Pillar in a dream: meaning in Ibn Sirin, al-Nabulsi and Ibn Shahin

50 passages from 5 sources, quoted as written, every one linked to its page.

Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam

In a dream it is religion. So whoever sees that a pillar descended from the sky, then Allah the Exalted bestows upon him a just, kind, and forbearing ruler.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 249

(And whoever sees) that he struck someone with a pillar, or was struck with it, then it is speech by which the striker addresses the struck one; and if he wounded him with it, then he brings harm upon him.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 249

(And whoever sees) that he was struck with a pillar, then if he is a slave he will be sold and his price taken; and if he is free it is feared for him that he will be taken captive and sold as slaves are sold.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 249

(And whoever sees) that he leaned upon the base of a pillar, or bought it, or it was given to him as a gift, then he will rely upon an old woman or marry an aged woman, because of His saying, the Exalted: "And the women past childbearing (al-qawa'id) among the women." And the pillar is one upon whom reliance is placed and to whom one leans for support.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 249

(And whoever sees) that a pillar has tilted from its place, then if he is a governor, his agent has inclined toward opposition, hypocrisy, and withdrawal from obedience to him; and if he is an agent, then his ruler will change toward him and incline against him and show him what he dislikes; and if he is a slave, his master will dislike him and perhaps sell him. And pillars indicate men upon whom reliance is placed in warding off what is feared and in weighty matters.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 249

(And whoever sees) that he possessed pillars, or saw himself as one of the pillars, then if he is fit for kingship he will rule, or he will be a mainstay upon whom reliance is placed; and if he is a scholar, the masters of religion will gather around him. And the pillar is a father, or a child, or wealth, or a partner, or a riding beast, or a wife, or property.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 249

Ibn Shahin al-Zahiri, al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat

Ibn Sirin said: the pillar is interpreted as the upright man, truthful in speech, and it may be strong speech. So whoever sees that he

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 119

Al-Kirmani said: whoever sees in his hand a pillar of iron, then it indicates his strength.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 119

And whoever sees that someone took a pillar from his hand, then it indicates the weakness of his strength.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 119

Ja'far al-Sadiq said: the pillar is interpreted in three ways: a truthful man, speech of pride, and elevation of rank.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 119

And whoever sees that a pillar has leaned away from its place: if he is a governor, then his agent has departed from obedience to him and opposed him; and if he is an agent, then his ruler will incline against him; and if he is a slave, his master will sell him.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 119

As for the wooden pillar, it is a man of state and good fortune; it indicates that he is a person by whom the state of the seer is made firm.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 119

attributed to Ibn Sirin, Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam

(As for the pillar) whether of wood, or of clay, or of gypsum, or of baked brick, it is the caretaker of the house, or the servant of the household, and the one who bears their burdens and their houses, and who is strong enough for whatever they charge him with.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 503–506

(Pillars) The pillar indicates everyone who is relied upon and everything that is a mainstay, support, and prop, such as Islam, the Quran, the sunnahs, and jurisprudence for religion; and the sultan, the jurist, the ruler, the father, the master, the husband, the executor, the witness, the wife, and wealth. And from the location of the pillar, the additional details of the dream, and the attributes of the sleeper, one infers the interpretation of the matter and the truth of the vision.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 539–542

So whatever happens to it, that occurs in the one to whom it is attributed.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 503–506

So whoever sees a pillar that has leaned from its place and is about to fall from beneath its structure: if that was in the great congregational mosque, then he is a man from among the sultan's men who acts hypocritically toward him, or who intends to depart from obedience to him or from his school of doctrine; or a man from among the scholars or the righteous who deviates from his knowledge and inclines away from his uprightness because of a trial that has come upon him or a calamity that has befallen him.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 539–542

And if it was in a mosque of the tribal mosques, then he is its imam, or its muezzin, or whoever maintains and serves it.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 539–542

And if the pillar was in his house and dwelling: if the one who had the vision is a slave, then the pillar is his master, who will change toward him and from whom will appear to him what he dislikes and fears — if in the dream he feared its falling upon him.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 539–542

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation

And that pillar is the pillar of Islam,

Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation, pp. 7385–7386

Kinds and conditions of Pillar

pillar of the Book

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation

Behold, faith, when the tribulations occur, is in Syria (al-Sham),

Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation, pp. 7389–7390

And in one narration: "So when the tribulations occur, safety is in Syria."

Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation, pp. 7389–7390

pillar base

Ibn Shahin al-Zahiri, al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat

As for the pillar base, it has several aspects.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 119

Al-Kirmani said: Whoever sees that he leaned upon the base of a pillar, or bought it, or that it was given to him as a gift, then he will rely upon an old woman.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 119

house pillar/beam breaking

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation

"I saw in a dream that the pillar of my house broke, and that I gave birth to a one-eyed boy." He said: "Good — your husband will return, if Allah wills, in a sound state, and you will give birth to a dutiful boy."

Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation, pp. 7418–7419

So I said: "If your dream is true, your husband will die and you will give birth to a wicked boy."

Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation, pp. 7418–7419

pillar in a green meadow with a handhold

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation

"I only saw as though a pillar was placed in a green meadow and set upright in it, and at its top was a handhold, and at its bottom was a minsaf" — the minsaf is the servant boy — "and it was said: Climb it. So I climbed until I took hold of the handhold. I related it to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Abdullah will die while holding fast to the most trustworthy handhold."

Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation, pp. 7384–7385

pillar/column

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation

They said: Whoever sees a pillar in his sleep, then it is interpreted as religion, or as a man upon whom he relies in it; and they interpreted the pillar as religion and authority,

Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation, pp. 7389–7390

posts and pillars

Freud and Jung, a separate view

to whom posts and pillars signify legs (as in the “Song of Songs”),

Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams / On Dreams / Dream Psychology, The Interpretation of Dreams, ch. VI The Dream-Work

House pillar (support post)

Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam

In a dream it is wealth or a wife.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 117

21 more passages on this symbol are in the database and used by the interpreter.