Understanding Dreams of Losing a Loved One

Dreams about losing a loved one can be deeply haunting and emotional experiences. Often they stir a reflection on our fears and vulnerabilities as we navigate through relationships with those we hold dear. In many cultures, including in the teachings of Ibni Sirin, such dreams are seen not only as mere reflections of anxiety but also as profound insights into our state of mind and heart.

Losing someone in a dream may symbolize a variety of emotions, ranging from fear of abandonment to a reflection on our grief regarding real-life losses. These dreams can serve as a mirror, showcasing what we may not consciously acknowledge, such as unresolved issues or fears within our relationships. Thus, they invite introspection about our emotional ties and provoke us to cherish our loved ones more.

Understanding these dreams, therefore, is a journey into the self and an exploration of our emotional landscape.

• Dreams of losing a loved one can indicate fear of separation or emotional distress.
• Reflect on current relationships and any feelings of insecurity or unresolved issues.
• These dreams can also symbolize a transformation or new beginnings in one’s life.
• Emotional processing through dreams can help in understanding personal grief.
• Consulting with a knowledgeable person can enhance your understanding of these sensitive dreams.

Symbols

• bereavement
  • Bequest:

    Bereavement of one’s Child: In real life, it represents the opposite of what is seen in a dream. It means rejoicing, reunions, pleasures and respect. Sometimes it is also interpreted to portray an intention of one’s children or wife to separate from the family or to live on their own.

  • Sympathy:

    Expressing one’s sympathy or condolences to a well-to-do person in a dream means adversities, while it means a blessing to a person in dire need. Expressing one’s sympathy to a person who is experiencing difficulties in a dream means glad tidings.

  • Buried alive:

    If one sees himself being buried after his death in a dream, it means that he will undertake a long journey during which he will be short of money. If one sees himself being buried alive and if he recognizes the one buiying him in the dream, it means that the latter will assault him, oppress him, imprison him or imv on/H/niiN o DZ cause him injustice. If he dies in his grave after his burial in the dream, it means that he may die from such sufferings.

    Should he survive such adversities in the dream, it means that he will escape from such fear, prison or injustice. If he sees the other person driving him to the edge of his grave in a dream, it means that he will lead him to his death, though his name will be praised after his death. If the other person places him inside a coffin in a dream, it means that he will move to a new home.

    If the other person fills the grave with dirt on top of him in the dream, it means that he will be piled with money equal to the amount he is being buried under in the dream. It is said that to be buried alive in a dream means losing one’s spirituality or religious commitment, unless one comes out of it alive. If one walks out of his grave covered with dirt, then shakes off the dust in the dream, it means that his state is hopeless or that his repentance has little chance to hold.

    To be buried alive in a dream means imprisonment or despise by others, or a severe punishment which makes one’s chastisement an exemplary lesson to others, If a gnostic or a wise man is seen buried alive inside his own house, or if he is brought out of it alive in a dream, it means that one will inherit him in knowledge, wisdom and status. The same interpretation is given if one sees a prophet or a holy man walking out of his grave alive. To be buried after death, after sunrise, at noon or at the sunset hour in a dream means that one is being warned about doing what is good and abstaining from what is evil.

    To be buried alive in a dream is wrong and means betrayal. It could also mean marriage, prosperity or peace and tranquility after suffering and hard¬ ships. If one sees a deceased person burying him alive in a dream, it means that one’s due debts are not payed, or that one will be imprisoned to satisfy his debts, or that his collateral was not accepted.

    To bury a dead person twice means that one is covering his faults. If one sees a deceased person burying another deceased person in a dream, it means unity, clearing of the hearts, love and friendship between relatives, or perhaps it could mean imprisonment, marriage, a sickness, a trust, or guaranteeing a loan. Seeing oneself being buried after death in a dream means that one needs to repent before death.

    Should he still walk alive from his burial in the dream, it means that he may repent again. God knows best.

• losing a loved one
  • Business loss:
  • Sleeplessness:

    (Insomnia) In a dream, sleeplessness means loss of a beloved, the death of a child, separation between lovers, or leaving one’s family and trav¬ elling to a foreign country.

  • Death:

    In a dream, death signifies religious failure, corruption and rising in status in the world. This interpretation applies if one is carried on a bier or on a litter and his funeral is accompanied with crying and lamentation except if he is buried in the dream. If one witnesses his own burial in the dream, then it means that his case is hopeless and that he will be seized by the world.

