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Prison in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
السجن في المنام
In Islam, dreaming of prison is most often a warning. The Ibn Sirin collection links prison to an illness that stops you from acting, a journey that is blocked, the grave or Hell. Going into prison is never praised: it is a long illness and a lasting sadness. Another opinion, taken from the story of Joseph (peace be upon him), sees in it the rise to power.
السجن يدل على ما يدل عليه الحمام وربما دل على المرض المانع من التصرف والنهوض وربما دل على العقلة عن السفر وربما دل على القبرIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Prison points to what the bathhouse points to. It can point to the illness that prevents a person from acting and getting up, to being held back from travelling, or to the grave.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 115
The collection adds that it can point to Hell, “because it is the prison of the disobedient and the disbelievers”, and because prison is the place of punishment. To read the dream, it asks you to look at the state of the dreamer and the state of the prison: a sick person, a traveller and a man in good health do not receive the same meaning.
The prison of Joseph in the hadith
Al-Bukhari placed this saying of the Prophet ﷺ in his book on the interpretation of dreams. It recalls the patience of Joseph (peace be upon him), who interpreted the dreams of his two fellow prisoners and then the dream of the king. According to the Qur’an, the king then sent a messenger to bring him (Surah 12, verse 50):
لو لبثت في السجن ما لبث يوسف ثم أتاني الداعي لأجبته“If I stayed in prison as long as Joseph stayed and then the messenger came, I would respond to his call (to go out of the prison).”
Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 6992, narrated by Abu Hurayra
The collection relies on the same story to quote another opinion: prison can announce the rise to power, as Joseph went from prison to a high office in Egypt (vol. 2, p. 307).
The meaning according to what you saw
Prison is dealt with in several chapters of the Ibn Sirin collection: the chapter on war, chains and imprisonment (chapter 31), the chapter on places and buildings (chapter 39) and the chapter on hardships (chapter 52). Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| A prisoner sees himself dancing | His release: he leaves prison and is freed from his chains, because the body of someone who dances is light and loose.vol. 1, p. 241 |
| You are shackled and a second shackle is added | For a sick person, he dies of this illness. For a prisoner, his detention lasts longer.vol. 1, p. 295 |
| You are tied to a wooden beam | You are held back because of a hypocrite.vol. 1, p. 295 |
| You are seized and your neck is put in irons | A great hardship, prison or something else, according to the verse: “Seize him and shackle him” (Surah 69, verse 30).vol. 1, p. 296 |
| You go into prison | It is never praised: a long illness and a lasting sadness, whether you went in by choice or by force.vol. 1, p. 297 |
| A prisoner sees the dawn rise | He leaves prison.vol. 2, p. 20 |
| A sick person sees himself in an unknown prison | It is his grave. If the prison is known, his illness lasts, but his recovery can be hoped for. If he is a wrongdoer (mujrim), even a known prison announces a long illness from which he is not expected to recover, unless he repents or embraces Islam during his illness.vol. 2, p. 115 |
| A traveller sees himself in prison | He is held up on the way, by rain, wind, an enemy, a war or an order from the ruler.vol. 2, p. 115 |
| A man in good health, who is not travelling, sees himself in prison | He enters a place where he disobeys Allah.vol. 2, p. 115 |
| A prisoner sees a ship carry him away | He is saved from his prison. If the ship stays still on a stormy sea, his detention lasts.vol. 2, p. 182 |
| You are imprisoned | Humiliation and worry. According to another opinion, the rise to power, after the story of Joseph.vol. 2, p. 307 |
| You are shut in alone in an unknown house, set apart from other houses | Death and the grave. On the other hand, seeing yourself tied up in a locked house announces good.vol. 2, p. 307 |
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 prison in a dream a bad sign in Islam?
Most often, yes. The collection says that going into prison is never praised and announces a long illness and a lasting sadness (vol. 1, p. 297). It still quotes another opinion, based on the story of Joseph: prison can announce the rise to power (vol. 2, p. 307).
What does seeing yourself in prison in a dream mean?
The meaning depends on your state. For a sick person, an unknown prison is his grave, and a known prison an illness that lasts. If he is a wrongdoer (mujrim), even a known prison announces a long illness from which he is not expected to recover, unless he repents or embraces Islam during his illness. A traveller is held up on the way. A man in good health who is not travelling enters a place where he disobeys Allah (vol. 2, p. 115).
What does escaping or getting out of prison mean in a dream?
The collection does not speak of simply getting out of prison in a dream. It gives several signs of release for someone who is already a prisoner: seeing himself dance (vol. 1, p. 241), seeing the dawn rise (vol. 2, p. 20), being carried away by a ship (vol. 2, p. 182), or the imam speaking to him (vol. 1, p. 264).
What does seeing someone you know in prison in a dream mean?
The collection does not deal with this case. It speaks only of the dreamer who sees himself in prison, or of a deceased Muslim seen in prison, who remains held back from Paradise by sins and debts (vol. 2, p. 115). For the deceased, see the page on dreaming of a deceased person.
Does the meaning change for a married, single or pregnant woman?
No. The collection makes no distinction for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman who dreams of prison. It only distinguishes the sick person, the traveller, the person in good health and the one who is already a prisoner.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 31, vol. 1, pp. 295 to 297; chapter 39, vol. 2, p. 115; chapter 52, vol. 2, p. 307, and passages from chapters 28, 30, 38 and 41 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, book of the interpretation of dreams, no. 6992.
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.