Dates • Picking nice dates from a dry palm tree: (1) Will learn something useful from an unholy man. (2) If in trouble, relief will come. • Dates being picked for the dreamer: Money will come to the dreamer through dangerous people he will govern. A man said, “I dreamed that I found forty dates.” “You will receive forty lashes,” said the famous dream interpreter Ibn Siren. Sometime later, the same man came to Ibn Siren and told him he found forty dates at the gate of the sultan, to which Ibn Siren said that the man would receive one thousand dirham's. When asked about the contradiction, Ibn Siren said that the first dream was made when the season was over and trees were dry; as for the second, it took place when waters were irrigating the trees. And he was right, on both occasions. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Clothes A man told Ibn Siren, “I dreamed that I bought an ornamented cloth of the best silk, which was folded up. When I unfolded and hung it, I found it rotten in the middle.” “Did you buy an Andalusian slave?” asked Ibn Siren. “Yes,” said the man. “Did you have sex with her?” “No,” said the man, “for I have not yet checked her.” “Don’t bother to do so, because her genitals are stinking.” And so it was when the man had his new slave checked by his women. • New white clothes: A new chance. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Jewel • Looking at a jewel or a pearl that does not gleam or glitter or any kind of glass that does not shine: Beware of strangling disputes and hardships because, says Ibn Siren, the hot, running blood (nafs) in the body is like the refraction of light in glass and jewelry. The dreamer should also take care not to lose his mind, because the mind is a flat jewel, adds Ibn Siren. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Horse • Riding, in general, is good only on earth or in horses tracks. Therefore, riding a horse on the wall, on the roof, or in a sanctuary would be a bad omen, except if it was a winged horse flying between heaven and earth. The latter case would mean dignity in life, travel, and deep religious faith. • A piebald or spotted horse means fame. A fair-haired one could mean either sorrow or victory, because “the angels horses were blond,” asserts Ibn Siren. A man told Ibn Siren he dreamed that he was on a horse with iron lances. “Then you should expect death,” said the great interpreter. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Skin According to Ibn Siren, blackness refers to a person’s wealth. A man once came to him and told him he dreamed that his fiancee had become black and short. “Her blackness,” said Ibn Siren, “is her wealth. Her shortness, her life.” And, in fact, the man married the girl, who did not live long and whose money he inherited. Red skin is a symbol of dignity and relief, especially if it is whitish. Yellow means disease, except if the yellow is gorgeous, in which case the dreamer will be close to God in the Hereafter, if God wills. A white complexion means that the dreamer is religious, faithful, and righteous. If his cheeks turn white, he will enjoy dignity and prosperity. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Slaughter • Seeing parents eating their young boy grilled: They will share his prosperity and benefit from his bounty. • A ruler slaying a man and putting him, decapitated, on the dreamer’s neck: The ruler will commit an injustice toward the victim, asking him impossible things and requesting the dreamer as well to pay a heavy sum that he cannot afford, exactly like the burden that the slain person felt. A man told Ibn Siren, “I saw a woman in my dream, last night, butchered in her house and lying in her blood.” “She must have had sex in her bed last night,” said the interpreter. The man left Ibn Siren's house fuming, because the woman in question was his sister and he knew her husband was away. When he arrived at her place, he discovered that her husband had returned the previous day and uttered a sigh of relief. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Cat The case would be worse if the cat dreamt of was of the wild type. By contrast, a quiet she-cat means a comfortable year, a savage one a year full of harm. The she-cat is sometimes a reference to tender motherhood. Other contradictory symbols include: (1) Dispute or controversy. (2) Adultery. (3) The product of adultery or an abandoned child whose father cannot be identified. (4) The absence of gratitude. (5) The failure to fulfil a promise or honour one’s obligations. (6) Being quick of hearing. (7) Whispers. (8) The hypocritical flatterer and gadabout. The she-cat usually symbolizes an evil and deceitful woman. A woman told Ibn Siren she dreamed that a cat had introduced its head into her husband’s stomach, taken something out of it, and eaten it. The great seer said that a black thief would enter her husband’s shop that evening and steal 316 dirham's from his safe. And so it was. There was a black bath attendant in the neighbourhood. The people of the area got hold of him, and he confessed to his crime and restored the money. When asked how he managed to know all that, Ibn Siren said that the cat was a thief, the husband’s stomach his safe and what was taken out of it the money. As for defining the exact amount, Ibn Siren said that each letter of the alphabet had its specific number. Therefore cat—in Arabic sanur—stood for 316 dirham's. