Tree The tree symbolizes religion and sects in view of the allegory in the Holy Quran of the good tree (date palm) and the good words: “Seest thou not how Allah coineth a similitude: A goodly saying, as a goodly tree, its roots set firm, branches reaching into Heaven.” (“Ibrahim” [Abraham], verse 24.) Likewise, the Muslims Holy Prophet likened the good tree to the Muslim. The one he saw himself holding in a spiritual odyssey,52 he said, was the duty of praying, which he had brought to his followers. Ancient Arab dream interpreters said that whereas the tree referred to the man’s deeds, religion, or ego, its leaves symbolizes his character, its beauty his nice shape and clothing, its branches his brothers, relatives, folk, and beliefs, its heart his hidden essence and his secrets, its bark his appearance, skin, and all that he uses to adorn himself with, and its semen his faith, piety, assets, and life. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Grape Black grapes during the right season symbolize fear and disease; otherwise they mean trouble and worries. They are also a harbinger of cold weather. Grapes were believed by the ancient Arabs to be harmful. They also thought that no benefit could be derived from the black color and hated black grapes in any case. Among other things, they argued that the grape was originally white, placed near the son of Nuh (Noah). When his father cursed him, it suddenly turned black. Certain dream interpreters felt that the black grape meant nothing but money that will not last. Separate from the bunch, it symbolized extreme fear or chills. Others regarded the black grape as a not so bad dream, in view of a verse in the Holy Quran: “And of the fruits of the date-palm, and grapes, whence ye derive strong drink and (also) good nourishment. Lo! therein, is indeed a portent for people who have sense.” (“Al-Nahl” [The Bees], verse 67.) They also thought so because the Prophet Zakareyyah (Zacharia) used to find it at Mariam’s (Mary’s) place. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Camel • Cooked camel meat: (1) Halal (lawful or honest) gains. (2) Sincerity and success in doing certain things, but with caution, in view of a verse in the Holy Quran: “All food was lawful unto the children of Israel, save that which Israel forbade himself…” (“Al-Imran” [The Family of Imran], verse 93.)
• Camel skin: An inheritance. The she-camel symbolizes a woman, a year, a tree, a palm tree, a ship, or some complications. Everything that is put on a camel’s back, like a saddle, a palanquin, et cetera, for the rider to sit on equally refers to a woman.
• An Arab she-camel: An honest and well-born Arab woman. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Bee A bee has different meanings depending on whether the dreamer is a civilian, farmer, or military man, for bees produce honey, which is something sweet, useful, and beneficial and, according to a verse of the Holy Quran, a remedy for people. Paradoxically, bees could also be an allusion to disease, by association of ideas. At the same time, bees have a clear-cut hierarchy and are highly disciplined, tenacious, and toiling creatures. They symbolize the military or the Muslim army (once one of the most powerful in the world). In any case, a bee in a dream is a laborious and very gifted person in terms of earning his or her livelihood and whose companions can only benefit from him, but a dangerous person as well. For the ancient Arabs, a bee symbolized the Bedouin or, in abstract terms, perseverance, gains, and the accumulation of wealth. And since Muslims believe that bees are inspired by God to follow a certain order and discipline in excelling in the production of various types of honey with different aromas, they are thought to symbolize knowledge or know-how, division of labour or categorization, erudition, and the authoring of literary or scientific works. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Bier • Being lifted, placed on a bier, and borne on men’s shoulders: Promotion, power, influence, and tyranny. Will ride on people’s necks and have as many followers as were seen carrying the dreamer in the dream.
• Seeing oneself on a bier without anybody carrying it: Will go to jail.
• A ruler, a chief, a merchant, or a manufacturer seeing himself on a bier rolling or gliding on the soil: Will board a ship.
• Carrying a bier: (1) If eligible, will govern a province as prominent as the people marching in the funeral procession. (2) Illicit gains. (3) Will intercede in favour of a religiously corrupt person.
• A bier flying and people holding to it: (1) A chief or a scholar will die without anybody knowing about it. (2) A great man will die in foreign land, during the pilgrimage or in a battle for the sake of Allah (Jihad). (3) If the dead man on the bier was identified, it would be him in particular. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Dove The dove symbolizes the virtuous, loving, and beloved woman who sticks to her man. It also alludes to the messenger, the letter, and the unexpected or the urgent information. According to legend, it was blessed by Noah after he was disappointed by a crow. He had sent the latter to view the condition of the water, but the crow, having seen carrion floating on the surface, forgot all about its mission. By contrast, the dove brought Noah a green leaf. Likewise, the dove refers to a girl, in particular the white one, sight of whom means good religion. Black pigeons are the leading figures of both sexes in society. But the best dove to be dreamt of is that which is green, for it means piety. The piebald or spotted doves are people of mixed blood. The baby doves are children and servants (slaves in the ancient mentality). The dovecote represents the ladies quarter. Pigeons cooing is a love quarrel.
