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Meat in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
اللحم في المنام
In Islam, dreaming of meat has no single meaning. The Ibn Sirin collection first says that meat announces pains and illnesses, and that eating it amounts to backbiting. It then adds that cooked meat increases wealth, while eating raw meat is always bad according to the collection, which still quotes the opposite view of some interpreters. The animal, the cooking and what you do with the meat change the meaning.
فأما اللحوم فأوجاع وأسقام وابتياعها مصيبة والطري منها موت وأكلها غيبة لذلك الرجل الذي ينسب إليه الحيوانIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “As for meats, they are pains and illnesses. Buying them is a misfortune, fresh meat is a death, and eating it is backbiting against the man to whom the animal is linked.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 27, vol. 1, p. 225
This harsh judgement opens the passage. Further on, a reported opinion considers a skinned animal bad for everyone and a sign of sadness in the house, because rams are compared to people, and human flesh is not eaten. The same opinion adds that all the meats that are eaten are good, except a few. The collection also separates fat meat from lean meat, cooked meat from raw meat, and one animal from another. The link with backbiting comes from the Qur’an, which compares the backbiter to someone who eats the flesh of his dead brother (Surah 49, verse 12).
The meaning according to what you saw
Meat fills a long passage of chapter 27 of the Ibn Sirin collection, which deals with food. Other chapters speak of it in connection with animals and eating. Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| Meat and broth in a cooking pot | Honourable provision, already secured, which comes with talk and drink.vol. 1, p. 224 |
| Salted mutton comes into the house | Good that reaches the household after a misfortune, in proportion to its quantity. Fat meat is better than lean meat.vol. 1, p. 225 |
| Camel meat | Wealth that comes from a strong and powerful enemy, as long as you do not touch it. If you eat it cooked: you eat a man’s wealth, you fall ill and then recover. According to another opinion, a benefit from the ruler.vol. 1, p. 225 |
| Beef | Fatigue, because it is slow to digest, and little work done, because it is heavy. Grilled, according to another opinion: safety after fear, and if the dreamer’s wife is pregnant, she will have a boy. Cooked: a favour for which one must thank Allah.vol. 1, pp. 225 and 226 |
| A skinned and grilled sheep in your house | You become linked with people you do not know, you host strangers, or you gain friends who make you happy. If the animal is lean, these friends are poor and bring you nothing.vol. 1, p. 226 |
| Mutton, cooked or raw | According to another opinion, cooked: wealth gained with effort. Raw: worry and a quarrel. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 226 |
| You eat raw meat | Always bad: the loss of something you own. According to some interpreters, raw meat is bad only for someone who sees it without eating it.vol. 1, pp. 226 and 227 |
| You eat cooked meat | Your wealth increases. If you eat it with an old man, your standing rises with the ruler.vol. 1, p. 227 |
| You eat chicken | Cooked or grilled poultry is provision, but tied to a trick coming from a woman. According to another opinion, chicken is good for everyone: a benefit that comes from the women close to you.vol. 1, p. 228 |
| Cooked or grilled pork | Unlawful money that comes quickly.vol. 1, p. 373 |
| You eat your own flesh | You draw on your savings. Eating someone else’s flesh raw: you backbite him or one of his relatives. Cooked or grilled: you eat up another person’s capital.vol. 2, p. 303 |
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 meat in a dream good or bad in Islam?
It depends. The collection first says that meat announces pains and illnesses, and that eating it amounts to backbiting (vol. 1, p. 225). A reported opinion adds that the meats people eat are good, except a few (vol. 1, p. 226). Eating cooked meat increases wealth (vol. 1, p. 227).
What does raw meat mean in a dream in Islam?
According to the collection, eating raw meat is always bad: the loss of something you own (vol. 1, p. 226). It still quotes the opposite view of some interpreters: raw meat would be bad only for someone who sees it without eating it, and good for someone who eats it (vol. 1, p. 227). Elsewhere, eating raw meat is linked to backbiting (vol. 1, p. 358).
What does eating cooked or grilled meat mean in a dream?
Eating cooked meat announces an increase in wealth (vol. 1, p. 227). Cooked beef is a favour for which one must thank Allah, and grilled beef is safety after fear. A grilled sheep in the house announces guests or new friends.
Does the meaning change with the animal, such as beef, mutton or chicken?
Yes. Camel meat is wealth from a strong enemy, beef is fatigue, salted mutton is good after a misfortune, and chicken is a benefit from women. Cooked or grilled pork is unlawful money that comes quickly. The collection speaks neither of minced meat nor of rotten meat.
Does the meaning change for a married, single or pregnant woman?
The collection makes no distinction for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman who dreams of meat. It mentions one case linked to pregnancy: if the dreamer’s wife is pregnant and he sees grilled beef, she will have a boy, according to a reported opinion (vol. 1, p. 225).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 27, vol. 1, pp. 224 to 228; chapter 33, vol. 1, p. 358; chapter 34, vol. 1, p. 373; chapter 51, vol. 2, p. 303 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Qur’an, Surah 49, verse 12.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.