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Mouse • Obtaining mouse skin: Will get some money, not much, from a debauched woman. • Throwing arrows or stones at a mouse: Will backbite a licentious woman or exchange correspondence with her on an unholy matter. • Catching a mouse: Will outsmart a woman and sleep with her. A man who saw himself penetrating a mouse and coming out with a date from its ass asked Ibn Siren about the meaning of such a dream. “Are you married to a corrupt woman?” asked Ibn Siren. “Yes,” said the man. “She will give birth to a devout son.” • A mouse coming out of one’s rectum: A thankless woman will get out of the dreamer’s life. • A mouse coming out of the dreamer’s nose or penis: Wife will give birth to a corrupt and ungrateful girl. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Beard • Having a white, shining beard: Will have power and prestige and be well noted in the country, as, according to Ibn Siren, Abraham’s beard was white. • The beard becoming hoary or gray: Prestige and respectability. • The beard graying and then turning completely white: Will become poor and unheeded. A black-bearded young man told Ibn Siren he dreamed that his beard had turned completely white and that he was trying to dye it, to no avail, as the dye wouldn’t hold. The interpreter replied that his fortune was declining and that he was trying to conceal this fact, in vain, which he admitted. • Having a jet-black or pitch-black beard: Will grow prosperous and self-sufficient, especially if the black was greenish, in which case it would mean tremendous wealth and authority coupled with tyranny, as that was said to be the color of the hair of Moses pharaoh. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Lion The lion is a ruler, a tyrant, or a powerful and very dangerous person, in view of the ferocity and devastating anger of that animal. It also symbolizes the warrior, the swindler, the thief, the treacherous worker, the policeman, the insatiable enemy, and perhaps hardships and death, because he who stares at it turns pale, loses his self-control, and is as good as dead, says Ibn Siren. Furthermore, it represents the ruler who embezzles public funds and commits injustice and the lurking enemy. The lioness symbolizes the daughter of a king. The baby lion (lion’s whelp or cub) is a boy. A man told Ibn Siren, “I dreamed that I was embracing and nursing a baby lion.” When the great seer looked at him, saw his humble appearance and miserable garments, and understood that he could not be eligible for any honour, he said, “What could you possibly have to do with the children of princes?!” and he added, “Is your wife, by chance, breast-feeding the son of a prince?” “Yes,” was the reply. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Taragon Taragon symbolizes a person of mean origin, because it emanates from wild rue, which has to be immersed in vinegar for a whole year before being tender enough to be planted, according to Ibn Siren. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Jar The water jar symbolizes the dreamer’s warehouse, shop, or wife, since it contains his water, says Ibn Siren. The same applies to the wicker bottle. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Mongoose The mongoose symbolizes adultery. Seeing it means that the dreamer will commit adultery, for it basically kills snakes, but it also steals hens, which according to Ibn Siren have similarities with women. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Barley • Owning or eating barley: (1) Health and wealth. Dreaming of barley is better than dreaming of wheat. (2) An allusion to a son whose life will be short, because, according to Ibn Siren, barley is what Jesus Christ used to eat. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Disease • A man at war dreaming that he is ill: Will be injured. • Dreaming that one is on his deathbed, then dies, and his wife gets married again: The subject will die as an atheist. • Paradoxically, dreaming that one’s wife is sick, says Ibn Siren, means that she is religious. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Prematurity (Also look under Beard.) Prematurity is not favoured by the interpreters of dreams, except for the ability to speak early, because, says Ibn Siren, man is a talking animal. So the act is more or less natural. But for the rest it heralds a scandal or death. Bad dreams of that kind involve, for example, little children with beards, getting married, or kids having a baby. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Glass According to Daniel the Wise, as quoted by Ibn Shaheen, glass symbolizes women. For Ibn Siren, manufactured white glass represents religion and life, especially if the name God is written on or carved in it. Otherwise, it refers to the ephemeral. He also concurs that it is part of the essence of women. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Radish • Dreaming of radish: (1) Lawful and blessed gains. (2) Will perform hajj (pilgrimage)—an interpretation that according to Ibn Siren, is a bit farfetched. • Picking or eating radish: Will do good but regret it later on. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Kidney According to Ibn Siren, the kidneys are the organs responsible for wealth and discrimination between right and wrong. They also allude to relatives. • Having fat kidneys: The dreamer is rich, outspoken, and often right. • Having lean kidneys: The dreamer is poor and holds incorrect views. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Weasel The weasel is among the human beings that, according to religious belief, were cursed and turned into animals, says Ibn Siren. In dreams, it symbolizes a foolish and harsh person, unjust and with little, if any, mercy. The same interpretation for a cat applies to it. A weasel entering the dreamer’s house means a wicked person will step in. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
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