• A person facing hardships or missing someone dreaming of a dove flying to him or landing on him: Good augury. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Home The distinction is very vague in Arabic between the words dar and bayt, both meaning “house” or “home.” But after consulting a knowledgeable colleague (a Moroccan ambassador and man of letters), the author assumes that dar is more likely to mean a house as a structure or an apartment block and bayt a room, an apartment, or simply home. However, in the ancient Arab texts the writer often jumps from one meaning to another, and I have taken real pain trying to disentangle them, as usual. Home symbolizes the man’s wife sheltered under his roof and to whom he goes, whence the expression “He went home.” Therefore, home and wife are synonyms. The door is her vagina or her face, the closet or the safe a maiden, like the dreamer’s daughter, whom he does not penetrate, as they are covered or hidden places in which he does not sleep. The servants quarters symbolize the servant (s). The place where cereals are stored is the mother, who used to keep the dreamer alive and let him grow by feeding him milk. The toilet represents those servants who are in charge of cleaning and washing or the dreamer’s wife, whom he embraces and penetrates when isolated, i.e., away from his children and the rest of the household. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Head A turban in a dream represents a crown or a flying ship. One's head in a dream also represents knowledge, wisdom, respect, children, followers, or money. Losing one's head in a dream means carelessness, heedlessness, or inability to properly manage one's interests. Cutting off one's own head in a dream means committing suicide, severing one's connection with one's family, or betraying one's father or teacher. Looking at one's own head in a dream means examining one's investment or capital worth. Seeing cattle heads gathered somewhere in a dream means profits. If one sees a king beheading him in a dream, it means that Allah Almighty will cleanse him from his sins and dispel his agonies and distress. If a money changer loses his head in a dream, it means that he may go bankrupt. (Also see Body) Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Moon If a ruler sees the moon dimmed in a dream, it means that his subjects will rise against him. If the moon turns into a sun in a dream, it means receiving honor and wealth from either one's father or wife. The moon in a dream also represents one's wife, sons, daughters, sister, properties, business, craft, a vessel, a ship, or it could mean travels. As for a sick person or a traveller, seeing the moon in a dream means one's destruction or death. If the moon is veiled by clouds in the dream, it means a short sickness. Seeing the moon through the clouds in a dream means losing one's job. If a rich person sees clouds covering the moon in a dream, it means losing his wealth. Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Swimming If one sees himself drowning in a river, or a lake, then if he is carried by others and laid on dry land motionless like a fish in a dream, this also means trials and adversities. If one is saved from drowning before he wakes up from his sleep in the dream, it means that he will triumph over his trials. Otherwise, if he dies from it in the dream, it means that he may die from such adversities. If during his swim one meets a ship that pulls him out of the waters, or to which he holds or grabs, it also means escape from adversities. If one drowns in the dream, it means that he may die as a martyr, though having previously indulged in many sins. To walk on water, whether it is the sea or a river in a dream means good spiritual standing, religious assiduousness and a strong faith and determination. Walking on water in a dream also could be interpreted as ascertaining something about which one may have doubt, or placing one's trust in Allah Almighty before embarking on a dangerous trip. (Also see Air) Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Arched bridge Crossing an arched bridge that leads to the palace of a ruler in a dream means receiving money, or it could mean getting married to a noble person. An unknown bridge in a dream represents the world and particularly if it connects the city with the cemetery. It also could represent a ship, or the Bridge of the Day of Judgement, for it is the last hurdle before reaching paradise. If one crosses an arched bridge in his dream, then it means that he will cross the abode of this world into the abode of the hereafter and particularly if one meets departed souls from the world or enters unknown places or sees uncommon structures, or if a bird carries him by air, or if a beast swallows him, or if he falls into a ditch or flies into the heavens in his dream, all of which also means recovering from an illness or undertaking a long journey, or it could mean returning home from a long journey. Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Bed The covers of one's bed in a dream represent his wife, his livelihood, or his mistress. Whatever stands on top of a bed represents one's male children and whatever is hidden under it represents one's female children. A bed in a dream also represents happiness, joy and dignity. It may also represent a wife, a ship, or a coffin. If one's bed falls apart or breaks into pieces in a dream, it means loss of authority, dismissal from one's job, divorcing one's wife, or it could mean her death. If one sees himself sitting over an unknown bed in a dream, it means marriage or conceiving a child. Sitting over a bed without a mattress means death, or a business trip. If a woman sees herself bringing a bed into her house in a dream, it means that she will get married. If a sick person sees himself sitting up in his bed in a dream, it means that he will recover from his illness. (Also see Couch; Mattress) Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Donkey • A donkey that goes along well or keeps the pace: The best of this world.
