Swimming in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin

السباحة في المنام

In Islam, swimming in a dream is read according to the place and how easily the dreamer swims. For a scholar, swimming in the sea means reaching his aim in knowledge. Swimming well in the open sea announces a great matter or a high office. Swimming in fear announces fear, illness or prison. Swimming on your back means repenting of a sin.

وأما السباحة فمن رأى أنه يسبح في البحر وكان عالما بلغ في العلم حاجتهIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “As for swimming: whoever sees that he is swimming in the sea, if he is a scholar, reaches in knowledge what he was seeking.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 41, vol. 2, p. 169

The collection gives a passage to swimming in the chapter on the sea, rivers and waters. It measures the meaning by three things: the place where you swim, how easy or hard the swimming is, and the swimmer’s strength. Fear, the distance from the shore and getting out of the water change the interpretation a great deal.

The swimmer in the river, in a dream of the Prophet ﷺ

In a long dream reported by Samura ibn Jundab, the Prophet ﷺ tells how two visitors took him away. They came to a river, red like blood as the narrator remembered it. A man was swimming in it. On the bank, another man had gathered many stones and made him swallow one each time he came back. The two visitors later explained to him:

وأما الرجل الذي أتيت عليه يسبح في النهر ويلقم الحجر فإنه آكل الربا“And the man whom you saw swimming in the river and given a stone to swallow, is the eater of usury (Riba).”
Sahih al-Bukhari, no. 7047, narrated by Samura ibn Jundab

This passage describes what was shown to the Prophet ﷺ. The Ibn Sirin collection, for its part, gives the meanings of swimming for an ordinary dreamer, set out below.

The meaning according to what you saw

Here are the cases from the passage on swimming, in the order of the text, with two mentions taken from other chapters.

In your dream	Meaning in the collection
As a scholar, you swim in the sea	You reach in knowledge what you were seeking.vol. 2, p. 169
You swim on dry land	You are imprisoned and suffer hardship in your prison. How long depends on how hard or easy the swimming is, and on your strength.vol. 2, p. 169
You swim easily through a valley to the place you want	You enter the service of an unjust and harsh ruler, from whom you ask something that he grants you, and you gain a place with him. Allah keeps you safe from him to the measure of how far you go through the valley.vol. 2, p. 169
The valley where you swim frightens you	You fear a ruler of that kind. If you come out of it safe and sound, you are saved from him.vol. 2, p. 169
You swim well far out, in the open sea	You enter a great matter or a high office, you become firm in power and you gain honour and strength.vol. 2, pp. 169 and 170
You swim on your back	You repent and turn back from an act of disobedience.vol. 2, p. 170
You swim in fear	Fear, illness or prison, to the measure of your distance from the shore. If you think you will not get out, you die in that worry. If you swim boldly, you come out of that matter unharmed.vol. 2, p. 170
A ruler wants to swim in a rough sea	He fights another king. If he crosses the sea by swimming, he kills him.vol. 2, p. 170
You swim out of the water before you wake up	According to one opinion, this is better than waking up while still swimming. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 170
You swim, according to another opinion	You argue with an opponent, you overcome him and you are given victory over him. (another opinion quoted in the collection)vol. 2, p. 170
You swim in the air	Like flying, a journey by sea or by land. Without wings, it can also show that you put yourself in danger in what you undertake.vol. 2, p. 18
You see a swimmer	The swimmer is someone who seeks knowledge and the affairs of kings.vol. 1, p. 309

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 swimming in a dream a good sign in Islam?

It depends on the swimming. Swimming well in the open sea announces a high office, and a scholar who swims in the sea reaches his aim in knowledge. Swimming in fear announces fear, illness or prison, and swimming on dry land announces prison (vol. 2, pp. 169 and 170).

What does swimming in the sea mean in a dream in Islam?

For a scholar, it is reaching what he was seeking in knowledge. Swimming well in the open sea is entering a great matter and gaining honour and strength. The page about the sea explains the case of a calm sea, in summer, or a rough sea, in winter.

What does swimming on your back mean in a dream?

The collection says that someone who swims on his back repents and turns back from an act of disobedience (vol. 2, p. 170).

What if you swim in fear or with difficulty?

Fear announces fear, illness or prison, according to the distance from the shore. If you believe you will not get out, you die in that worry. If you swim boldly, you come out of the matter unharmed.

Does the collection speak of swimming in a pool?

No. The collection does not speak of swimming pools. It deals with swimming in the sea, in a valley, on dry land and in the air. It also makes no difference between clear and muddy water for swimming.

Sources

Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 41, vol. 2, pp. 169 and 170, with chapter 38 (vol. 2, p. 18) and chapter 32 (vol. 1, p. 309) (Arabic text, Shamela edition, OpenITI corpus).
Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of the Interpretation of Dreams, no. 7047 (English translation by Muhammad Muhsin Khan).
English translations of the Ibn Sirin collection: tafsir-a7lem.com.