Flying • Flying from one’s home to an unknown house: (1) Will move to the grave. (2) Death is near and it is high time to repent. • Flying while on horseback: (1) The end of prosperity. (2) Will be forced to relinquish an important post. • The rider and the ridden returning to earth: Prosperity and, perhaps a high post. • Trying to fly but being unable to or finding oneself upside down: Plenty of evil to come. • Seeing horsemen flying in the air: Temptation, intrigue, and war will erupt in that place. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Sing • Dreaming that there is singing in some place: Lies will separate those who love each other and covetous and evil-eyed persons will deceive others because, says Ibn Siren: “The first, ever, to have sung and wailed was damned Satan, may God curse him.” • Singing nice poems or songs on a harmonious note and with a loud but pleasant voice: Good dream for singers, composers, and their bands. Singing with a harsh voice and without melody: Unemployment and misery. • Walking in the mud and singing: Good dreams, especially for those who sell lutes. • Singing in the bathroom: Equivocal statements. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Star Stars symbolize people. Those that have a masculine name represent men; those with a feminine name allude to women. Big ones refer to notables, small ones to youths, children, or slaves. The ones the Arabs used as guiding marks when they moved in the desert are the Prophet Muhammad’s companions. Stars that had once upon a time been worshipped instead of God and were thus metamorphosed, says Ibn Siren, like the Dog Star or Sirius, Venus, and Canopus, symbolize irreligious and evil persons. For a king, the stars are his soldiers and followers; for a bride or a bridegroom the stars are her or his entourage. • Stars falling on earth or in the sea or burning out: Bloodshed and killings. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Incident Soon after that, I visited my father, and my friend proudly reminded me of his interpretation. Later on, I travelled away from home. When I returned to my town, I passed by a graveyard. At the gate stood a woman who was guarding that cemetery and whose eye was bandaged with a blue piece of cloth. I knew her, so I stopped and asked her about the news. She said to me: 'May God grant you a long life. Your father has passed away.' Then she took me to his grave, and I fell on it, crying and wailing, exactly as I saw in my dream. Thus, my friend's interpretation did not come true, for he has no hand in it." Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Mountain • A mountain taking off and hovering over people’s heads: The king will terrorize his subjects as, says Ibn Siren, this is what happened to the children of Israel when God lifted the mountain and let it glide over them to terrorize them or deter them from disobedience. • Mountains exploding or being shattered: A harbinger of war and schisms in which flocks of people will perish, as this is one of the signs of the end of the world. • Climbing on a mountain and drinking water from its springs: Will be given a province or a high post, if eligible, or achieve gains, if in business. • Carrying a mountain and finding it too heavy: Will carry the belongings or look after the interest of a huge man or a giant of a man. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Colors White in a dream also means beauty or it could represent elderly people. A black flag in a dream means a man of knowledge, a white one represents jealousy, a yellow flag represents an epidemic disease and a green flag means a journey by land. A black cloud in a dream represents a just judge while a white cloud represents a blessed, noble and true justice. A white thread in a dream represents the dawn and a black thread in a dream represents the night. If one sees his cheeks radiant white in a dream, it means honor, bounty, or it could mean achieving a high rank in one's community. Unknown white or green tents in a camp in a dream represent the graves of martyrs. Yellow represents strain, sickness, repentance, a son, or it could mean chivalry. (Also see Flag; Garment) Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Angels If a dying person is told in the dream that no angels have come to see him, then it is a testimony of his good character and piety, or it could mean payment of one's debts or recovering from an illness. Angels in a dream also could represent scholars, Gnostics or translators who understand people's languages and speak in many tongues. As for Munkar and Nakir, the angels who come to one's grave upon his burial to question him, seeing them in a dream means prosperity for a poor person, and finding work for a jobless person. (Also see Castration) Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Cat The cat symbolizes a book in view of a verse in the Holy Quran in which the word qitt, meaning in Arabic “cat,” is used as a synonym for “written fate” or “sentence” (“Sad”, verse 16). It could also symbolize the neglect of the woman and children or their harsh treatment. But the cat is one of the most controversial figures in dreams. Some regard it as a servant and a guardian, others as a thief from within the house (an insider). It refers to all beings who stay around the person to guard him but who, at the same time, embezzle, steal, or harm him and are, in fact, of no use to him. For example, being bitten or scratched by a cat would mean that the dreamer will be betrayed by his servant or will fall ill. According to Ibn Siren, a cat’s scratch means an illness that will last a year. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Donkey The donkey symbolizes man’s endeavours and luck, commensurate with its weight and size. Only the braying of that animal is seen as a bad omen. • A fat donkey: Money for the owner. • A lean donkey: Poverty of the owner. • A tall donkey: Man’s prestige. • A beautiful donkey: The dreamer will look better. • A white donkey: The dreamer is pious and has a certain style. • A black donkey: Joy, sovereignty, awe, and majestic power. The donkey was Ibn Siren's favourite animal and black his favourite color (for dreams). • A green donkey: Sagacity and religious faith. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Sugar Sugar symbolizes joy, healing, the dissipation of worries and misery, the fulfilment of aspirations, the culmination of any action, the illustrious, beautiful, and pleasant wife, the noble and intelligent son who can assimilate any art or profession, the honest gains, and the pure and clean knowledge devoid of any heresy. One grain of sugar is a kiss from a lover, a loved one, a son or a daughter. Conversely, plenty of sugar represents gossip. According to Ibn Siren, selling sugar is a bad dream. Sugar candy means sincere talk and genuine action, recovery from a disease, welfare from agriculture, and long awaited rain. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Hair • Seeing one’s hair soft and limp but sprinkled: The money of the dreamer’s chief will be squandered. If the hair is not sprinkled, the boss s money will increase. • Seeing oneself with long hair and being happy with it: Good dream, especially for women who use other women’s hair to adorn themselves (wigs made of human hair). • Ibn Siren resented dreams whereby young people saw their hair graying or turning white, which, for him, meant poverty and worries, especially if the hair was long. Such a dream by a poor person meant that debts would add to misery or that he would go behind bars. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Key The key symbolizes access to learning, especially the Holy Quran. It also means benefits, a safe, blessings, and support. Keys could refer as well to children, boys, messengers, money and the piercing of mysteries, or the pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah). Other interpretations include the man and the woman, the former penetrating the latter like the key in the keyhole, the wrapped up baby, and the dead in his grave. • Holding a key: God will respond to the dreamer’s prayers. • Seizing a key: Will find a treasure or make a fortune from agriculture. If the dreamer is already a rich person, this dream is a reminder that he should pay his religious dues and be good to the needy. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Snot According to Ibn Siren, the mucus from the nose symbolizes the making of children, in view of the popular belief that the cat emanated from the lion’s snot. • Having mucus in the nose: Wife is pregnant. • Blowing one’s nose: (1) Will settle debts. (2) Will be relieved from a certain worry. (3) Will punish some people for a certain deed. • Putting snot on the ground: Will have a daughter. • Putting snots on one’s wife: She will conceive a male child but have a miscarriage. • The wife putting snots on the dreamer: (1) She will give birth to a boy. (2) She will terminate the breast-feeding of a small child. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Elephant A man told Ibn Siren he dreamed that he was riding an elephant, to which the great seer replied, “The elephant is not an animal that Muslims usually ride. I’m afraid you are no longer a Muslim.” The elephant is also seen as something great and famous but useless, because people can neither eat its meat nor milk it. More, the elephant is said to be the animal of the Prince of the Inferno. Especially for women and for pious people, those who seek the Hereafter, the sight of an elephant never augurs well. It is not the same for worldly individuals. • Eating elephant meat or taking any of its limbs, skin, or bones: Money from the ruler. • Milking an elephant: Will outwit a foreign king and get his money through lawful means. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Dog According to Ibn Siren, dream interpreters disagree on what a dog represents in dreams. Some of them regard it as a slave or a servant, others as a despot, a terrible person, and a slanderer, if it barks. The black dog is an Arab. On the other hand, a dog could also mean a weak enemy with little chivalry, if any. The she-dog is a mean woman. If she bites, such a woman would harm the dreamer. If a dog tears the dreamer’s clothes, it would mean that a low man would backbite him. For Al-Nabulsi, the dog symbolizes a policeman of low rank, a gate-man, or a guardian, a niggardly person, a weak enemy, and a stupid, profligate, and aggressive man who never hesitates to commit foolish or criminal acts, especially if it barks; it would mean that he has an awful temper, that he is terrible. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Incident A dream interpreter once said: "I saw in a dream a man who was blindfolded with a blue piece of cloth. I asked him: 'Do you know what happened to my father?' The man replied: "Your father is dead.' Then he took me to may father's grave, where I felt the great loss, and I hugged it, cried, and wailed. When I woke up, I told another dream interpreter, who was a friend of mine, about my dream. He smiled and said: 'Your father's death in the dream means his longevity, and your crying means relief from distress.' I did not accept his interpretation of my dream, for I knew better the meaning of wailing and mourning in a dream. Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Lion • Riding on a lion’s back: Will ride on a high tide, either by travelling by sea in the inappropriate season when the sea is in fury or by succeeding or outsmarting the ruler. The dreamer might also be facing a situation wherein he stands helpless, hence the wishful dream. • Riding on a subdued or perfectly obedient lion: Will have the upper hand in a feud with a tyrant. • Riding on a lion but being afraid of it: Harm will befall the dreamer, or he will face some hard test. • Fighting a lion: Will fight an enemy, a ruler, the authority, or whatever the lion stands for. • Killing a lion: The end of all sorrows. • Being overpowered by a lion: Will have a fever because, says Ibn Siren, the lion is known to be feverish. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Gold Gold dinars (coins) are the least harmful, because Daniel the Wise was reported as saying that having more than four dinars in one’s hand meant the dreamer would be hated and hear bad things commensurate with the number of coins. If the number of coins is known, worries will be minor. According to Ibn Siren, having one dinar of medium size is a reference to a nice and cozy house, five dinars means that the subject would do something acceptable, and an even number of dinars between one hundred and one thousand means that the dreamer will become a specialist in conducting tests. Giving a dinar to somebody means one will lose part of one’s knowledge. Anyhow, contradictory views exist about the metal. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Flesh Views on certain items of this chapter are widely divided and sometimes diametrically opposed. For instance, according to Al-Nabulsi: • Eating somebody’s flesh: Will speak ill of such a person in his absence. • Eating one’s own flesh: Will eat up gains. According to Ibn Siren, will eat away savings or whatever is hoarded. For Ibn Shaheen: • Eating human flesh: Financial gains in any case. If the person whose flesh is being eaten is known to the dreamer, the latter will take a bite at the victim’s purse or property. In case the dreamer is eating such flesh voraciously and with great appetite while blood is spilling imminent, unquestionable, and huge financial gains will be achieved. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Prison • A sick person dreaming of being in an unknown jail: A reference to his tomb, where he will be locked till the Day of Resurrection. If the jail is known, the disease will last, but he will hopefully recover and resume his activities in this world (which is yet another jail of its kind). In case the jail is unknown and the patient is a criminal, he will remain sick for a long time without any hope of a recovery unless he repents or embraces Islam, and the jail in question is his grave. • Seeing a dead person in jail: (1) If he was a true believer, he is kept away (provisionally) from Paradise for some sins that remain pending. (2) If he was an atheist, he is in Hell. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
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