prayer is answered, as the saying goes: “Whoever keeps knocking at the door, it will soon be opened for him.” It can also mean success in something you are seeking. If the door opens, the answer and the success are near.vol. 2, p. 350 |
| A door of Paradise closes in front of you | One of your parents dies. Two closed doors: both your parents die. All the doors closed: your parents are angry with you. You enter through the door of your choice: they are pleased with you.vol. 1, p. 125 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the door lintel
أن امرأة أتت ابن سيرين فقالت رأيت في المنام أسكفة بابي العليا وقعت على السفلى ورأيت المصراعين قد سقطا فوقع أحدهما خارج البيت والآخر داخل البيت فقال لها ألك زوج وولد غائبان قالت نعم فقال أما سقوط الأسكفة العليا فقدوم زوجك سريعا وأما وقوع المصراع خارجا ان ابنك يتزوج امرأة غريبة فلم تلبث إلا قليلا حتى قدم زوجها وابنها مع ابنة غريبةA woman came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw in a dream the upper lintel of my door fall onto the lower threshold, and I saw the two leaves of the door fall, one outside the house and the other inside.” He asked her: “Do you have a husband and a son who are away?” She said: “Yes.” He said: “The fall of the upper lintel is the quick return of your husband. The leaf that fell outside is your son marrying a foreign woman.” Soon after, her husband came back, and her son with a young foreign woman.
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 96
Ibn Sirin first asked the woman about her family. The collection often shows this method: the meaning depends on the dreamer’s situation.
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 an open door mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection says that open doors are the doors of provision. Doors that open announce that the doors of this world open for the dreamer, as long as they do not go beyond their normal size (vol. 2, pp. 94 and 95).
Is closing or locking a door in a dream bad in Islam?
Not necessarily. Closing a door announces a marriage, and an iron door is better. Shutting yourself in a house means you hold back from disobeying Allah. Locking the door with a wooden bolt means you keep your goods well. On the other hand, a blocked-up house door announces a great misfortune for the people living there (vol. 2, pp. 85, 96 and 356).
What does a broken door mean in a dream in Islam?
A house door that has fallen, been torn off, burnt or broken announces a misfortune for the person in charge of the house (vol. 2, p. 95).
What does knocking on a door mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection says that whoever knocks on a door has his prayer answered. If the door opens, the answer and the success are near (vol. 2, p. 350).
Does a wooden door or a glass door have a special meaning?
The collection does not speak of glass doors. For wood, it only mentions the wooden bolt: locking your door with it means you keep your goods well. Opening a door with a key belongs to the meaning of the key, which this page does not cover.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 39, vol. 2, pp. 85 and 94 to 97; chapter 19, vol. 1, p. 125; chapter 58, vol. 2, pp. 350 and 356 (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.