    One’s followers or assisting entourage will be as many as those who walk in his funeral in the dream. However, he will conquer people and ride over their shoulders. If one dies in his dream but does not have the look of dead people and there is no crying over his death or a funeral in the dream, it means that one of his properties will be torn down, or that a room in his house will collapse, or that a wall will cave in, or it could mean that a pillar will breakdown.

    Such a dream also may signify weakness in one’s religious standing or blindness of his heart. Despite that, he will live a long life. If one dies in a dream and finds himself looking like a dead person, and if his body is washed and wrapped in a shroud, it also means weakness in his religion.

    All the sorrow and crying one sees in this case, represents his rising in rank and promotion in the world. Death in a dream also signifies travels, or it could mean poverty. One’s death and burial in his dream also means that he will die short of repentance.

    If one comes out of his grave after his burial in the dream, it means that he will repent for his sins before dying. Death in a dream also signifies marriage, for a deceased person is washed and perfumed, and a bridegroom also takes a bath and anoints himself with perfumes on his wedding day. If one dies and is carried over people’s shoulders, though they do not bury him in the dream, it means that he will conquer his enemy and should he qualify for leadership, he will attain it.

    To come back to life after dying in a dream means that one will become rich and dispense with poverty, or it could mean that he will repent for his sins. This dream also means the safe home coming of a traveller. The death of an unknown woman in a dream means absence of rain or dearth, and if she comes back to life in the dream, it means rain.

    In general, the death of a woman in a dream means the death of a child in wakefulness and vice-versa. If a deceased person tells someone in a dream that he did not die, it means that he is blessed in the hereafter. Carrying a deceased person in a dream means carrying the provisions or ,'ood supplies of an irreligious and an ungodly person.

    Carrying a dead person in a different way than one carries a deceased person to bury him in a dream means acquiring unlawful money. Carrying a deceased person to bury him in a dream means working for the governor. If one sees a deceased person sick in a dream, it means that he is being questioned about forsaking his religious attendance during his lifetime.

    If one sees the dwellers of the graveyards coming out of their grave to eat people’s harvest or food supplies in a dream, it means rising of food prices. If he sees them drinking from the wells in a dream, it means that a great plague will befall that town. If one sees a deceased person die, then if he walks in his funeral in the dream, it means that someone among his children or in the family 112 IBN SEERIN’S of that person will shortly die.

    If no crying or sorrow follows his death, then it means that someone in his progeny will get married. What a deceased person says about himself in a dream is true, for he has reached the abode of truth and he can exercise no falsehood in that abode. If a deceased person tells something in a dream, and if it does not take place, then it means that one is experiencing confused dreams.

    If one sees a deceased person well dressed in a white or a green garment, smiling and happy in a dream, it means that he is in that state one witnessed in his dream. Otherwise, if one sees him disheveled, dirty, frowning or crying in a dream, this also denotes his condition in the hereafter. If one sees a deceased person sick in a dream, it means that his condition is contingent upon the satisfaction of his debts and that he is awaiting the Divine justice to take its course.

    Performing a funeral prayer for deceased people in a dream means asking for forgiveness on their behalf or visiting their graves, or it could mean admonishing someone with a dead heart, or it could mean bidding farewell to travelling people or taking care of needy people. If one’s wife dies and returns back to life in a dream, it means making profits from a plantation or a farm. Discovering a body of a deceased in a dream means finding money.

    Walking behind a deceased person in a dream means following his footsteps or emulating his trade or traditions, whether they be material or spiritual. If the Imam of the country dies in a dream, it means destruction of that city by war. On the other hand, if one sees a city in ruins in a dream, it means that the Imam has died.

    If one sees that he is immortal in a dream, it means the nearing of his death. Death in a dream also signifies being recalled to account for a major sin or a crime. To die in a dream with no apparent reason or illness and to exhibit no features of a dead person means longevity.

    To suffer from death-pangs in a dream means being unjust to oneself or to others. To sees oneself dead and naked in a dream means poverty. To see oneself dead and lying on a straw-mat or a carpet in a dream means prosperity and success in the world.

