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Mosque in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
المسجد في المنام
In Islam, seeing a solid mosque full of worshippers in a dream is a good sign. In the Ibn Sirin collection, the mosque stands for a scholar around whom people gather for good and the remembrance of Allah. It can also point to the Hereafter, because that is where the Hereafter is sought. Building a mosque is praised. Seeing it collapse announces the loss of a man of religion.
من رأى في منامه مسجدا محكما عامرا فإن المسجد رجل عالم يجتمع الناس عنده في صلاح وخير وذكر الله تعالىIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Whoever sees in a dream a solid mosque full of worshippers: the mosque is a scholar with whom people gather in piety, goodness and the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 11, vol. 1, p. 92
The collection bases this meaning on the verse that describes mosques as places “in which the name of Allah is much mentioned” (Surah 22, verse 40). This explanation comes from the one the collection calls “the master Abu Sa’id”, one of the authors it quotes. Another passage, in chapter 39, adds that the mosque points to the Hereafter, just as the rubbish heap points to this world, and that it can also stand for the Kaaba or any place where one gains good and reward.
The meaning according to what you saw
The mosque has its own chapter in the Ibn Sirin collection, chapter 11, together with the mihrab and the minaret. Chapter 10, on prayer, and chapter 39, on places and buildings, come back to it. Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You leave the mosque after praying | Good and provision, according to the verse: “And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah” (Surah 62, verse 10).vol. 1, p. 91 |
| A solid mosque full of worshippers | A scholar around whom people gather in piety, goodness and the remembrance of Allah.vol. 1, p. 92 |
| The mosque collapses | A leader, a man of religion, dies in that place.vol. 1, p. 92 |
| You build a mosque | You keep the ties of kinship and you bring people together for good. Building a mosque also announces victory over enemies.vol. 1, p. 92 |
| A stranger leads the prayer while the mosque’s imam is ill | The imam dies.vol. 1, p. 92 |
| A mosque turns into a bathhouse (hammam) | A man who was thought to be respectable commits sins.vol. 1, p. 92 |
| Your house becomes a mosque | You gain honour and you call people away from falsehood towards the truth.vol. 1, p. 92 |
| The mosque’s minaret collapses | The minaret is a man who brings people together for good. Its fall announces the death of this man, his name being forgotten, and the scattering of that mosque’s congregation.vol. 1, p. 93 |
| You pray in Jerusalem, in Bayt al-Maqdis | You receive an inheritance, or you hold fast to a good deed.vol. 1, p. 94 |
| You build a mosque, depending on your situation | For someone fit to judge, the post of judge. For a scholar, a useful book. For an unmarried person, a marriage. For someone who seeks the goods of this world, a building that brings him a lasting income.vol. 2, p. 128 |
| You demolish a mosque | The opposite of the one who builds it. If you build a shop in its place, you prefer this world to the Hereafter.vol. 2, p. 128 |
| You are in the Sacred Mosque in Mecca | Hajj, for someone who sees himself there stripped of his ordinary clothes (as in the state of ihram) or giving the call to prayer there, even outside the season of pilgrimage.vol. 2, p. 129 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the mosque of Basra
رأيت رجلا قائما وسط هذا المسجد يعني مسجد البصرة متجردا وبيده سيف مسلول فضرب صخرة ففلقها فقال ابن سيرين ينبغي أن يكون هذا الرجل الحسن البصريA man came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw a man standing in the middle of this mosque”, meaning the mosque of Basra, “stripped of his clothes, with a drawn sword in his hand. He struck a rock and split it.” Ibn Sirin replied: “This must be al-Hasan al-Basri.” The man said: “It is him, by Allah.” Ibn Sirin explained: “I thought he was the one who stripped himself of everything for the religion, because of the place, the mosque. And the sword with which he strikes the rock is his tongue, which split stone with his word of truth in religion.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 31, vol. 1, p. 277
Here the mosque tells us something about the man in the dream: he works for the religion. The collection gives a second version of this story in chapter 22 (vol. 1, p. 169).
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 mosque in a dream good or bad in Islam?
Usually good. A solid mosque full of worshippers stands for a scholar who gathers people for good (vol. 1, p. 92). The bad cases are specific: a mosque that collapses, a minaret that falls, a mosque that turns into a bathhouse, or a mosque that you demolish.
What does building a mosque in a dream mean in Islam?
The collection says that whoever builds a mosque keeps the ties of kinship, gathers people for good and overcomes his enemies (vol. 1, p. 92). Chapter 39 gives the meaning according to the dreamer: the post of judge, a useful book for a scholar, a marriage for an unmarried person (vol. 2, p. 128).
What does a broken or collapsing mosque mean in a dream?
A mosque that collapses announces the death of a leader, a man of religion, in that place (vol. 1, p. 92). A minaret that falls announces the death of the man who gathered people for good and the scattering of that mosque’s congregation (vol. 1, p. 93).
What does praying in a mosque or entering a mosque mean in a dream?
The collection gives no meaning to simply entering a mosque. It says that leaving the mosque after prayer announces good and provision (vol. 1, p. 91), and that praying in Bayt al-Maqdis announces an inheritance or holding fast to a good deed (vol. 1, p. 94). Prayer in the mihrab is covered on the page about prayer. The collection speaks neither of cleaning a mosque nor of the mosque of the Prophet ﷺ.
Does the meaning change for a woman, a married person or a single person?
For the mosque, the collection makes no distinction for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman. It mentions only one case linked to status: an unmarried person who builds a mosque in a dream will marry (vol. 2, p. 128). The other meanings apply to everyone.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapters 10 and 11, vol. 1, pp. 91 to 94; chapter 31, vol. 1, p. 277; chapter 39, vol. 2, pp. 128 and 129 (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.