Dreaming of mice and rats in Islam: meaning
In the Islamic tradition the mouse is named among the harmful creatures that may be killed even within the sacred precinct. Classical interpreters therefore often link the mouse with someone who quietly causes harm.
Within this tradition
According to a well-known tradition there are five harmful creatures that may be killed even within the sacred precinct of Mecca, and the mouse is one of them. In Arabic she is even called fuwaisiqa, a diminutive meaning something like little troublemaker. In another tradition the Prophet advises putting out lamps at night and covering vessels, because a mouse may drag the wick and set the house on fire.
Those images colour classical interpretation. In the works attributed to Ibn Sirin, the mouse often stands for someone of bad conduct who does harm without being noticed: a thief, a gossip, someone undermining your household from within. A mouse carrying something out of the house is read as a loss through such a person. Catching or killing a mouse is interpreted favourably.
At the same time some interpreters know a milder reading. Mice come where there is food, and a house full of mice can, in that reading, also point to provision present in the home. As always, it depends on the context and on how the dream felt.
An anxious, disgusted dream about mice or rats can be counted as hulm. The advice is to seek protection with God and not to tell the dream around. And people who really are dealing with vermin at home often simply dream about it.
Common variations
A mouse carrying something off
Classically read as something disappearing unnoticed from your household through another person's doing.
Catching or killing a mouse
Interpreted favourably: you discover who or what was doing harm and put an end to it.
Many mice in the pantry
Some interpreters read this as provision in the home, because mice come where there is food.
A mouse near a lamp or fire
Recalls the tradition about the wick: a warning against carelessness at home.
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Write your dream in the appFrequently asked questions
Why is the mouse called a harmful creature in Islam?
Because the tradition names her among the five creatures that do harm. She can spoil food and even cause fire.
Is a mouse in a dream always unfavourable?
Not always. Some interpreters read mice in the stores as provision. Context decides the reading.