    If one sees himself dead lying on a litter in a dream, it means rising in rank. If he is lying on a bed in the dream, it means benefits from one’s family. If one hears about the death of an unknown person in a dream, it means a warning about his success in the world at the expense of his religious compromises.

    If one’s son dies in a dream, it means that he will escape from an enemy. If one’s daughter dies in a dream, it means despair from relief. If one dies and gets buried in a dream, it means his freedom.

    Otherwise, if he is entrusted with something, it means that he will be required to deliver it back to its rightful owner. If one dies and gets buried in a dream, it means that he will get married. If a sick person gets married in a dream, it means that he will shortly die.

    If a married person dies and gets buried in a dream, it means that he will divorce his wife or break a business partnership or separates from his brothers, sisters and friends, or it could mean that he may emigrate to another country. Otherwise, if he has already migrated from his homeland, it means that he will return to it. Death in a dream has positive connotation for someone in fear of something or a sad person or a sick person.

    The death of one’s brothers in a dream means the death of one’s enemies, or it could mean saving one’s capital. Walking amidst dead people in a dream means befriending some hypocrites. Walking in the company of a deceased person in a dream means undertaking a long journey, or it could mean profits from one’s travels.

    Eating the flesh of a dead person in a dream means enjoying a long life. If one discovers that he died suddenly in a dream, it means that he will rejoice. If a deceased person eats something in a dream, it means that such a commodity will become expensive.

    If one sees himself laying on a washing table in a funeral home in a dream, it means that his sins will be washed away and that his debts will be paid. If a deceased person asks someone to wash his cloth in a dream, it means that he needs the prayers and forgiveness of the person who saw him in his dream, or it could mean that one needs him to pay DICTIONARY OF DREAMS 113 a debt he left behind or to ask people to forgive him his sins or to fulfill his will. If one washes the deceased person’s clothes in the dream, it means that the deceased person will become free from his burdens in the hereafter.

    Transport¬ ing dead people to the cemetery in a dream means that one is doing something right. If he transports them to the marketplace in a dream, it means that he needs something, or that his merchandise will be sold quickly. If one sees that a deceased person has returned to life in a dream, it means that one will recuperate something he considered it dead, or if he happens to be goingthrough difficulties, it means that his adversities will dissipate.

    If a deceased person comes back to life in a dream, it also means that his progeny will benefit from something he left. If he looks beautiful, happy and well dressed in the dream, it means that such happiness will become the inheritance of his descendants. If one sees a deceased person busy, worried and ill dressed in a dream, it means that he is engaged in a struggle that can only subside by the will of God Almighty.

    If he is sick in the dream, it means that he is answerable to God Almighty for his religious negligence. If the deceased person’s face looks dark or opaque in the dream, it means that he died as an unbeliever. If one sees a deceased person sprightly, pleasant and casual in a dream, it means that one’s dream is mere hallucination, or that he is experiencing disturbed dreams, for dead people do not joke and have their own duties to respond to.

    If one’s deceased father or mother come back to life in a dream, it means relief from distress and abolishingof his fears. This is particularly stronger when one’s deceased mother is seen in the dream. Resurrecting a deceased person in a dream means giving guidance to an unbeliever or admonishing an innovator.

    This also could mean admonishing heedless people who will repent for their sins. If one sees a deceased person die again in a dream, it means that someone by the same name will shortly die. If a deceased person complains about a migraine headache in a dream, it means that he is being questioned about his religious negligence or his injustices or his abominable attitude toward his father or mother.

    If the deceased person complains about his eyes in the dream, it means that he is being questioned about what he owes to his wife or about her dower or about a will or a trust he wasted. If he complains about his left arm, it means that he is being questioned about the rights of his brother, sister, son or business partner or a false oath he made. If the deceased person complains about his side in a dream, it means that he is being questioned about cutting off his relations or clan or failing to fulfil his obligations toward his household.

    If he complains about his legs in a dream, it means that he is being questioned about wasting his life in corruption and falsehood. If he complains about his feet in the dream, it means that he is being questioned about a wealth he spends in falsehood and on the path of heedlessness he walked. A woman and a man in such dreams are the same.

    Like that, each limb provides for a specific stand one took during his lifetime in this world. . If a living person gives a deceased person something to eat or drink in a dream, it means loss of money.

