al-Ishara ila Ilm al-Ibara
- Author died
- 800 AH
- Editions
- Facsimile manuscript - University of Jordan Library
al-Ishara ila Ilm al-Ibara (The Pointer to the Science of Dream Interpretation) is a treatise on Islamic oneiromancy and dream interpretation written by Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Umar al-Salimi (d. 800 AH / 1398 CE) .
Purpose and Composition
Al-Salimi composed the book as a concise yet comprehensive manual on the interpretation of visions (تعبير الرؤيا) . In his preface, he notes that given the noble status and high standing of the science of dream interpretation, he sought to prepare an accessible abridgment that would be easy to consult and carry, providing clear and sufficient guidance for practitioners and students of the discipline .
Structure and Contents
The work opens with a doxology praising God as the creator of spirits and dawn . While bibliographical sources such as Hajji Khalifa's Kashf al-Zunun record that the book is divided into fifty chapters , the chapter list within the work itself enumerates fifty-seven chapters . To facilitate quick reference, the author placed foliation markings over each chapter heading .
The text begins with foundational matters concerning the nature and classifications of dreams:
- Theoretical Principles: The first chapter addresses the principles of dreams, their categories, and criteria for distinguishing truthful dreams from false ones . Truthful dreams are classified into three types: warnings against sins, glad tidings for obedience, and divine guidance; false dreams are likewise divided into three categories: thoughts of the self (همة النفس), physical illness and bodily humors (علة), and satanic illusions (شيطان) .
- Etiquette of Interpretation: The second chapter details the principles and proper decorum required of the interpreter .
- Theological and Cosmic Visions: Subsequent chapters address dreams of God Almighty, the Garden, the Fire, angels, prophets, the Traverse (الصراط), the Reckoning, the Throne, the Footstool, the Balance, the heavens, the earth, and the Day of Resurrection (Chapter 3), followed by celestial and natural elements such as the sun, moon, stars, clouds, rain, thunder, snow, and winds (Chapter 4), and bodies of water, valleys, wells, and ships (Chapter 5) .
- Human and Material Symbols: The chapters proceed through diverse categories of human experience, including appearances of elderly persons, youth, women, and children (Chapter 11); acts of worship such as ablution, the call to prayer, prayer, and charity (Chapter 12); rulers, leaders, and royal lifespans (Chapter 51); rituals, marriages, and feasts (Chapter 52); acts of devotion such as Quranic recitation, prayer, and fasting (Chapter 53); natural upheavals such as earthquakes and subsidences (Chapter 54); and household utensils and everyday objects (Chapter 56) .
- Supplementary Topics: The closing chapter (Chapter 57) gathers miscellaneous rulings and dream motifs that were omitted from earlier thematic sections .
Sources and Methodology
Al-Salimi states in his introduction that his primary authority was the oneiromantic work of Abu Ishaq al-Kirmani, whose reliability he praises on the grounds that al-Kirmani tested and confirmed his interpretations through extensive experience . In addition to al-Kirmani, al-Salimi integrated material attributed to earlier authorities, including works associated with Ibn Sirin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ja'far ibn Hasan al-Kisa'i, and Ibn Qutaybah, alongside transmitted interpretations from Daniel, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, and Amr ibn Sirin . Al-Salimi emphasizes that he reproduced the phrasing of his sources faithfully as found to preserve their original meanings without alteration .
Reception and Manuscripts
The book was recognized in later Islamic bibliographical literature, including mentions in Ismail Pasha al-Babani's Hadiyyat al-Arifin and Khayr al-Din al-Zirikli's al-A'lam . Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi explicitly cites al-Salimi's book among the major references he relied upon in compiling his oneiromantic dictionary, Ta'tir al-Anam fi Ta'bir al-Manam .
Multiple manuscript copies of al-Ishara ila Ilm al-Ibara have been preserved in various libraries worldwide, including collections at the Topkapi Palace (Ahmet III) and Esad Efendi libraries in Istanbul, the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the Egyptian National Library in Cairo, the National Library of Tunisia, and the High School Library in Rabat .
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