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Feces in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الغائط في المنام
In Islam, dreaming of feces is often linked to money. The Ibn Sirin collection says that everything that comes out of the bellies of people and animals is money, lawful or not according to its smell and its filth. Relieving yourself in a dream drives worry away. The place matters: in public it is a scandal, on a rubbish heap it is a good thing.
وكل ما خرج من بطون الناس والدواب من الأرواث فهو مال إلا أن تحليله وتحريمه بقدر ريحه وقذره وأذاه للناسIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Everything that comes out of the bellies of people and animals, such as dung, is money. But it is lawful or unlawful according to its smell, its filth and the harm it causes to people.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 23, vol. 1, p. 190
This passage is in the chapter on the things that come out of people and animals, the same chapter as milk. The collection first cites two opinions: feces would be provision drawn from an injustice, or on the contrary the sign of relief. It also states that human feces in large amounts, like mud, announce worry or fear coming from a ruler.
The meaning according to what you saw
The Ibn Sirin collection describes many cases, mostly according to the consistency of the stool and the place where one relieves oneself. Here are the main ones, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You relieve yourself | Your worry goes away. If you have wealth, you pay its zakat.vol. 1, p. 190 |
| You pass a lot of stool while you are travelling | You do not set off, and the road is cut off for you.vol. 1, p. 190 |
| You eat, touch or pick up feces | Money you will regret. Sometimes a word spoken out of greed, which you will regret.vol. 1, p. 190 |
| Hard or loose stool | Hard: you spend part of your money, in good health. Loose: the spending is greater.vol. 1, p. 190 |
| You relieve yourself in a known place, such as the toilet | A known expense, as you wish. In an unknown place, unlawful money spent with no reward and no thanks.vol. 1, p. 190 |
| You relieve yourself in your clothes | You commit a shameful deed.vol. 1, p. 190 |
| You cover your stool with earth | You hide money.vol. 1, p. 190 |
| You relieve yourself in your bed | A long illness, because only someone who cannot get up does this when awake. This dream can also announce separation from one’s wife.vol. 1, pp. 190 and 191 |
| You relieve yourself in the market, in the bathhouse or in front of people | The anger of Allah and of the angels, a great scandal, a heavy loss, and what was hidden comes into the open.vol. 1, p. 191 |
| You relieve yourself on a rubbish heap or by the sea | Something good, and the end of worry and pain.vol. 1, p. 191 |
| A person you know throws feces at you | Hostility, disagreement and injustice coming from this person, with great harm.vol. 1, p. 191 |
| You are soiled with human feces | Illness or fear.vol. 1, p. 191 |
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
Is seeing feces in a dream a bad sign in Islam?
Not necessarily. The Ibn Sirin collection sees in it first of all money, lawful or unlawful according to its smell and filth. Relieving yourself drives worry away, and doing so on a rubbish heap announces something good. The bad cases are mainly the bed, the clothes and public places.
What does relieving yourself in a dream mean in Islam?
According to the collection, worry goes away, and whoever has wealth pays its zakat (vol. 1, p. 190). The place changes the meaning: in the toilet, a known expense; in front of people, a scandal.
What does loose stool in a dream mean?
The collection separates hard stool, a partial expense made in good health, from loose stool, a greater expense (vol. 1, p. 190). The text of our edition is damaged at this point, hence a cautious translation.
What does feces on you or on your hands mean in a dream?
Being soiled with human feces announces illness or fear (vol. 1, p. 191). Touching or picking up feces announces money you will regret.
Does the collection speak of animal, cat or bird droppings?
It does not go species by species. It only says that everything that comes out of the bellies of people and animals is money, lawful or unlawful according to its smell and filth (vol. 1, p. 190).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 23, vol. 1, pp. 190 and 191 (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.