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Mouse in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الفأر في المنام
In Islam, a mouse seen in a dream most often has an unfavourable meaning in the Ibn Sirin collection. It stands first for a sinful woman, a thieving woman, or one with hidden bad intentions. The rat has the same meaning, or that of a thief who breaks through walls. Black and white mice stand for the nights and days that eat away at life. Another opinion links mice to the household the dreamer supports.
الفأرة امرأة فاسقة أو سارقة أو لها سريرة فاسدةIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “The mouse is a sinful woman, or a thieving woman, or one who hides bad intentions.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 37, vol. 2, p. 7
The collection places the mouse in the chapter on small creatures and animals that crawl on the earth. It almost always gives it the sense of a quiet harm: a sinful or thieving woman, a woman with bad intentions, or time that eats away at life without anyone noticing. From its introduction onwards, it also uses the mouse as an example of a symbol that stands for women.
The meaning according to what you saw
The main passage on the mouse is short. The collection comes back to this animal in other chapters: animal cries, falls, the general rules of interpretation. Here are the cases it describes.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You see a mouse | A sinful woman, or a thieving woman, or one who hides bad intentions.vol. 2, p. 7 |
| Several mice of different colours, black and white | The nights and the days, which eat away at lives and bodies silently, without anyone paying attention.vol. 2, p. 7 |
| You see a rat | The same meaning as the mouse: there is no good in it. According to another opinion, it is a thief who breaks through walls.vol. 2, p. 7 |
| Mice, according to another opinion | The dependants the dreamer supports, and his servants. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 7 |
| Mice leave the house | A blessing disappears. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 7 |
| You hear a mouse squeak | Harm caused by a sinful man, a thief who breaks through walls.vol. 1, p. 196 |
| You fall among mice | A fall into sins and trials. The collection gives this example together with wild beasts, crows and snakes. Running away from these creatures shows, on the contrary, that the dreamer gives up his sins.vol. 2, p. 65 |
| Mouse or rat: woman or man | Animals known mainly by their females stand for women, as long as the dreamer does not name the male. The mouse therefore stands for a woman, unless it is a male rat.vol. 2, p. 350 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the mouse
رأيت كأني وطئت فأرة خرجت من أستها تمرة فقال ألك امرأة فاسقة قال نعم قال تلد لك ولدا صالحاIt is reported that a man came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw that I stepped on a mouse, and a date came out of its hindquarters.” Ibn Sirin asked him: “Do you have a sinful wife?” He said: “Yes.” Ibn Sirin said: “She will bear you a righteous child.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 37, vol. 2, p. 7
Here the mouse keeps its meaning of a woman, and the date that comes out of it becomes the righteous child.
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 mouse in a dream a bad sign in Islam?
Most of the time, yes. The Ibn Sirin collection sees the mouse as a sinful or thieving woman, and the rat as a thief. The only favourable case is the story in which Ibn Sirin announced a righteous child to a man who had stepped on a mouse.
What does it mean to see mice in the house in a dream?
The collection does not speak of mice living in the house. It quotes one opinion that mice leaving the house announce the loss of a blessing. Another opinion sees mice as the dependants and servants of the dreamer (vol. 2, p. 7).
What does a white, black or grey mouse mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection only speaks of several black and white mice together: they are the nights and days that eat away at life. It gives no meaning to a mouse of a single colour, nor to a grey mouse.
What does a dead mouse or killing a mouse mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection speaks of neither a dead mouse nor a mouse being killed. The only act it describes is the story of the man who stepped on a mouse, which Ibn Sirin interpreted as the birth of a righteous child.
Do a rat and a mouse have the same meaning in a dream?
Almost. The collection says the rat has the meaning of the mouse and that there is no good in it. According to another opinion, it is a thief who breaks through walls. A general rule of the collection adds that the mouse stands for a woman, and the male rat for a man.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 37, vol. 2, p. 7 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection, introduction (vol. 1, p. 19), chapter 24 (vol. 1, p. 196), chapter 39 (vol. 2, p. 65) and chapter 58 (vol. 2, p. 350).
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.