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

59 passages from 4 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 indicates adherence to religion, if it is the prison of the religious law.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 185

And if it is the prison of the ruler, it indicates worry and distress on account of blame or hypocrisy.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 185

And the unknown prison indicates this world.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 185

And the prison indicates the quarrelsome wife and the wearisome cause, by way of what indicates silence and the imprisoning of the tongue from idle talk.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 185

And perhaps it indicates a plot on the part of enemies.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 185

And it indicates accusations, and nearness to virgins, and the grave, and debt, and being held back from journeys because of illnesses or lack of resolve.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 185

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

Whoever sees that he entered an unknown prison, then it is interpreted as the grave; and if it was a known one, then it is grief and harm.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 84

in religion and worldly matters toward righteousness and good; but there is no good in that for rulers.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 85

(Al-Kirmani said): The vision of a known prison, for one who is renowned for being free of corruption, is religion, standing, and benefit; and if he is renowned for corruption, then it is grief and diminishment.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 84

(And whoever sees) that he is coming out of an unknown prison, or out of a narrow doorway, then it is highly praiseworthy in all his conditions and deeds.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 85

(And whoever sees) that he is in a sultan's prison, bound in fetters, then he will meet with a matter he dislikes, and he is in grief hoping for relief.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 84

(And whoever sees) that he came out of a prison and wanted to go back into it, then he has drawn away from a reprehensible matter, and Satan has enticed him by making it seem fair to him; so if he enters it, he returns to the foul things he had been doing.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 85

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

As for entering prison, it is not praiseworthy at all, and it indicates a long illness and the prolongation of grief, whether he entered it of his own accord or another compelled him to enter it. We seek refuge with Allah from affliction.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 295–297

(The prison) indicates what the bathhouse indicates, and it may indicate an illness that prevents one from acting and rising up, and it may indicate a hindrance from travel, and it may indicate the grave, and it may indicate Hellfire, because it is the prison of the disobedient and the unbelievers, and because the prison is a house of punishment and a place for people of crime and injustice.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 527–530

And some of them said: Whoever sees that he chose a prison for himself, then a woman is seeking to seduce him, and Allah will turn her scheming away from him and will bring him to his goal, because of His saying, exalted is He: "My Lord, prison is dearer to me than that to which they invite me."

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 531–534

So whoever sees himself in a prison, look at his condition and the condition of the prison: if he is sick and the prison is unknown, then that is his grave, in which he is confined until the Resurrection.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 527–530

(And it is related) that Sabur ibn Ardashir, during his father's lifetime, saw as though he were building prisons and taking the swine and the apes from the Byzantines and putting them into them, and upon him were thirty-one crowns. So he asked the interpreter about it, and he said: You will reign thirty-one years; and as for the building of the prisons, according to their number you will build cities, and you will take the Byzantines and take captives from them. And so it was, for after his father's death he seized the kingdom of the Byzantines and built the city of Nishapur, the city of al-Ahwaz, and the city of Sawran.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 531–534

And if the prison is known, his illness will be long, and his recovery and rising to the world—which is a prison for one such as him—may be hoped for, according to what is in the report that it is the prison of the believer and the paradise of the unbeliever.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 527–530

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

Had I remained in prison as long as Joseph remained, and then the summoner came to me, I would have answered him.

Fath al-Bari, commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Dream Interpretation, pp. 7366–7368

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