119 – “The only people to whom you should recount a dream are a scholar or someone who will give you sincere advice.”

Al-Tirmidhī (2/45) and al-Dārimī (2/126) record it through the route of Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ, who said: Sʿīd related to us, from Qatādah, from Ibn Sīrīn, from Abū Hurayrah, from the Prophet ﷺ, who used to say these words.

Al-Tirmidhī commented, “A ḥadīth that is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.”

I say: Its chain is sound according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhārī and Muslim).

Hishām ibn Ḥassān also narrated it from Ibn Sīrīn with the same wording. Al-Ṭabarānī in al-Ṣaghīr (p. 187) and Abū Shaykh in al-Ṭabaqāt (p. 281) transmit it through Ismāʿīl ibn ʿAmr al-Bajalī, who said: Mubārak ibn Faḍālah told us, from Hishām ibn Ḥassān.

This chain, I note, is acceptable for corroboration, for Hishām is trustworthy and cited as evidence by al-Bukhārī and Muslim, while the narrators beneath him are somewhat weak.

The ḥadīth also comes through another route from the Prophet ﷺ with an additional wording that clarifies the reason for the prohibition:

“Dreams unfold according to the way they are interpreted; the case is like a man who has lifted his foot and is waiting to set it down. Therefore, if any one of you sees a dream, let him relate it only to a sincere advisor or to a scholar.”

120 – “Dreams unfold according to the way they are interpreted; the case is like a man who has lifted his foot and is waiting to set it down. Therefore, if any one of you sees a dream, let him relate it only to a sincere advisor or to a scholar.”

Al-Ḥākim (4/391) narrates it through ʿAbd al-Razzāq, who said: Maʿmar informed us, from Ayyūb, from Abū Qilābah, from Anas, who said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declared these words.

Al-Ḥākim said, “Its chain is sound.”