    If he gives a deceased person a garment in the dream, it means adversity or an illness. If a deceased person gives the person seeing the dream his own shroud to wear in a dream, it means his death. If a deceased person gives the person seeing the dream a cloak or an adorned shirt in a dream, it means gaining what the deceased person acquired of knowledge, wealth, blessings or status during his lifetime.

    The shirt means livelihood and the cloak means dignity and honor. If the deceased person gives him some food to eat in the dream, it means receiving lawful earnings from an unexpected source. If the deceased person gives him honey in the dream, it means acquiring a booty.

    Anything one receives from a deceased person in a dream means good news and a blessed gift in general. If a deceased person takes one by the hand and walks with him in a dream, it means receiving money from an unexpected source. Talking with deceased ii4 1 .D 1 N OH/Jl/rUlN o people in a dream means longevity.

    Kissing a renowned person who had passed away in a dream means acquiring something from his knowledge, wisdom or inheritance, or it could mean receiving benefits from his descendants. Talking to dead people in a dream means having ingratitude toward one’s family or friends. If a sick person sees himself kissing a deceased person in a dream, it means that he will shortly die.

    If a healthy person sees that same dream, it means that what he says is false. Having sexual intercourse with a deceased person in his grave in a dream means committing adultery or mixing with an evil person or losing money to a deceitful and a hypocritical person. If one sees that a deceased woman has come back to life, and if he engages in sexual intercourse with her, then finds his body spattered with her ova and semen in a dream, it means that he has committed something which he regrets.

    Conse¬ quently he will suffer losses because of it. To have a wedding with a deceased person and to move to his or her house in the dream means one’s own death. Walking behind a deceased person and entering an unknown house from which one does not come out again in the dream means death.

    If one follows the deceased person and does not enter such a house in the dream, it means that he will near his death, then recuperate from his illness. If a deceased person beats the person seeing the dream, it means that one has displeased his Lord and has committed an abominable act from which he should repent, for in the abode of truth, a deceased person accepts only what pleases God Almighty and dislikes what He dislikes. If one sees a living person beating a deceased person who is willingly submitting to his fate in a dream, it represents the spiritual and religious strength and the rank of the living person, his charities, prayers, devotion, piety, or it could mean that he is fulfilling the deceased person’s will.

    If one sees a deceased person asleep in a dream, it means that the hereafter is the abode of rest and comfort for the believers. Sleeping in one bed with a deceased person in a dream means longevity. If dead people come out of their graves to sell merchandise in a dream, it means stagnation of the markets.

    A dead mouse in one’s food in a dream means tampering with that product. If one sees a deceased person doing something good in a dream, it means that he is ordering him to do the same. If it is a bad thing he is doing in the dream, it means that he is ordering him not to do it.

    If a deceased person comes in one’s dream and tells him about the time of his death, then the day may be one month and the month may be one year and the year ten years. If one sees his mother dying in a dream, it means that he will lose his worldly attainments, comfort and that he may become heedless. If he is a seeker on the path, then it means that he will lose the benefits of his work or fail to perform his obligatory prayers.

    If a sick person sees his brother die in a dream, it means his own death. Otherwise, it could mean someone in his family. If one is poor in the dream, it means that may lose one of his eyes.

    If one’s wife dies in a dream, it means bankruptcy and loss of one’s source of livelihood. Performing the funeral prayer in a dream means interceding on his behalf and praying for his salvation. If one answers the call of a deceased person in a dream, it means that he will shortly follow him.

    If one sees a deceased person drowning in a dream, it means that one is plunged in abominable sins. If one sees dead people coming out of their graves and going to their homes in a dream, it means a mass release of prisoners during a general amnesty. This dream also may mean that God Almighty will give life to a barren land.

    Death for a believer in a dream means honor, dignity, aloofness and ascetic detachment. The death of a prophet in a dream means weakness in people’s religious life, while their coming back to life in a dream means a flourishing spiritual life in that place. The death of a ruler in a dream means the weakness of his army or government.

    The death of a religious scholar in a dream means the birth of innovation or invalidation of one’s proof. The death of a pious worshiper in a dream means failure to attend one’s religious obligations. The DICTIONARY OF DREAMS 115 death of a craftsman mean the end of his craft.

    The death of one’s parents in a dream means tightening of his financial means. The death of one’s wife in a dream means the end of a prosperous life. The death of one’s son in a dream means the obscurity of one’s name after his death.