• A saddled donkey: A child with a golden spoon (born and living in prosperity).
• A donkey with a long tail: The dreamer’s empire or tradition will be preserved by his successors.
• Death of a donkey: The owner will die, will be isolated, or will lose his money and his business or his shop will be destroyed or he will be ousted from it. Otherwise, the slave who serves him or his father or grandfather who supported him will pass away, his endeavours will fade, or his master, who was under his spell will die, sell him, or go away. For a woman, her husband will divorce her, die, move away, or travel and leave her behind.
• A donkey whose owner is unknown and which, instead of obeying, keeps braying: An ignorant and loud person in view of a verse of the Holy Quran that reads as follows: “Be modest in thy bearing and subdue thy voice. Lo! the harshest of all voices is the voice of the ass.” (“Surat Luqman,” verse 19.) According to the ancient Arabs, it could also be a reference to Jews: “The likeness of those who are entrusted with the Law of Moses, yet apply it not, is as the likeness of the ass carrying books. Wretched is the likeness of folk who deny revelations of Allah. And Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.” (“Surat Al-Jumuah” [The Congregation], verse 5.) Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Crucifixion If one is crucified after being killed in the dream, it means that someone will lie to him, despite his high rank. If one eats the flesh of a crucified person in a dream, it means that he will backbite him. If blood comes out of the flesh of a crucified person in a dream, it means that he is recruited to cause harm. If one eats the flesh of a crucified person in a dream, it means that he will travel in the mail wagon or on a cargo ship. If one sees himself riding in the mail wagon in a dream, it means that he will shortly die. If one is crucified on the walls of a city and people are watching him in a dream, it means that he will rise in station and rank and that he will command strong men. If he bleeds in the dream, it means that his subjects draw benefits from him. Crucifixion of a poor person in a dream means richness, while for a rich person, it means revelations about his business dealings, exposure of his true character, defamation, or it could mean poverty. As for an unwed person, crucifixion in a dream means getting married. Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Ascent An ascent in a dream also could represent adversities, difficulties and dangers. Ascending a steep incline in a dream means danger and descending a steep hill means reaching safety. An ascent in a dream also could represent a bridge, an underpass, a wife, a woman, or a scorpion. Walking through a steep incline in a dream also means rising in station because of one's knowledge, politics, good conduct, fulfillment of one's duties, his caring for others or wisdom. Falling through a steep hill in a dream means falling in rank, losing one's prestige, losing one's money, denying the truth, objecting to one's religion or walking into darkness. Climbing in a dream always means attainment of one's goals. Climbing flat on one's back in a dream has negative connotations. Descending from a steep hill, or from a ship, or coming down form a castle or a mountain in a dream also mean that one's goal will not materialize. (Also see Ascending the skies; Climbing a mountain) Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Mule • A weak mule that has no apparent owner: A wicked man you should reckon with.
• A male mule that conceives and delivers: Wishes will come true. MUSA (MOSES).
• Seeing Musa or Harun (Aaron): A tyrant will perish at the dreamer’s hands.
• Seeing Musa or Harun before going to war: Will return triumphant.
• Seeing Musa: (1) Will never be defeated or subdued. (2) Strength of the rightful and defeat of the wicked. (3) Escape from the evil of a tyrant or a corrupt ruler. (4) The dreamer is worried and helpless vis-a-vis his family members, but will overcome them, defeat his enemy, and crush the latter’s soldiers. (5) Will face many hard tests during childhood, some from one’s parents and relatives, be nurtured by strangers, mix with kings and tyrants, see a promise fulfilled, and have marital relations with blessed people and be acquainted, through them, with wonders, because Musa was the friend of Al-Khidr (a mysterious sage sent by God who, according to various descriptions, was the oldest man who ever lived before Moses, buried Adam; whose identity is highly controversial, and who could be Melchizedek or St. George). He made a hole in a ship to which Musa and himself were given a generous ride, slew a lad without apparent reason, and set up straight a wall for people who had refused him and Musa food and hospitality. Khidr concealed the wisdom of all those acts while performing them to test Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
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