II. PRONUNCIATION
In this dictionary of dreams, pronunciation is mostly concerned with foreign
words.
When an opening apostrophe (') is placed before a vowel (i.e., 'A; 'E), it
means that this letter is a consonant in Arabic and must be pronounced
with extra guttural sound of the Arabic letter t. Example: 'Eid: (Festival).
When the Arabic letter is not transliterated in the English text, the
opening apostrophe then indicates its presence. Example:
Zul-Qi'dah: (See Arabic months)
Aclosing apostrophe is used herein to indicate a glottal stopping or light
breathing sound of the hamza letter in Arabic •. Example: 'Amura': (lOth
day of Muharram; Anniversary of the martyrdom of Husain at Kerbala).
However, when a closing apostrophe (') is placed before a vowel in the
middle of a word such as Qur'an, then the vowel should be pronounced
as it is: (e.g. Ii; e; 0).
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a This symbol indicates a prolonged aa. Example: YaJ!ya: (John).
i This symbol indicates a prolonged letter i. (k~n)
u This symbol indicates a prolonged letter u. (mood)
When Cdare used under an d.n, §, t, etcetera, they indicate the Arabic
letters ~ • r:. •~ • .1. ,implying a stronger guttural sound.
pronounced by pressing the tongue against the edge of the upper teeth.
DICTIONARY OF DREAMS xliii
Db. Representing the Arabic letterJo . Example: Illi.uha: (See Five times
prayers).
Kh This symbol represents the Arabic letter t which is a gutteral ch as in
Scottish "loch". Example: Khimiir: (Veil).
Th This symbol represents the Arabic letter .) which is pronounced like
the article "the" in English, and sometime pronounced like "think".
Gh This symbol represents the Arabic letter t which is pronounced like
the French "r", grasseye.
Forother references on Arabic pronunciation, please refer to any Arabic
grammar book or an Arabic-English dictionary.
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III. DEFINITIONS
In this dictionary, definitions that follow some entries are arranged in alphabetic
order, and they are set inside brackets immediately following the entry.
IV. SCIENTIFIC NAMES
When the name of a plant or an animal is entered in this dictionary, I used an
abbreviation symbol of zool. med. or bot. before sometimes entering the Latin
name. Example:
Tragacanth: (bot. genus Astragalus).
Elephantiasis: (med, See Elephant man).
Mole3
: (zool... .).
Proper names of planets are followed by the abbreviation astr. ,while others may
indicate a group of elements.
1- Capricorn: (astr. See Moon).
2- Canis Major: (Constellation. See Dog).
V. SYNONYMS
Synonyms are sometimes listed following the entry. In Eastern inner traditions,
the synonym may not necessarily agree with today's Western appellation. However,
a close examination of the interpretations provided in this dictionary may
lead to narrowing the meaning and make it more applicable. The interpretation
of the elements themselves provides for a more extensive list ofsynonyms and may
require a specialized dictionary of synonyms for Eastern cultures.
VI. INTERPRETING IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
What is lawful and unlawful in this book does not only represent the legal or
illegal, the permissible and the impermissible, but rather treats the same in a
religious sense. For example, usury (lending of money for excessive interest) is
unlawful. The quality of humankind in a dream maybe represented by the innate
character of the like creations. Thus, a beneficial bird may mean a praiseworthy
person; a beast represents the like quality in man; an elephant represents
arrogance; a harvest projecting a particular person denotes human qualities of a
lesser magnitude, etcetera. (Also see Man).
In the past, people also used dream interpretation as a tool to understand
diseases, to find cures from their interpretations, to discover spiritual guidance,
and to provide psychological analysis oftheir condition. Example: Medicine: (Drug;
Inkwell.) In a dream, medicine means correcting oneself, or fulfilling one's
religious requirements. (See Grapes; Medicine). Based on traditional medicine,
dream interpretation also emphasizes and educates the public on using certain
herbal medicine for their illness by eating seeds and herbs from plants such as
pumpkin, cucumber, eggplant, sweet basil, chard, onion, cabbage, Indian corn and
melon seeds, etcetera.
As for distilled farm water, or from water lily, or distilled water from similar
flowers, they represent medicinal remedies, profits, celebrations and weddings.
(See Distilled water).
King in the old traditions is substituted here with the noun ruler, governor,
mayor, supervisor, or a similar commonly adopted terms in today's usage. Though
in Eastern traditions king in a dream is sometimes interpreted by relative nouns
such as lion, notable, or luminary, etcetera.
Blessings connote good, goods, money, health, the five senses, wife, husband,
children, property, friends, and any worldly benefits the human being enjoys and
takes for granted. In a dream, a soldier represents one's deeds while enemy may
represent one's poor qualities.
A spool represents the element of religious life. Religion means a way of life. Of
course it is connected with faith, though religion is incumbent upon every person
while faith is an endowment or a divine gift based on one's performance of his or
her religious obligations. In a way, the parable of religion is like that of a laborer
who whether he likes it or not, he has to wake up in the morning to reach his work,
collect his wages and pay his rent and expenses. Otherwise, his employer will
dismiss him, his landlord will evict him, his family will be dispersed and he will
lose respect. The same thing goes for being a law abiding citizen. Hence, honor and
status in a society depend on hard work, loyalty, devotion and servitude. Thus we
can understand how religion is a must and faith is an gift. Religion carries laws
which are established by God Almighty and relates to the original covenant
between our Lord and his creation. God's attributes and promises are always
fulfilled and religious commitment is man's share of duties. Man's increased
gratitude and devotion may, God willing, entitle him to further endowments and
his sincere love for his Lord may qualify him for a reward.
In many instances, elements in a dream may mean the opposite. Some of the
elements must be approximated to construct a closer interpretation of one's dream
(See Introduction). Business for instance may be connected to one's job, a king or
a ruler to one's supervisor or boss, etcetera. On the other hand, the elements
themselves define their innate nature. To interpret one's dream from this dictionary
one must connect the elements and establish their pertinence. For example, in a
dream, ritual impurity (Junub; Janaba) indicates that one is avoiding certain
obligations. According to Islamic traditions, one must have ablution whenpursuing
any interest. Another example, building an edifice from plaster or baked brick
encrusted with pictures or forms in a dream means engaging in an unlawful or a
deceitful act, for a wall of plaster or a gypsum dry wall carries no strength and has
a short life, particularly under the rain. (See Plaster) .
Another example, Kite: (Small hawk). In a dream, it means an insouciant or
languorous ruler who is audacious, defiled and stouthearted. This interpretation
came from the innate nature of the bird itself which flies low and close to the
ground and rarely misses its catch. Understanding the nature of a kite helped the
interpreter in this case to discuss such element of a dream. It is said in Eastern
traditions that man gets very little from a kite if he uses it for hunting.
Finally, interpreting dreams helps to put things in perspective. It recognizes
their nature through scrutinizing and examining their effects in one's heart with
analytical wisdom.
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