Abu Abd Allah al-Salimi
- Died
- 800 AH
- Born in
- -
Abu Abd Allah al-Salimi (d. c. 800 AH / 1398 CE) was an Islamic scholar of oneiromancy best known for his treatise on dream interpretation, al-Ishara ila Ilm al-Ibara (The Pointer to the Science of Dream Interpretation).
Scholarly Contribution
Al-Salimi composed his treatise al-Ishara ila Ilm al-Ibara as a concise, accessible manual on the science of dream interpretation (ilm al-ibara), highlighting the noble status of the discipline. In compiling it, he relied primarily on the authoritative work of al-Kirmani, citing al-Kirmani's practice of including only interpretations that had been tested a hundred times. Al-Salimi also incorporated interpretations and principles from other early authorities, including works attributed to Ibn Sirin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ja'far ibn Hasan al-Kisa'i, and Ibn Qutayba, transmitting their exact phrasing to preserve their intended meanings.
He structured the manual into thematic chapters—noting fifty chapters in his preface and enumerating fifty-seven in his table of contents—and marked each section with indicators to facilitate reference. The work covers the foundations of visions, criteria for distinguishing true dreams from false ones, the proper etiquette of the interpreter, and the interpretation of visions concerning God, angels, prophets, Paradise, Hell, and the Day of Judgment.
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al-Ishara ila Ilm al-Ibara (The Pointer to the Science of Dream Interpretation) is a treatise on Islamic oneiromancy and dream interpretation. It serves as a concise manual on the interpretation of visions, designed as an accessible abridgment to provide clear and sufficient guidance for practitioners and students of the discipline.