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Earth and Soil in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الأرض في المنام
In Islam, the earth seen in a dream stands first of all for this world. The Ibn Sirin collection says that land points to the life of this world for the one who owns it, according to how wide or narrow it is. Wide, green land announces ease and joy. Narrow land announces a hard life. Soil and dust, for their part, are often money.
أما الأرض فتدل على الدنيا لمن ملكها على قدر اتساعها وكبرها وضيقها وصغرهاIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “As for the earth, it points to this world for the one who owns it, in proportion to its width and size, its narrowness and smallness.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 59
This sentence opens the chapter of the collection on the earth, its mountains, its soil and its towns. The text adds that the earth can point to this world and the sky to the hereafter. A known land also stands for the dreamer’s town and its people, and a road to be travelled stands for a journey.
The meaning according to what you saw
Here are the cases the collection describes, mostly at the start of chapter 39, with the earthquake taken from chapter 38.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You own an unknown land | The poor person becomes rich, the unmarried person marries, and the one who holds an office obtains a governorship.vol. 2, p. 60 |
| You sell a land, or leave it for another | The sick person dies, especially if the new land is unknown. The well-off person becomes poor, especially if the land he left had grass and pasture.vol. 2, p. 60 |
| You move from barren land to fertile land | You move from innovation (bid’a) to the Sunnah. In the other direction, it is the opposite.vol. 2, p. 60 |
| The earth splits open | If a young man comes out of it, hostility appears among its people. If an old man comes out, their fortune is happy and they have plenty. If it splits open and nothing comes out or goes in, an evil event happens in that land. If a wild beast comes out, an unjust ruler appears; if a snake comes out, it is a lasting punishment in that region. If it splits open with plants, its people have plenty.vol. 2, pp. 60 and 61 |
| You fold up the earth with your hand | You obtain a kingdom. According to another opinion, treading on the earth brings an inheritance. Narrow land points to a narrow living. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 61 |
| The earth speaks to you | If it speaks good to you, good in religion and in this world. Unclear words whose meaning stays unknown: doubtful money. Words of reproach: let the dreamer fear Allah, because it is unlawful money.vol. 2, p. 61 |
| The earth swallows you | Blessings disappear and the situation is overturned. For a governor, the world turns against him, the friend becomes an enemy and joy becomes sadness.vol. 2, p. 61 |
| The earth is folded over people, or spread out for you | Folded over people: death in that place. According to another opinion, people perish there in a number equal to those it was folded over, or they suffer hardship, famine or trial. Folded for you alone: your living becomes tight. Spread out for you: a long life and good that reaches you. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, pp. 61 and 62 |
| You are in a wide, green, cultivated countryside | Space, honour, joy and happiness, in proportion to how wide, green and cultivated the countryside is. Deserted land is poverty.vol. 2, p. 62 |
| The earth shakes | When an earthquake strikes, the king is unjust to his subjects, or a trial or illnesses occur. Seeing the earth move points to the movement of the dreamer and his way of living.vol. 2, pp. 58 and 59 |
| You gather, carry or eat soil (dust) | According to some, walking in dust means seeking money, and gathering it or eating it means gathering money. If the land belongs to someone else, the money is for someone else. Carrying soil: a profit in proportion to what you carry. Swallowing dry soil: money that reaches you, because soil is money. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 69 |
| You get dirty with soil or dust | For the rich person, his money goes and he knows humiliation and need. The one who has a debt or holds something in trust gives it back to its owner, then everything leaves his hand and he is in need afterwards. For the sick person, his worldly gains decrease, he loses his wealth and joins the dust.vol. 2, pp. 68 and 69 |
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 earthquake in a dream mean in Islam?
The collection says that an earthquake points to the king’s injustice towards his subjects, a trial or illnesses. If part of the land is swallowed up and the rest is spared, the ruler comes to that land and punishes some of its people. According to another opinion, it is a serious illness. Simply seeing the earth move points to the movement of the dreamer and his way of living (vol. 2, pp. 58 and 59).
Is dreaming of green or fertile land good?
Yes. Being in a wide, green, cultivated countryside announces space, honour and joy. Moving from barren land to fertile land shows that you leave innovation for the Sunnah (vol. 2, pp. 60 and 62).
What does ploughed land mean in a dream?
The collection does not describe ploughed land seen from a distance. It speaks of the one who ploughs a field: if he is unmarried, he marries; otherwise, his trade becomes busy and his profits grow (vol. 2, p. 235).
Does the colour of the soil, red, black or brown, change the meaning?
The collection gives no meaning to the colour of the soil on its own. It distinguishes land by its width, its fertility and what comes out of it. So no meaning for red or black soil should be attributed to Ibn Sirin.
Does dreaming of soil or dust announce money in Islam?
Often, yes. According to some, the one who carries it obtains a profit in proportion to what he carries. The one who swallows it receives money. But a rich person who gets dirty with soil or dust loses his money (vol. 2, pp. 68 and 69).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 39, vol. 2, pp. 59 to 62, 68 and 69; chapter 38, vol. 2, pp. 58 and 59; chapter 44, vol. 2, p. 235 (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.