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House in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الدار في المنام
In Islam, a house seen in a dream stands for the people who live in it. The Ibn Sirin collection says that whatever happens to the house, destruction, narrowness, width, good or bad, comes back to its inhabitants. Your own house can also stand for your body, your wealth or your family. An unknown house often stands for the abode of the Hereafter.
وأما الدور فهي دالة على أربابها فما نزل بها من هدم أو ضيق أو سعة أو خير أو شر عاد ذلك على أهلها وأربابها وسكانهاIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Houses stand for their owners. Whatever strikes them, destruction, narrowness, width, good or bad, comes back to their people, their owners and their inhabitants.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 79
The collection adds that the walls stand for the men and the roofs for the women. It also separates the whole house (dâr) from the room where one lives (bayt), which stands above all for the wife. The door of the house is the one in charge of it: what happens to the door concerns him.
The meaning according to what you saw
Chapter 39 of the collection deals with lands, towns and houses. Here are its cases on the house, with two sentences from the chapters on water and on fire.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You are in an unknown house | It is the abode of the Hereafter. A sick person reaches it, safe from the trials of this world. For a healthy person, it is good news, in proportion to his deeds.vol. 2, pp. 80 and 81 |
| You build a house that is not your own | If you are ill or caring for someone ill, it is a grave. Otherwise, a good of this world. Built of mud bricks and clay, this good is lawful; built of baked bricks and plaster, it is unlawful.vol. 2, p. 81 |
| A lonely, unknown house with dead people you know inside | It is the abode of the Hereafter. Going in without coming out announces death; going in and then coming out, coming close to death and then being saved.vol. 2, pp. 81 and 82 |
| You enter a new, complete house in a known place | The poor man becomes rich, the rich man grows richer, the worried one finds relief and the sinner repents, in proportion to its beauty and its width.vol. 2, p. 82 |
| A wide or a narrow house | The width of the house is the ease of your life and your generosity. Its narrowness is hardship and miserliness.vol. 2, p. 82 |
| A house made of iron | A long life and prosperity for its owner.vol. 2, p. 82 |
| You leave your house in anger | You will be imprisoned, like Jonah (peace be upon him), who left in anger.vol. 2, p. 82 |
| Your old house collapses on you | An inheritance. The collection reports that a man from Yemen had this dream and soon after inherited six thousand dirhams. According to another opinion, the destruction of the house is the death of its owner.vol. 2, p. 83 |
| You pull down a new house, or you build or buy one | Pulling down a new house: worry and harm. Building or buying a house: much good.vol. 2, pp. 84 and 85 |
| You come out of a narrow room | You come out of a worry.vol. 2, p. 85 |
| Water comes into the house | There is no good in this dream. If someone in the house is ill, he dies and people come to mourn him.vol. 2, p. 161 |
| Your house is burning | Your house will soon be ruined.vol. 2, p. 191 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the door of the house
أما سقوط الأسكفة العليا فقدوم زوجك سريعاA woman told Ibn Sirin that she had seen the lintel of her door fall onto the threshold, and the two door leaves fall, one outside and the other inside the house. He asked her: “Do you have a husband and a son who are away?” She said yes. He said: “The fall of the lintel is your husband’s quick return. The leaf that fell outside is your son marrying a foreign woman.” Soon after, her husband came back, and her son came with a young foreign wife.
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 96
This story shows the rule of the chapter: the parts of the door stand for the members of the family, and what happens to them in the dream concerns those people.
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 unknown house mean in a dream in Islam?
According to the collection, an unknown house is the abode of the Hereafter. For a healthy person, it is good news in proportion to his deeds. If the house is lonely and you see dead people you know inside, going in without coming out announces death (vol. 2, pp. 80 to 82).
Is seeing a new house or a big house in a dream a good sign?
Yes. Entering a new, complete house in a known place makes the poor man rich, brings relief to the worried and leads the sinner to repent. The width of the house is the ease of your life and your generosity (vol. 2, p. 82).
What does a demolished or collapsing house mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection reports that an old house collapsing on the dreamer announced an inheritance. Another opinion says that the destruction of the house is the death of its owner. Pulling down a new house yourself announces worry (vol. 2, pp. 83 and 84).
What does a house on fire or a flooded house mean in a dream?
A house that burns will soon be ruined (vol. 2, p. 191). Water coming into the house announces no good: if someone in it is ill, he dies (vol. 2, p. 161).
What does the collection say about a haunted house?
The Ibn Sirin collection does not speak of a haunted house. We prefer not to give a meaning that is not found in it.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 39 (lands, towns and houses), vol. 2, pp. 79 to 86 and p. 96 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection, chapter 41 (water), vol. 2, p. 161; chapter 42 (fire), vol. 2, p. 191.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.