Asylum The asylum, or mental institution, symbolizes frequent travel, asceticism, the heeding of God and reading of the Holy Quran, the stoppage of income, the end of wedlock, the abandoning of children, repentances, the return of religious faith, relief from worries, and sometimes diphtheria (the suffocation disease, to borrow the expression of Al-Nabulsi). It could also represent the bathroom, as madness was believed by the ancient Arabs to be associated with demons and because, like the bathroom, the mental institution is a place where people take off their clothes, show their private parts, and exhibit repulsive manners. For some interpreters, the madhouse refers to the school, because, there, the inpatients were educated by force, in ancient times, and taught to read and write and know the Quran. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
Gilder (Gold leaf) In a dream, a gilder represents a decorator, someone who makes things attractive and pleasant or someone who coats things with sugar. In general, a gilder in a dream represents someone who is truthful in his words and actions. If a gilder overlays gold leaf over the cover of a book in a dream, it means that he is lying, falsifying things, innovating and that he is a heedless person who loses his money in loathsome entertainments, corruption, or it could mean that he works for a religious institution. Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Saffron Grinding saffron in a dream means producing something one will view with pride and be amazed by its results, though again, one's efforts will be followed by a severe illness. Grinding saffron in a dream means illness, exposing secrets, divulging confidential information, or it could mean deeds that will bring happiness, or it could denote studying, or acquiring knowledge. If a woman sees herself grinding saffron in a dream, it means that she is a lesbian, or a female homosexual. (Also see Miller) Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Earthquake In a dream, an earthquake represents fear of a higher authority. An earthquake in a dream is also interpreted to indicate major changes in that particular place, or a calamity that will befall a town or a country. If one sees the mountains rumbling, shaking and crumbling, then being restored to their original state in a dream, it means that a great happening will devastate such a place. If one sees the earth shaking or caving in, and if everything sinks into the ground, hitting a segment of the community and sparing another segment of it in the dream, it means that a calamity will befall that place, and it will manifest through social disorder, injustices or a plague. If one sees the earth shaking and the firmament rent asunder in a dream, it means that major adversities will hit their properties, cattle, farms and institutions, etcetera, as a divine chastisement for people's sins. Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Sack (Bag; Pouch; Suitcase; Trunk) A sack or any packing container in a dream represents travels, or activities in general. A sack in a dream also represents the body of a human being. An empty sack in a dream then means death. Seeing a sack within a sack in a dream represents the knowledge one benefited from during his life in this world. If the second sack contains money in the dream, it means that one's knowledge is true. If it contains change, it means that one is still studying and needs to further his knowledge. A sack in a dream also represents one's personal and secret life. Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Exhume (Dig up a grave; Unearth) Exhuming the body of a deceased person and finding him alive in his grave in a dream means pursuing his tradition, knowledge, wisdom, trade or practices. It also means acquiring lawful money. If one finds him dead in his grave, then there is no benefit in his striving. A grave robber or a body snatcher in a dream represents a deliberate and a premeditated scheme to unravel a mystery, or forming an expedition to search for a hidden treasure. Digging the grave of a renowned scholar in a dream means studying his school of thought and the restoration of his studies, life, traditions and prominence. (Also see Grave digger; Grave) Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Clothing Wearing a tightly buttoned shirt in a dream means experiencing tight circumstances or reuniting with a traveller returning home, or it could mean marriage for an unwed person. Wearing a stately apparel in a dream means honor and dignity. Wearing a soldier's uniform in a dream means war. Wearing a scholar's robe or a teacher's vest in a dream means studying to become a learned person. Wearing an ascetic's woollen wrap in a dream means becoming a renunciate. Wearing a salesman's suit in a dream means hard work or looking for work if the suit looks expensive in the dream, for people mostly wear expensive looking suits when they are still searching for work. Dream Interpreter: Ibn Sirin
Market The unspecified market refers to the mosque and vice versa, because man trades and earns in both.39 It also refers to the battlefield, where some people win and others lose. In the Holy Quran, God has used the word commerce as a synonym for Jihad (holy struggle): “O ye who believe! Shall I show you a commerce that will save you from a painful doom?” (“Al-Saff’ [The Ranks], verse 10.) Likewise, the souk or marketplace could allude to the person’s luck commensurate with the size of the market; the learning institution; the asylum; and the pilgrimage season. The meat market, in particular, symbolizes the war zone. The jewel and the cloth markets represent commemoration ceremonies and learning establishments. The money changers market is a reference to the ruler’s court, where people weigh what they say and matters are evaluated carefully. Sometimes souks represent lies, injustice, worries, and misery. They allude as well to the sea, where the big fish eat the small fish, and to compulsory spending, as often brought about by spouses, or marriage itself, and the birth of new children. Indeed, each specific market has a different interpretation. But it is noteworthy that the Muslims Holy Prophet was said to consider the souk as the abode of devils. He advised Muslims always not to be the first to step into or the last to leave the marketplace. Dream Interpreter: Various Islamic Scholars
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