Dreaming of Ocean in Islam

The sea is read by its state, by where the dreamer stands in relation to it, and by what is taken from it. A calm ocean seen from the shore is the settled reading: a large matter, a body of knowledge, or an authority that is vast but not presently pressing on the dreamer. A stormy sea, or waves that rise over you, moves the reading toward being overwhelmed by something larger than oneself — the older interpreters connected rough water to fear and to trials that come in succession rather than singly. Crossing the ocean and reaching the far side is read favourably as passing through a long affair to its end. Drinking from the sea is read by amount: a little is knowledge taken in measure, while trying to drink it dry is read as wanting what cannot be held. Diving and bringing up something of value points to benefit drawn from a difficult source by effort. Standing at the edge without entering is read as being near a matter and holding back from it.

The association is one the Qur'an itself makes: in Luqman 31:27, the sea is the image of ink that would run out before the words of Allah were exhausted. Vastness that exceeds counting is the sea's plain meaning in Arabic usage, which is why a learned person is called a bahr, a sea. The interpreters read the dream along that line — depth, extent, and something that gives and takes at once.

This is not a prediction and not a warning about travel, water, or safety. A rough sea in a dream is not a sign of coming trouble any more than a calm one is a guarantee of ease. Worry that is large and shapeless tends to arrive in sleep as something large and shapeless. If the dream frightened you, the response taught is to seek refuge in Allah from the accursed devil, change the side you are lying on, and not to recount it.