Is Dream Interpretation Considered Authentic Knowledge And If So Are There Any Books To Learn It by Shaykh Zakariyyah ibn Shuʿayb al-ʿAdanī

Pivotal Quote

“Yes, this is knowledge, and Allāh (عز وجل) says in Sūrah Yūsuf when the king asked the men in his court whether or not they could interpret his dream, they responded saying,

﴾ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَأْوِيلِ ٱلْأَحْلَٰمِ بِعَٰلِمِينَ ﴿

“…and we are not skilled in the interpretation of dreams.” [Sūrah Yūsuf 12:44]

So yes, dream interpretation is ʿilm (knowledge)

Question:

Is dream interpretation considered knowledge? And if so, are there any books one can read to learn how to interpret dreams?

Answer:

Yes, this is knowledge, and Allāh (عز وجل) says in Sūrah Yūsuf when the king asked the men in his court whether or not they could interpret his dream, they responded saying,

﴾ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَأْوِيلِ ٱلْأَحْلَٰمِ بِعَٰلِمِينَ ﴿

“…and we are not skilled in the interpretation of dreams.” [Sūrah Yūsuf 12:44]

So yes, dream interpretation is ʿilm (knowledge). Imām al-Saʿdī (رحمه الله) said in his Tafsīr of this āyah that we understand from this when Allāh (عز وجل) referred to them saying,

﴾ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِتَأْوِيلِ ٱلْأَحْلَٰمِ بِعَٰلِمِينَ ﴿

“…and we are not skilled in the interpretation of dreams.”

He said yes, this is ʿilm (knowledge). Also, when the king (of Egypt) asked for an interpretation of his dream he said,

﴾ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْمَلَأُ أَفْتُونِى فِى رُءْيَٰىَ إِن كُنتُمْ لِلرُّءْيَا تَعْبُرُونَ ﴿

“O notables! Explain to me my dream, if it be that you can interpret dreams.” [Sūrah Yūsuf 12:43]

When he asked for an interpretation of his dream, he said أفْتٌنِى, “Give me a fatwá about my dream.” It is not possible to give a fatwá about something without knowledge; a fatwá is based upon knowledge. A fatwá is not based upon superstition and opinion, rather a fatwá is based upon knowledge. So yes, dream interpretation is knowledge.

Yes, there are also some books that talk about the guidelines for interpreting dreams. However, this is a skill that is to be acquired, as well as a blessing from Allāh (عز وجل). The ability to interpret dreams correctly is a skill that one can develop but it is also a blessing that Allāh gives. It could be that a person reads all the books about this topic but he cannot correctly interpret a dream. So yes, there are books about this subject but at the end of the day, it is a blessing from Allāh (عز وجل) to be able to correctly interpret dreams.

What we must be aware of (and Allāh chooses from His servants whom He wishes to give this ability to interpret dreams) are some books that are based upon superstition, and also there is a book attributed to Imām Ibn Sīrīn about dream interpretation, which has been falsely attributed to him. We do not have any correct, authentic chain of narration going back to Ibn Sīrīn proving that he wrote this book. In fact, there is more (evidence) to show that Ibn Qutaybah al-Daynūrī authored this book, but perhaps they used a more popular author’s name as a publicity stunt to sell more copies of the book, wAllāhu Aʿlam.

Dream interpretation is like poetry. A person can study poetry and improve their ability to write poetry but at the end of the day, this is a blessing that Allāh casts in the hearts of whom He wishes. A person can study all the poetry he wants but he can never compose original quality poetry unless Allāh (عز وجل) wills. This is something that is a blessing from Allāh (عز وجل)

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