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Feet in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
القدم في المنام
In Islam, a foot seen in a dream mostly stands for the dreamer’s wealth and what he relies on to live. The Ibn Sirin collection says that the foot is a man’s adornment and his wealth, and that the toes are his servants. A foot that is cut off therefore announces a loss of money or strength. The meaning changes with the foot affected and the dreamer’s situation.
والقدم زينة الرجل وماله وأصابعه جواريه وغلمانهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The foot is a man’s adornment and his wealth, and its toes are his maidservants and his servants.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 22, vol. 1, p. 176
Just before this, the collection adds that the leg is “what keeps a man standing”: his money and the means of living he relies on. The toes are also “the adornment of their owner’s wealth and his good deeds”. According to another opinion, the two feet stand for the two parents. This explains the meanings below, almost all linked to wealth, strength and family.
The meaning according to what you saw
The collection speaks of the foot at the end of the chapter on the parts of the body, then in the chapter on illnesses and in the one on walking. Here are the cases it describes.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| A foot or a leg cut off | One leg cut off: half of your wealth goes, or your strength weakens and you struggle to act. Both legs cut off and separated from the body: the loss of all your wealth, or death.vol. 1, pp. 175 and 210 |
| The right foot ill or broken | If it is wounded, your son falls ill. The left foot: a daughter receives a marriage proposal, or a daughter is born to you if you have none. If the foot breaks while you are planning a journey, stay at home. If it is dislocated, your wife falls ill.vol. 1, p. 213 |
| You limp | Weakness in reaching what you seek, and a relative who abandons you and lets you down. According to an opinion attributed to Ibn Sirin, limping shows on the contrary a good religion and an understanding of fiqh. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 213 |
| You walk barefoot | The collection gives two meanings. In the chapter on the body, according to another opinion: fatigue and hardship. In the chapter on walking: a good religion and the end of a worry. According to another opinion, a misfortune affecting the wife, or a divorce. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 175; vol. 2, p. 323 |
| Your foot hurts | Much money.vol. 1, p. 210 |
| You have many feet | For the traveller, an easy journey and wealth. For the poor, riches. For the rich, an illness, because he will need feet other than his own. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, pp. 175 and 176 |
| Hair on the feet | A debt that weighs on you.vol. 1, p. 176 |
| Your toes or your feet rise to the sky | Toes rising to the sky: the death of some of your servants. Both feet rising to the sky and coming off: the death of two children.vol. 1, p. 176 |
| Someone cuts off your big toe | He holds back a debt he owes you, or cuts off an income you were counting on.vol. 1, p. 210 |
| Your big toe stumbles against the ground | Debts pile up on you.vol. 2, p. 306 |
| Feet dyed and adorned with henna | For a man, the death of a member of his family. For a woman, the death of her husband.vol. 1, p. 175 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the big toe
ورأت امرأة كأن إبهام رجلها قطعت فقصت رؤياها على ابن سيرين فقال تصلين قوما قطعتيهمA woman saw in a dream that her big toe was cut off. She told her dream to Ibn Sirin, who said to her: “You will reconnect with people you had cut off.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 22, vol. 1, p. 177
Here the dream does not speak of a loss. Ibn Sirin read in it ties with people the woman had broken away from and was going to restore.
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 a foot cut off mean in a dream in Islam?
According to the collection, one leg cut off announces the loss of half of one’s wealth, or strength that weakens. Both cut off: the loss of all one’s wealth, or death (vol. 1, pp. 175 and 210). For a woman whose big toe was cut off, Ibn Sirin saw on the contrary ties restored with people she had left.
What does walking barefoot mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection gives two readings. In the chapter on the body, according to another opinion, walking barefoot shows fatigue and hardship (vol. 1, p. 175). In the chapter on walking, it is a good religion and the end of a worry, and according to another opinion a misfortune affecting the wife (vol. 2, p. 323).
Is a broken or injured foot in a dream a bad sign in Islam?
The collection links the right foot to the son and the left foot to the daughter. A right foot that is wounded or broken announces the son’s illness. If you are planning a journey, a broken foot is advice to stay at home (vol. 1, p. 213).
Does the meaning change for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman?
The collection gives no meaning of its own to the married woman, the single woman or the pregnant woman for the foot. It distinguishes men and women for feet dyed with henna: the death of a relative for a man, that of the husband for a woman (vol. 1, p. 175).
What do washing feet, dirty feet or swollen feet mean in a dream in Islam?
The Ibn Sirin collection speaks neither of dirty feet, nor of swollen feet, nor of washing the feet. The closest case is pain in the foot, which it reads as much money (vol. 1, p. 210).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 22, vol. 1, pp. 175 to 177, and chapter 25, vol. 1, pp. 210 and 213 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection, chapter 52, vol. 2, p. 306, and chapter 55, vol. 2, p. 323.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.