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

101 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

Whoever becomes a slave in a dream while he was among the free: if he knows the one who enslaved him, perhaps that person will enslave him by his kindness in waking life.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 235

And perhaps he will enslave him by what he learns of his indecencies and lapses.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 235

And perhaps it indicates a debt he incurs until he becomes a slave to the one from whom he borrowed, or he becomes a hired worker under the hand of another.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 235

And perhaps he will fall ill and endure patiently under the hand of one who commands and forbids him.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 235

If his master sells him in the dream, he will attain honour and elevation.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 235

And perhaps he will fall into a plot and humiliation, because the selling of a free man is his humiliation.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 235

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

Everyone who is in bondage is a slave, whether he be white or black.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 43

(So whoever sees) that he has freed his slave, it indicates the death of the slave, or the attainment of some good for the one who freed him.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 43

(And whoever sees) that his slave has reached maturity, then he will be freed.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 43

(And whoever sees) that his slave slapped him, then he will likewise be freed.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 43

(And whoever sees) that he speaks with slaves or mixes with them, then that is an increase in his wealth.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 43

(And whoever sees) that he bought a young slave boy, he will attain good; and it is said: worry and grief. And selling is better than buying.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, p. 43

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

And if a slave who has not reached puberty sees that he has attained puberty, then he will be set free.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 130–133

And if he sees as though he attained puberty and a white cloak was cast over him, then he will marry a free woman.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 130–133

And if he sees as though a black cloak was cast over him, then he will marry a freedwoman.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 130–133

And if he sees as though a purple cloak was cast over him

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 130–133

Kinds and conditions of Slave

slave girl

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

She, in a dream, is trade for whoever owns her, or buys her, or has her given to him as a gift.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 73

So whoever approaches a slave girl in order to buy her has approached a trade.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 73

young girl / slave girl

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

If he sees an adorned Muslim slave girl, he will hear glad tidings from where he does not reckon.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 130–133

And if she is an unbeliever, he will hear glad tidings mixed with obscenity.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 130–133

female slave

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

Seeing a female slave in a dream is an indication of a riding beast, because of its service, and of the drainage channel of the house, because it deals directly with filth and dirt, and of what a person treads upon, such as a mat or a shoe.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 10

And perhaps seeing her indicates wealth and its value, and perhaps she indicates might, high standing, and victory over enemies.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 10

manumission (freeing a slave)

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

In a dream it indicates the sacrificial offering. So whoever sees that he has freed a slave, then he will offer a sacrifice.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 236

And whoever frees his wife, then he will divorce her.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 236

selling a slave

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

And whoever sells a slave, it is good for him, and there is no good in it for the one who bought him.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 318–322

Whoever sells a slave, then it is good for him, and there is no good in it for the one who buys him.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 756–759

intercourse with a slave girl

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

And whoever sees as though he has intercourse with a slave girl will attain good.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 734–736

And if he sees that he has intercourse with a woman in a manner that is not permissible, then he is seeking a matter by an improper means and will not benefit from it.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 734–736

being sold (as a slave)

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

And whoever sees that he is being sold as an owned slave, Allah will straiten his affairs and he will be humbled.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 762–765

Artemidorus of Daldis, Oneirocritica (1644 English translation)

FOr to dream to be set to sale (as they were wont in the old time to sell theyr servants, and they do at this day amongst heathen Nations) is good to those which wish to change their present estate and quality: As to those which are kept in poverty and servitude:

Oneirocritica (1644 English translation), The Fourth Booke of Artimedorus.

manumission of a slave

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

As for the manumission of a slave, it is the death of the one manumitted.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 753–755

If someone sees a free man as though he had been manumitted, then he will offer a sacrifice for himself, or someone else will offer a sacrifice on his behalf.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 753–755

buying a slave boy or slave girl

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

Whoever sees as though he bought a slave boy, distress will befall him.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 130–133

And whoever buys a slave girl will attain good.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 130–133

Manumission of a slave after the owner's death (tadbir)

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

In a dream it indicates the nearness of relief for the one manumitted contingently (al-mudabbar), if he is in hardship.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 46

And if he has a debt upon him, he is on the verge of paying it off, because tadbir is an expression for the suspension (contingency) of the slave's status.

Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam, p. 46

Abyssinian slave with a spear

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

A rare anecdote. Abdullah bin Malik al-Khuza'i said: I was a police official under Harun al-Rashid, and his messenger came to me at night, at a time in which he had never come to me before, and he pulled me out of my bed and prevented me from changing my clothes, and that alarmed me. When I reached the residence, I was granted permission to enter, so I entered and found him sitting on his bed. I greeted him for a while, and my wits flew from me and my dread over myself doubled. Then he said: O Abdullah, do you know why I summoned you at this hour? I said: No, O Commander of the Faithful. He said: I saw — he said: I saw just now in my sleep as though an Abyssinian slave had come to me and with him was a spear, and he said: If you do not release Musa bin Ja'far this very hour, I will slit your throat with this spear. So go and release him. So I said: O Commander of the Faithful, shall I set Musa bin Ja'far free? And I repeated it to him three times, until he said: Go this very hour and release him, and give him thirty thousand dirhams, and say to him: If you wish to stay with us, you shall have with us whatever you like, and if you wish to travel to Medina, permission for that is yours. Malik said: So I came to the prison and brought him out and gave him what the Commander of the Faithful had ordered, and I said to him: I have seen a wondrous thing concerning your affair. He said: Then I shall inform you. I was between sleeping and waking, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) came and said: O Musa, you have been imprisoned wrongfully, so say these words, for you will not spend this night in prison. I said: By my father and my mother, what shall I say? He said: Say: O Hearer of every voice, O Forestaller of all escape, O Clother of bones with flesh and their Raiser after death, I ask You by Your most beautiful names and by Your greatest, mightiest name, the treasured, the hidden, upon which none of the created beings has looked — O Forbearing One, possessed of patient restraint, have mercy on one who has no strength for patient restraint; O Possessor of bounty that is never cut off and never numbered, relieve me. And it was as you have seen.

al-Isharat fi Ilm al-Ibarat, pp. 261–262

slave-girl trader

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

And the slave-girl trader is a bearer of news, because slave-girls are news.

Muntakhab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlam, pp. 313–317

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