Dreaming of prison in Islam: meaning
Yusuf sat innocent in prison for years, and there he interpreted the dreams of two fellow prisoners. He said: my Lord, prison is dearer to me than what they invite me to. In the Islamic tradition prison is therefore not only punishment, but also a place of patience, steadfastness and elevation.
Within this tradition
The story is in the chapter Yusuf. Yusuf refuses the temptation of his master's wife, and chooses prison over disobedience to God. In the cell two men ask him to interpret their dreams. Before he does so, he speaks with them about faith in one God. Years later, when the king dreams of seven fat and seven lean cows, Yusuf is brought out of prison to interpret the dream, and becomes viceroy.
In the works attributed to Ibn Sirin, prison is often read as worries, limitation or a hard period. But because Yusuf rose from prison to a high position, a prison dream can also be read for a sincere person as a trial that leads to elevation. Coming out of prison is read as relief from worries and deliverance from a difficult situation.
Some interpreters also read prison as the grave, or as this world itself, in the line of the tradition that the world is the prison of the believer and the paradise of the unbeliever. That means the believer keeps to limits in expectation of something better.
As always in tabir, the state of the dreamer counts.
Common variations
Innocent in prison
A trial that, as with Yusuf, can lead to elevation.
Coming out of prison
Classically: relief from worries, deliverance from a difficult situation.
Interpreting dreams in a cell
Knowledge and patience in a limited situation, like Yusuf.
Stuck with no way out
Worries and limitation. A possibility, not a certainty.
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Write your dream in the appFrequently asked questions
Why was Yusuf in prison?
Because he refused the temptation of his master's wife, and preferred prison to disobedience.
What does the world is the prison of the believer mean?
A tradition saying that the believer keeps to limits in expectation of the hereafter.
What do you do after a bad dream according to Islam?
Seek refuge in God, spit lightly three times to the left, turn over and do not tell the dream around. According to tradition it then cannot harm you.