And a man said to him, “I dreamed that I was pouring oil into olives.” He (Ibn Sīrīn) replied, “Search for your wife, for she is your mother.” He searched and indeed discovered that she was his mother. The backstory was that this man had been taken captive as a child from his homeland and lived in the land of Islam until he grew up; later his mother was captured and he unknowingly bought her. When he recounted the dream to Ibn Sīrīn, he was told to investigate—and found everything as foretold. Another man said, “I dreamed that I scraped—or as he also described, trod upon—a date, and a mouse emerged from it.” Ibn Sīrīn told him, “Marry a woman.” In another report, he said, “You tread upon a righteous woman who will bear a rebellious daughter.” In both cases the interpretation proved accurate. A third man said, “I dreamed that barley grains were scattered on my rooftop, and a cock came and pecked them up.” Ibn Sīrīn advised, “If anything is stolen from you in these days, bring the matter to me.” They spread a rug on their roof and it was stolen; they reported it, and he told them, “Go to the muezzin of your neighborhood and reclaim it from him.” The man did so and recovered the rug. Another man said, “I dreamed that pigeons were gathering jasmine flowers.” Ibn Sīrīn interpreted, “The scholars of Basra have died.” A different man recounted, “I dreamed of a naked man standing on a dunghill, beating a tambour.” Ibn Sīrīn remarked, “In our time this vision applies only to al-Ḥasan al-Basrī.” The dreamer replied, “By God, it was indeed al-Ḥasan whom I saw.” Ibn Sīrīn explained: “The dunghill symbolizes the world, placed under his feet, and his nakedness signifies detachment from it. The tambour represents the exhortations with which he struck people’s hearts.” Another said, “I dreamed that I was cupping someone and blood was flowing.” Ibn Sīrīn told him, “You are a man who tarnishes people’s reputations, consumes their livelihoods, and goes in and out by their door.” Someone else said, “I dreamed that I saw pearls in mud.” He was told, “You are a man who entrusts the Qur’an and knowledge to those unworthy of it and who gain no benefit.” A woman came and said, “I dreamed that a ‘sinnūr’—a type of snake—put its head into my husband’s belly and took a piece from him.” Ibn Sīrīn declared, “Three hundred and sixteen dirhams have been stolen from your husband.” She asked, “How do you know?” He replied, “By the abjad (letter-numeral) values of the creature’s name: sīn = 60, nūn = 50, wāw = 6, rāʾ = 200, totaling 316. You said the snake was black—so it is a black slave in your neighborhood.” They questioned their house-slave, beat him until he confessed, and recovered the money. A man said, “I dreamed that my beard had grown very long while I watched it.” Ibn Sīrīn asked, “Are you a muʾadhdhin (muezzin)?” He answered yes, and was told, “Fear God and do not gaze at your neighbors’ houses.” Another reported, “I dreamed that my beard grew so long that I sheared it, wove it into a garment, and sold it in the market.” Ibn Sīrīn warned, “Fear God, for you are a false witness.” One man said, “I dreamed that I was eating my own fingers.” He was told, “You will consume the handiwork of your own hands.” Ibn Sīrīn once asked a man, “Look—do you see anyone in the mosque?” The man went and looked, returned, and said, “No one is in the mosque.” Ibn Sīrīn rebuked him, “Did I not tell you to look for any of the officials among them?” On learning that a certain man was black, Ibn Sīrīn exclaimed, “I seek God’s forgiveness—I have only backbitten him,” acknowledging that he had judged wrongly despite the man’s color. Finally, he related that seven people had conspired to kill a woman; Caliph ʿUmar executed them all. Ibn Sīrīn added, “Had the people of Ṣanʿāʾ conspired in her death, I would have uprooted their greenery.”