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Flood in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
السيل في المنام
In Islam, a flood seen in a dream most often announces an enemy, an unjust power or an epidemic. The Ibn Sirin collection simply says: “The flood is an enemy who dominates.” A flood that does no damage can, on the contrary, stand for a troop or a caravan entering in peace. The meaning depends on the damage, the colour of the water and what the dreamer does.
والسيل عدو مسلطIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The flood is an enemy who dominates.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 38, vol. 2, p. 53
From its introduction, the collection lists the flood among the symbols that can be exchanged: “the flood is the enemy, and the enemy is the flood”. A torrent of water that invades a city looks like an army attacking it. The passage on the flood is in the chapter on the sky, rain and torrents. The Arabic word sayl means water that rushes down and sweeps away everything in its path.
The meaning according to what you saw
The collection gives a short passage to the flood, then comes back to it when speaking of houses and watercourses. Gutters that run without rain are covered on the page about rain. Here are the cases it describes.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| A flood enters the city | An epidemic, if people are already partly suffering from it, or if the water is red like blood or murky.vol. 2, p. 53 |
| A flood enters the city without causing damage | The arrival of a troop or a caravan that comes in peace. If it does harm, people live in fear.vol. 2, p. 53 |
| The flood destroys houses and carries off goods and livestock | An enemy who attacks the inhabitants, or a ruler who oppresses them.vol. 2, p. 53 |
| The flood in general, according to another opinion | The assault of the enemy, just as the assault of the enemy is a flood. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 53 |
| The flood rises up to the shops | A deluge, or the soldiers of an unjust power who attack.vol. 2, p. 53 |
| The flood heads towards the river | The dreamer fears an enemy coming from the king’s side. He seeks a man’s help and escapes his harm.vol. 2, p. 53 |
| You hold back the flood to protect your house | You face an enemy and stop him from harming your family and your home.vol. 2, p. 53 |
| The walls of the house collapse under a flood | The death of the people of the house. Ruins in the neighbourhood announce deaths in that neighbourhood.vol. 2, p. 125 |
| Water reaches your roof | A trial coming from the ruler. Flowing water stands for a powerful man who can only be approached gently.vol. 2, p. 170 |
| A wadi, a watercourse, blocks your way | On a journey: a highway robber, a lion, rain, a ruler or a tax collector stops you. At home: sorrow and a trial. It is more serious in winter and if the water is murky.vol. 2, p. 171 |
| You cross this watercourse or get out of it | You are freed from your worries, your illnesses and the trials that the water announced.vol. 2, p. 171 |
| Cranes fly around a city | According to another opinion, intense cold that year and a flood that cannot be withstood. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 403 |
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 a flood in a dream a bad sign in Islam?
Most often, yes. The Ibn Sirin collection sees in the flood an enemy who dominates, an unjust ruler or an epidemic (vol. 2, p. 53). It gives one exception: a flood that enters without damage announces a troop or a caravan arriving in peace.
What does a flood in the house mean in a dream in Islam?
If the flood brings down the walls of the house, the collection sees in it the death of its inhabitants (vol. 2, p. 125). If the water reaches the roof, it is a trial coming from the ruler. The case of water that overflows and enters houses without destroying them is covered on the pages about water and the sea.
What does a flood of dirty water mean in a dream?
A flood of murky water, or water red like blood, that enters a city announces an epidemic (vol. 2, p. 53). For a watercourse that blocks the road, the collection says that murky water makes everything it announces more serious (vol. 2, p. 171).
What does escaping a flood in a dream mean in Islam?
The collection gives three good cases. Holding the flood back from your house: you stop an enemy from harming your family. Seeing the flood head towards the river: you escape an enemy with a man’s help. Crossing the watercourse or getting out of it: you are freed from your worries and your illnesses.
Does the meaning change for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman?
No. The collection gives no meaning specific to a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman for the flood. It only distinguishes the traveller from the one who stays at home, when a watercourse blocks the road.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 38, vol. 2, p. 53 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection, introduction, vol. 1, p. 18; chapter 35, vol. 1, p. 403; chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 125; chapter 41, vol. 2, pp. 170 and 171.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.