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

222 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 deliverance for whoever is in grief, or terror, or illness, or straits, or drought.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 169–171

If he sees a ship on dry land, then it is a nearing of deliverance.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 169–171

If he drags it along the ground, then he will lead and act hypocritically in religion.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 169–171

If he boards it together with righteous people, then he follows right guidance and Allah Most High forgives him.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 169–171

If he disembarks from it, he is fortunate and is saved from his enemies.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 169–171

If a dismissed man sees that he has boarded a ship, then he will assume an authority from the direction of one of the kings, in proportion to the sea, and the extent of his authority will be in proportion to the ship's soundness of construction and its spaciousness.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, pp. 169–171

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

his death; and if he is rich, then the loss of his wealth. This dream, taken as a whole, is not praiseworthy.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 127

Whoever sees that he is riding a ship, then he will do a good deed.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 128

And whoever sees that he is in a ship running with him on dry land, then it is hypocrisy in his deeds, or an unlawful marriage, or a journey that will occur, or an illness — and perhaps it is Hajj.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 127

And whoever sees that he is pulling out something from it, then he will obtain wealth.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 128

And whoever sees a ship running through the air, then he will die without fail.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 127

And it is said that the vision of all ships and boats is imprisonment, especially if he enters into one, and all the more so if it is closed upon him — we seek refuge with Allah from that.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 128

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

(The ship) indicates everything by which one is saved from that which drowning signifies, because Allah the Exalted saved by it Noah (peace be upon him) and those with him, and brought down upon the unbelievers drowning and affliction. And it indicates Islam, by which one is saved from ignorance and sedition.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 595–598

And some of them said: Whoever sees that he is on a ship in a surging sea will attain a great kingship or sovereignty.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 599–600

And perhaps it indicates the wife and the slave-girl, who guard [him] chastely and by whom one is saved from the Fire and from temptations, because Allah, glorified and exalted, called it (the ship) "jariyah" (a running vessel / a slave-girl).

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 595–598

And the ship is deliverance from distress, grief, illness and imprisonment for whoever sees that he owns it.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 599–600

And perhaps it indicates the father and the mother, through whom there was deliverance from death and from need, especially since it is like the mother carrying her child in her belly.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 595–598

And if he sees that he is in it, he will remain in that [state] until he is delivered; and if he goes out of it, his deliverance will be swifter.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 599–600

Kinds and conditions of Ship

ship / boat

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

Whoever sees that he came out of a ship, then it indicates the coming of relief.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 126

Whoever sees that he perished in a ship, then he will perish at the hands of people.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 126

sea vessel (ship/boat)

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

This was already dealt with under the letter Sīn, in "ship" (safīna). Fishing vessels in a dream indicate provision and benefit.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 332

So whoever rides in a dream a foreign vessel, or owns it, or has command over it, will marry a woman from that land to which it is attributed, or he will buy a slave-girl, or he will triumph over his enemy, or he will travel in its direction, or he will come to own merchandise from there.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 332

belly as a ship

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

And perhaps his belly is a ship, his heart its prow, his intestines its servants, his lung its sail, his gullet its mast, his stomach its anchor, his ribs its walls, his flesh its planks, and his skin its oakum and pitch.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 787–790

So whoever sees his belly torn open and ripped apart, with his bowels having flowed out, his innards scattered, and his ribs altered, then his ship has been wrecked.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 787–790

breakfast ship

Freud and Jung, a separate view

The dream object, therefore, signifies “_black toilet_” (German, _toilette_—dress)—mourning—and has direct reference to a death.

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

This, then, was the “_breakfast-ship_,” and it is behind this very recollection of great enjoyment that the dream hides the saddest thoughts about an unknown and ominous future.

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

steering a ship

Artemidorus of Daldis, Oneirocritica (1644 English translation)

To govern a ship, if one have good successe and honour without perill, provided that it be without doubt or pain, it is good,

Oneirocritica (1644 English translation), The first Booke of Artimedorus His Exposition of Dreames.

but if one be troubled with tempests, or if the ship be bruised and broken, it is abundance of evill, which I have often known by experience:

Oneirocritica (1644 English translation), The first Booke of Artimedorus His Exposition of Dreames.

ship on fire

Artemidorus of Daldis, Oneirocritica (1644 English translation)

to see any part of the ship on fire and burn, signifyes danger, lest she break on that side, or danger to him which by that side of the ship is meant.

Oneirocritica (1644 English translation), The Second Booke of Artimedorus His Exposition of Dreames.

ships

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

Daniel said: The vision of ships is worry, distress, imprisonment, and an occupation in which there is profit and blame — especially for one who is in a ship and does not get out of it.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 125

leaving a ship for land

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

A rare account. One of the interpreters said: I was fearful and apprehensive, expecting some dreadful matter to befall me. Then on one of the nights I saw as though I had come out of ships onto the land, and in my hand was a bird, and I was running and afraid with an intense fear. Then I awoke, and I interpreted the going out from the ship onto the land as my going out from that distress; and the bird as strength and victory; and the running as the attainment of a desired aim; and the fear as security. And the matter turned out just so, and in sum what I had interpreted came to pass, and what I had been in was removed.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, pp. 265–266

Shipwright (ship builder)

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

He is the one who makes ships. Seeing him indicates a broker of women, of slave girls and maidservants.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 265

seller of ship sails

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

He is the one who sells the sails of ships. Seeing him in a dream indicates travels, and the preparing of affairs in seeking sustenance or marriage.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 280

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