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Smoke in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
الدخان في المنام
In Islam, smoke seen in a dream is generally a bad sign. The Ibn Sirin collection says that smoke is a terror, a punishment from Allah and a penalty from the ruler. Yet it gives two cases where smoke announces good after a fright: smoke coming out of a shop, and smoke under a pot where meat is cooking. Burning incense is a good reputation, with a danger.
والدخان هول وعذاب من الله تعالى وعقوبة من السلطانIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Smoke is a terror, a punishment from Allah the Most High and a penalty from the ruler.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 42, vol. 2, p. 192
The collection gives this definition in the chapter on fire, just before the cases of smoke. There, smoke almost always keeps the idea of fear and punishment. Elsewhere, the text mentions it with the air growing dark, with cold, with incense being burnt, with cows entering a town and with fire falling from the sky with smoke. The other dreams of fire, with or without smoke, are covered on the page about fire.
The meaning according to what you saw
The Ibn Sirin collection has no chapter of its own on smoke. Here are the main cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| You burn perfume or incense | A good reputation, but with a danger, because of the smoke it gives off.vol. 1, p. 246 |
| Cows enter the town, with fire or smoke coming out of their mouths or nostrils | An army, a raid or an enemy that strikes the people and settles on their land. The collection gives the same meaning if these cows are of mixed colours, with hideous horns, or if people flee from them.vol. 1, p. 342 |
| The air grows dark because of smoke | A punishment, through drought or something else. The collection recalls that the Arabs call a year of famine “the dusty year”.vol. 2, p. 19 |
| You are cold and warm yourself by smoke | Cold itself is poverty. Warming yourself by smoke means that you throw yourself into a fright. According to the same passage, warming yourself by a fire, a brazier or smoke means that you will need to work for the ruler, with risk and humiliation.vol. 2, p. 59 |
| Fire falls from the sky on the houses, with flames and smoke | A trial (fitna) and the sword falling upon that place.vol. 2, p. 187 |
| A flame on your house, without smoke | You will perform the hajj.vol. 2, p. 191 |
| Smoke comes out of your shop | Good and abundance reach you, after a fright and a scandal. This comes from the side of the ruler.vol. 2, p. 192 |
| Smoke under a pot where well-cooked meat is cooking | Good, abundance and relief that reach you after a fright.vol. 2, p. 192 |
| Smoke covers you | A fever takes hold of you. The Arabic text has a word that means “to lead astray”; it should probably be read as “to cover”, hence the translation.vol. 2, p. 192 |
| The heat of the smoke reaches you | Grief and worry.vol. 2, p. 192 |
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 smoke in a dream bad in Islam?
Most often, yes. The Ibn Sirin collection says that smoke is a terror, a punishment from Allah and a penalty from the ruler (vol. 2, p. 192). Fever, worry and grief are among its meanings. In two cases, smoke announces good after a fright: smoke from a shop and smoke from a pot of meat. Burning incense is also a good reputation, with a danger.
What does white or black smoke mean in a dream in Islam?
The collection does not speak of the colour of smoke. So it gives no meaning of its own to white or black smoke. The meanings it gives depend on where the smoke comes from and what it does to the dreamer.
What does smoke without fire mean in a dream?
The collection does not deal with smoke without fire. It does speak of the opposite case: a flame on the house, without smoke, announces that the dreamer will perform the hajj (vol. 2, p. 191).
What does smoke in a house or in a shop mean in a dream in Islam?
For the shop, the collection announces good and abundance, after a fright and a scandal coming from the ruler. For smoke from a pot of meat, good and relief after a fright. It gives no case of smoke filling a house.
What does smoking a cigarette in a dream mean in Islam?
The Ibn Sirin collection says nothing about it: tobacco and cigarettes did not exist in its time. For smoke itself, the closest meanings are fever, when the smoke covers the dreamer, and worry, when its heat reaches him.
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 42, vol. 2, pp. 187, 191 and 192; chapter 28, vol. 1, p. 246; chapter 33, vol. 1, p. 342; chapter 38, vol. 2, pp. 19 and 59 (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.