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Red Colour in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الحمرة في المنام
In Islam, the meaning of red in a dream depends on who sees it and on the object. For men, the Ibn Sirin collection links red clothes to “transgression, sins, notoriety”. For women, red clothes are good. Outside clothing, red often announces joy and amusement, and sometimes war, illness or bloodshed.
والحمرة دالة للرجال على البغي والذنوب والشهرة وهيجان الدمIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Red points, for men, to transgression, sins, notoriety and the heating of the blood.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 58, vol. 2, p. 352
This sentence comes from the last chapter of the collection, in the passage that gives the meaning of each colour of clothing. It concerns men. For women, the chapter on clothes says that red suits them. In the rest of the collection, red often comes with joy, amusement and beauty, and more rarely with war, illness or blood.
The meaning according to what you saw
The collection speaks of red in connection with clothes, the face, the sky, weapons, animals and gold. Here are the cases it describes.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| A man wears red clothes | It is disliked for men, because it is “the adornment of Satan”. The exception is a waist wrap, a mattress, a blanket or what is not seen on the man: then it is joy. According to another opinion, red is worry.vol. 1, p. 247 |
| A woman wears red clothes | It is good for her, in her life in this world.vol. 1, pp. 247 and 255 |
| You wear red on a day of Eid | It does you no harm.vol. 1, p. 255 |
| A king dressed in red | He is busy with amusement and play.vol. 1, p. 255 |
| Red clothes, according to other opinions | Much wealth, without paying Allah’s due on that wealth. For a sick person, death. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 1, p. 255 |
| Your face is red | Standing and joy. According to another opinion, if the red is mixed with white, the dreamer gains honour.vol. 1, p. 136 |
| Red clouds out of their season | Distress, a trial (fitna) or an illness.vol. 2, p. 48 |
| A red rainbow | Bloodshed. A green one announces safety from famine and from the ruler’s injustice. A yellow one, illnesses.vol. 2, p. 55 |
| Red banners | Joy. The banner can also stand for an ascetic scholar: if it is red, it announces joy and happiness. According to another opinion, red banners announce war.vol. 1, p. 275 |
| A red shield | A man of amusement and joy.vol. 1, p. 284 |
| You ride a red bull | Riding a loaded bull brings good, unless it is red. According to a reported opinion, a red bull announces the illness of the dreamer’s son.vol. 1, p. 345 |
| An old red dinar of good quality | A pure and upright religion (hanif).vol. 2, p. 137 |
Ibn Sirin’s story about the red ruby
رأيت في يدي خاتما فصه من ياقوتة حمراء فقال تحبك امرأة جميلة فيها قسوة شديدةA man came to Ibn Sirin and said: “I saw on my hand a ring whose stone was a red ruby.” Ibn Sirin replied: “A beautiful woman loves you, and there is great harshness in her.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 40, vol. 2, p. 157
Here Ibn Sirin interprets the ring and its stone together. The other cases of the ring are on the page given to it.
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 red in a dream a bad sign in Islam?
Not always. For men, the collection links red clothes to transgression and sins, except on what is not seen, where it becomes joy. For women, red clothes are good. Elsewhere, red often announces joy and amusement, and sometimes war or bloodshed.
What does wearing red clothes in a dream mean in Islam?
For a woman, red clothes are good in her life in this world. For a man, they are disliked, except on a day of Eid, when they do no harm, or on what is not seen. The collection says nothing about a red dress in particular: this meaning applies to clothes in general (vol. 1, pp. 247 and 255).
What does a red face mean in a dream?
The collection says that a red complexion is standing and joy. According to another opinion, if the red is mixed with white, the dreamer gains honour (vol. 1, p. 136).
What about a red rose or blood in a dream?
These dreams belong to other symbols, which the collection treats separately. The meaning of the red rose is on the page about the rose, and the meaning of blood on the page about blood.
Does red mean something different for a married woman, a single woman or a pregnant woman?
The collection separates men and women for red clothes: disliked for one, good for the other. It makes no distinction between a married woman, a single woman and a pregnant woman.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 58, vol. 2, p. 352 (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
- Same collection, chapters 22, 29, 31 and 33 (vol. 1, pp. 136, 247, 255, 275, 284 and 345), chapters 38 and 40 (vol. 2, pp. 48, 55, 137 and 157).
- Sahih Muslim, no. 2263, for the three kinds of dreams.
- English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.