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Drinking in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الشرب في المنام
In Islam, a dream of drinking mostly concerns religion and provision. According to the Ibn Sirin collection, someone who sees his thirst quenched has a sound and upright religion, while thirst is “a defect in religion”. Drinking cold water is lawful wealth. Drinking wine is “a great sin and wide provision”, after the verse on wine. At root, wine is unlawful wealth gained without effort.
وإذا رأى أنه ريان من الماء دل على صحة دينه واستقامته وصلاح حاله فيهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “If he sees that his thirst is quenched with water, this shows that his religion is sound, that he is upright and that his state in it is good.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 51, vol. 2, p. 303
The collection deals with thirst and drinking at the start of chapter 51, next to hunger and eating. It comes back elsewhere to particular drinks: medicines, oil, vinegar, wine and Zamzam water. Milk and water have their own pages.
The meaning according to what you saw
Here are the cases where the collection speaks of thirst and drinking, in the order of the chapters.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You are thirsty | A defect in religion. If you want to drink from a river and do not, you come out of a sorrow, after the story of Talut (Saul) in the Qur’an. According to another opinion, wanting to drink and not drinking means not obtaining what you seek.vol. 2, p. 302 |
| You drink cold water | Lawful wealth.vol. 2, p. 303 |
| You drink Zamzam water | Good, and you obtain what you want by a pious way.vol. 1, p. 100 |
| You give someone a cup to drink, or someone gives you one | A long life.vol. 1, p. 219 |
| A yellow drink | Every yellow drink announces illness.vol. 1, p. 215 |
| You drink a medicine | If it is easy to drink, it announces that the sick person recovers, and for a healthy person, that he avoids what harms him. If it is unpleasant and hard to swallow, a slight illness followed by recovery. A medicine that does you good is good in your religion.vol. 1, pp. 215 and 216 |
| You drink oil | Sorcery or illness.vol. 1, p. 224 |
| You drink vinegar | You become hostile to your family, because of the tightening that vinegar causes in the mouth. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 224 |
| You drink wine | At root, wine is unlawful wealth gained without effort. Drinking it: a great sin and wide provision, after the verse: “They ask you about wine and gambling. Say, ‘In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit’” (Surah al-Baqarah, verse 219).vol. 1, p. 242 |
| You drink wine, alone or with someone who disputes it with you | With no one to dispute it with you, unlawful wealth, and according to others, lawful wealth. With someone who disputes it with you, a quarrel of words to the same measure. For a governor, drinking wine announces his removal from office.vol. 1, pp. 242 and 243 |
| You are drunk without having drunk | Worry, fear and terror, after the verse: “and you will see the people [appearing] intoxicated while they are not intoxicated” (Surah al-Hajj, verse 2).vol. 1, p. 243 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the two vessels
رأيت كأن بين يدي إناءين في أحدهما نبيذ وفي الآخر لبن فقال اللبن عدل والنبيذ عزلA man came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw two vessels in front of me, one full of nabidh, the other of milk.” Ibn Sirin replied: “Milk is justice. Nabidh is removal from office.” The man was a governor, and before long he was removed.
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 28, vol. 1, p. 243
Nabidh is a drink of soaked dates or grapes. Here Ibn Sirin brings together two Arabic words of the same shape: ‘adl, justice, and ‘azl, removal from office.
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 drinking in a dream mean in Islam?
The collection mostly links drinking to religion. Someone who sees his thirst quenched has a sound and upright religion, and thirst is a defect in religion (vol. 2, pp. 302 and 303). The exact meaning then depends on what you drink: cold water, medicine, oil, vinegar or wine.
What does drinking water in a dream mean in Islam?
Drinking cold water is lawful wealth, and having your thirst quenched shows a sound religion. Drinking Zamzam water announces good obtained by a pious way. The other cases of water, clear, muddy or hot, are explained on the page about water.
Is drinking alcohol or wine in a dream bad in Islam?
The collection says that drinking wine in a dream is “a great sin and wide provision”, after verse 219 of Surah al-Baqarah. At root, the collection says, wine is unlawful wealth gained without effort (vol. 1, p. 242). For a governor, it is removal from office. The collection speaks of wine, khamr, and names no other alcoholic drink.
Does the collection speak of coffee or tea?
No. Coffee and tea do not appear in the collection. It gives them no meaning of their own.
What about drinking milk in a dream?
Drinking milk points to the fitra, and the Prophet ﷺ interpreted the milk he drank in a dream as knowledge (al-Bukhari, 7006). The details are on the page about milk.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 51, vol. 2, pp. 302 and 303 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection, chapters 14, 26, 27 and 28 (vol. 1, pp. 100, 215, 216, 219, 224, 242 and 243).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of the Interpretation of Dreams, no. 7006, quoted in the FAQ.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.