Sheikh , my husband bought a book on interpretation of dreams . Writer is Allama Ibn Sherin . Is that authentic or fake book ?
وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته
Respected sister,
Many Islaamic researchers have found that the book, "Interpretation of Dreams", or "Dictionary of Dreams" cannot be authentically attributed back to Imaam ibn Seereen
رحمة الله عليه. Others say it was actually written by a Shaafi`ee `Aalim named `Abdul Malik ibn Muhammad al-Kharkooshi an-Naysaaboori.
These are some of the reason they mention which cast doubt on the Kitaab being authored by him:
1) None of the Mu'arrikheen (historians) of the first three generations (in which the Imaam lived) mention him having authored a Kitaab on dreams, despite them speaking about his oceanic knowledge in the field.
2) Imaam ibn Seereen was one of those `Ulamaa of the Salaf who disliked that Ahaadeeth should be written down (did not believe in the compilation of Kitaabs of Hadeeth). He believed Ahaadeeth should only be passed on from one person to another, via memory. Orally, not written down. One reason for this is because he feared that if Ahaadeeth got written down and Kitaabs of Ahaadeeth got compiled, people would rely on these Kitaabs rather than the original method of taking the Ahaadeeth from a Shaykh or Raawi, like Sahaabah used to do. So, he was of those who did not believe in the writing down of `Ilm, making it unlikely that he would have compiled a Kitaab in `Ilm-ut-Ta`beer (the Science of Dream Interpretation).
3) The `Ulamaa who have done their research on this Kitaab (the original Arabic version) found that the literary style used, word usage, etc. did not match the literary style used in the era in which Imaam ibn Seereen lived. The writing style used is of the `Ulamaa of later times.
4) Imaam ibn Seereen himself said, "If I were to have compiled a Kitaab, I would have compiled one on the letters of Nabi
صلى الله عليه وسلم." This statement of his points out that he had not compiled any Kitaab.
5) Imaam ibn Seereen was known to be extremely cautious with regards to dream interpretation, and regarded it as being a most difficult and intricate science. As such, it is unlikely that he would compile a Kitaab on "Dream Interpretation", leaving it in the hands of people with no knowledge of Ta`beer (Dream Interpretation) to start interpreting their own dreams and those of others.
Based on the following reasons, we should not rely on the Kitaab "Dictionary of Dreams" or "Interpretation of Dreams" attributed to Imaam ibn Seereen.
Seeking interpretation for a dream is like seeking a Fatwaa: just like a non-`Aalim wanting to know a ruling on a particular issue would go to a Mufti to seek the answer, and not themselves open up the Kutub of Fiqh like Hidaayah, Badaa'i`-us-Sanaa'i`, Raddul Muhtaar, etc. to try and find it there, so too should a person seeking interpretation of a dream find out from a reliable `Aalim who is a Mu`abbir (Dream Interpreter), rather than trying to find it in a Kitaab.
والله تعالى أعلم