    If one sees a deceased person performing the funeral prayer over another deceased person in a dream, it means that one’s actions are false, for performing a funeral prayer is a deed and dead people have no more deeds to offer. If a married woman marries a deceased person in a dream, it means her divorce from her husband, while if an unmarried woman marries a deceased person in a dream means that she will get married. In a dream, death also means being inflamed with love or separation from one’s beloved, whereby life after death would represent reunion with one’s beloved or suffering from separation in a hell-fire.

• grief
  • Breach of a contract:

    (Betrayal; Death; Emptiness)

  • Agony:
  • Wailing:

    (Mourning; Wailing; Yowling) Lamenting and desiring something in a dream connotes evil. Lamentation in a dream also represents a preacher or it could represent a putrid odor that comes from opening the door of a filthy lavatory. Lamentation in a dream also represents dogs’yowling, drum beating, the ringing sound of cymbals, or it could mean a wedding.

    Sitting in a place where people are lamenting and mourning their dead in a dream means that an ominous evil may take place in that locality, or perhaps it could mean separation between families and friends. If one sees himself mourning a deceased person in a dream, it means that harm will come to him from the descendents or family of the departed person. Lamenting with great pain and sorrow and mourning over a deceased person in a dream also means waking up to a great joy and happiness.

    Lamenting in a dream also means adversities which are driven by the person who is lamenting. It also means going astray, or it could denote a flute, as the flute denotes lamenting in a dream. Lamenting in a dream also represents the work of ignorance.

Practical Guidance for Navigating Dreams of Loss

• Reflect on Your Emotions

  When you dream of losing a loved one, take the time to reflect on your emotions surrounding that relationship. This dream may highlight fears or insecurities that you might be feeling in your waking life. Consider journaling about your feelings or discussing them with someone you trust.

  This can help clarify your thoughts and bring awareness to unresolved issues. You might find that your dream is prompting you to appreciate the time spent with this person or to reinforce your connection. Understanding the root of your feelings can lead to more profound healing and growth.

• Embrace Rituals of Remembrance

  Incorporating rituals of remembrance can be a powerful way to cope with the emotions stirring within you from dreams of loss. This could be as simple as lighting a candle in honor of the loved one you dreamt about or revisiting cherished memories through photographs or shared stories. Such practices can create a space for you to process your grief and to celebrate the bond you share.

  Acknowledge your feelings and give yourself permission to grieve, as it is a natural part of the healing process.

• Seek Support from Community

  Engaging with supportive friends and family or seeking guidance from a spiritual leader can help you navigate the complex emotions these dreams can evoke. For many, discussing dreams and emotional burdens with others provides a sense of comfort and understanding. Sometimes, the mere act of sharing your feelings can lend clarity and reduce feelings of loneliness.

  Joining a support group or community with similar experiences can also offer perspectives that help you process your feelings surrounding loss and grief.

FAQs

• What does it mean if I dream of losing a loved one?

  Dreaming of losing a loved one often reflects feelings of anxiety, fear, or unresolved issues within that relationship. It can signify a fear of abandonment or a manifestation of grief regarding a real-life loss. Such dreams invite you to examine your emotional connections and the significance of those relationships in your life.

• Are dreams of losing a loved one a sign of impending loss?

  Not necessarily. While some may interpret these dreams as forewarnings, they are more often expressions of emotional concerns rather than literal predictions. They may stem from your subconscious mind addressing unresolved feelings or fears rather than actual impending loss.

• How can I cope with the feelings from this dream?

  Coping involves reflecting on your emotions, seeking support from loved ones, and engaging in rituals that honor the memory or significance of the loved one. Acknowledge your feelings and allow yourself the space necessary for processing them, whether through journaling, conversation, or remembrance.

• Do these dreams occur only after a loss?

  No, dreams about losing a loved one can occur regardless of whether you have experienced a recent loss or not. They may arise from general anxieties about relationships or life changes, showcasing a range of emotional responses beyond direct grief.

• What if I keep dreaming of the same loved one being lost?

  Recurring dreams about losing the same person typically signify that you may have ongoing concerns or fears regarding that relationship or your feelings. It may indicate that there are unresolved feelings, so addressing these through open communication or self-reflection can be beneficial.

References

• Ibni Sirin’s interpretations
• Islamic texts on dreams
• Modern psychology on dream analysis