Since none of the books which I read on dream interpretation in English or Arabic addressed the topic academically, I felt it necessary to research the subject in order to get proper clarification for myself and to provide for English readers an authentic and comprehensive analysis of this intriguing subject. Most books on the subject of dream interpretation are either attributed to Muhammad ibn Seereen (653-729CE) or refer much of their material and methodology to him. He was born and raised in the city of Basrah, in Iraq, where he later became a major fiqh (jurisprudence) and hadeeth scholar among the students of the Prophet's companions. A number of the hadeeths on dreams narrated by Aboo Hurayrah and other companions were transmitted by him and he became known for dream interpretations. Subsequently, many fables about his interpretational ability were circulated. Eventually, books on dream interpretation were attributed to him, though his contemporaries make no mention of them, and these books are without reliable chains of narrators. That is, Ibn Seereen, without a shadow of a doubt, did not write any book on dream interpretation. He did, however, write a compilation of Aboo Hurayrah's narrations from the Prophet (pbuh) along with the opinions of Aboo Hurayrah. This text was kept by his brother, Yahyaa ibn Seereen, because Muhammad ibn Seereen, in his later days, did not like to keep books. Ibn Nadeem in his Fihrist made the first recorded reference to a book, Ta'beer ar-Ru'yaa (The Interpretation of Dreams) ‘written’ by Ibn Seereen. The Arabic text, Muntakhab al-Kalaam fee Tafseer al-Ahlaam, which is in wide circulation today, is also falsely attributed to Ibn Seereen. Consequently, English translations based on it as well as other books, like Ibn Seerin's Dictionary of Dreams and Dreams and Interpretations, are all unauthentic.
In Al-Akili's introduction to his Dictionary, some authentic hadeeths are quoted along with weak and fabricated traditions without any references being given either to their sources or their status. In fact, some authentic hadeeths are mentioned as opinions of some dream interpreters. The author also quotes false information about the angel of dreams whose supposed name is given as ‘Siddiqoun’. He is further described as being so huge that the distance between his shoulder and his earlobe is equivalent to seven hundred years of walking. Al-Akili also quotes explanations about the dream process which no one besides the Prophet (pbuh) has the right to speak on. For example, he states that “when one falls asleep, his/her soul becomes like an extended ray of light, or like a sun, where he can see what the angel of dreams reveals to him through the effulgent light of his Lord.” The author quotes many fabricated statements from ‘Prophet Daniel’ and he falsely attributes to Imaam Jafar as-Saadiq the practice of numerology. He quotes Imaam Ja'far as saying, “If one forgets a dream he saw at night, he should calculate the numerological value of the letters of his name on the basis of the ‘Abjad’ system. He then should deduct the number nine from the total. If they result in an even number, then his dream is positive. If the total produces an odd number, then his dream has negative connotations.” The author even goes so far as to tell the budding dream interpreter that he “should ask the person who forgot his dream how did he find himself when he woke up. If the person who forgot his dream finds his hand over his fingers, he could have seen little trees. If he finds his hand laid over his ribs, then it could be women that he saw!”
Al-Akili further recommends that the dream interpreter have knowledge about astrology, numerology, lucky days of the week and lucky hours of the day and night, all of which are from the realm of forbidden pseudo-sciences based on shirk (idolatry). For example, under the heading of Moon, he writes: “Seeing the moon in the position of Cancer in a dream means [a] good time to get married and conceive children....Seeing the moon in the position of Sagittarius in a dream means [a] bad time for planting [of] seedling. Seeing it coupled with Capricorn in a dream is a bad sign for construction or laying a foundation to a structure, or for starting a business.”
Meanings are even given to dreams about which the Prophet (pbuh) refused to interpret. For example, under Beheading Al-Akili states: “In a dream, beheading means freedom from slavery or dispelling sorrows and dismay, payment of one's debts, or it could mean prospering. If one knows his assailant in the dream, it means receiving wealth at his hand. If one is sick, it means that he will recover from his illness, and if he is not sick, it means that he will attend a pilgrimage. If the assailant is a young boy, then it means comfort, joy and relief from his burdens through his own death. If a healthy person is beheaded in a dream, it means the end of his comfort or loss of his job or authority. If a traveler is beheaded in a dream, it represents his safe return home.” On the other hand, the Prophet (pbuh) prohibited the communication of dreams containing beheading. Jaabir reported that a bedouin came to Allah's Messenger (pbuh) and said, “Messenger of Allah, while sleeping, I saw my head cut off and I saw myself running after it.” Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said to him, “Don't tell people about the games Satan plays with you in your sleep.”
Often Al-Akili gives so many different meanings for dreams, that one of them might come true at some point in one's life. For example, under Tongue, he says: “... Losing one's tongue in a dream represents the malicious joy of one's enemy, family, or neighbors for one's losses, or it could mean the death of a beloved, severing a relationship, or a plant disease that will affect one's fruit trees. Perhaps losing one's tongue in a dream could mean separation between husband and wife, divorce, losing one's job, or moving to a new town.”
Consequently, Ibn Seerin's Dictionary of Dreams is not only unauthentic, it is misleading and cannot be relied upon by sincere Muslims for guidance. It is of little more value to Muslims than the Oneirocritica, the most famous book of dream interpretation compiled by the 2nd Century CE pagan Greek soothsayer Artemidorus Daldianus.
