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Seeing a Woman in a Dream in Islam: Meaning by Ibn Sirin
المرأة في المنام
In Islam, dreaming of a woman often points to this world (the dunya). The Ibn Sirin collection says that a beautiful woman who enters the house announces joy, but that a beautiful woman is wealth that does not last, because beauty changes. The meaning depends on her age, her face, her attitude, and on the person who dreams.
ومن رأى امرأة حسناء دخلت داره نال سرورا وفرحا والمرأة الجميلة مال لا بقاء له لأن الجمال يتغيرIn the Ibn Sirin collection: “Whoever sees a beautiful woman enter his house obtains joy and happiness. A beautiful woman is wealth that does not last, because beauty changes.”
Muntakhab al-kalâm, chapter 21, vol. 1, pp. 131 and 132
This sentence is found in the chapter on people: old men, young people, women, children, people known and unknown. The collection comes back to the woman in chapter 50. There it explains that a woman can point to this world, to the hereafter, to authority or to the year, according to what is drawn from her name. For a woman seen in a dream before a marriage, see the page on marriage.
The meaning according to what you saw
The woman appears in two chapters of the Ibn Sirin collection: the chapter on people (chapter 21, vol. 1) and the chapter on sleep, the old woman and the woman (chapter 50, vol. 2). Here are the cases it describes, in the order of the text.
| In your dream | Meaning in the collection |
|---|---|
| A young woman turns her face towards you | Your affairs pick up again after declining.vol. 1, p. 132 |
| A plump woman or a thin woman | The plump woman is a fertile year, the thin woman a year of drought.vol. 1, p. 132 |
| A woman sees a young woman, or an old woman, in a dream | The young woman is an enemy to her, however she sees her. The old woman is her grandmother.vol. 1, p. 132 |
| An old woman who frowns, is ugly or is veiled | Frowning: loss of standing because of this world. Ugly: affairs turn against you. With her face veiled: an affair followed by regret.vol. 1, p. 132 |
| An old woman enters your house or leaves it | If she enters, this world comes to you. If she leaves, this world leaves you. An ugly old woman brings no good. An unknown old woman is stronger in interpretation.vol. 1, p. 132 |
| A young woman sees that she has become old | Her religion is good.vol. 1, pp. 132-133 |
| An ugly, unknown old woman with a defect | She is this world, the head of every trial. The collection reports that this world appeared to the Prophet ﷺ, on the night of the Night Journey, in the form of a woman. Beautiful, clean, looking like a devout and ascetic worshipper, she can instead point to the hereafter and to the deeds that bring one closer to it.vol. 2, p. 299 |
| A complete woman, in general | She points to what is drawn from her name: either the affairs of this world, or those of the hereafter, because she makes religion better. She can also point to authority, and to the year, because she grows beautiful, gives birth and gives milk.vol. 2, p. 300 |
| A woman smiles at you or comes towards you | For someone with an illness of the stomach or a similar illness, or for an unmarried man, if she is very beautiful or he thinks she is a houri, he obtains martyrdom. Otherwise, if she is a woman of this world, he is freed from his situation and obtains worldly goods. For the poor man, a gain of money. For the prisoner, release.vol. 2, pp. 300-301 |
| A woman appears before people | With her face uncovered, it is an affair that comes out into the open; veiled, a hidden affair. Beautiful, a happy affair; ugly, an ugly affair. If she exhorts them and commands them to do good, it is an affair that is good for religion.vol. 2, p. 301 |
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 woman in a dream a good sign in Islam?
It depends on the woman. A beautiful woman who enters the house announces joy, but beauty is wealth that does not last (vol. 1, pp. 131 and 132). An ugly, frowning or unknown woman with a defect is rather unfavourable: the collection sees in her this world and its trials.
What does seeing an unknown woman in a dream mean in Islam?
The collection says that an unknown old woman is stronger in interpretation (vol. 1, p. 132). Ugly and with a defect, she points to this world, the head of every trial; beautiful and devout, she can point to the hereafter (vol. 2, p. 299).
What does a beautiful woman mean in a dream?
A beautiful woman who enters the house announces joy and happiness. A young woman who turns her face towards you announces that your affairs pick up again. But the collection points out that beauty is wealth that does not last, because it changes.
What does an old woman mean in a dream in Islam?
If she enters the house, this world comes to the dreamer; if she leaves, it leaves him (vol. 1, p. 132). Frowning, she is a loss of standing; ugly, affairs turn against you. For a woman who dreams, the old woman is her grandmother.
Does the collection speak of a veiled woman, or a woman dressed in white or black?
It speaks of the veiled face: a veiled old woman announces an affair followed by regret (vol. 1, p. 132), and a veiled woman seen before people a hidden affair (vol. 2, p. 301). For the young girl (jariya), who is wealth in proportion to her beauty, the collection says that if she wears a face veil, this wealth remains uncertain (vol. 1, p. 131). It gives no meaning to the colour of the clothes of a woman seen in a dream. It speaks mostly of the veil of the woman who dreams, which stands for her husband: white, it is the religion and standing of the husband; black and worn, it is his foolishness and his poverty (vol. 1, p. 250).
Sources
- Muntakhab al-kalâm fî tafsîr al-ahlâm, collection attributed to Muhammad ibn Sirin, chapter 21, vol. 1, pp. 131 to 133; chapter 50, vol. 2, pp. 299 to 301; chapter 29, vol. 1, p. 250 (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.