Skip to content

ʿAbd al-Ghanī ibn Ismāʿīl al-Nābulsī

A short biography and the method of ʿAbd al-Ghanī ibn Ismāʿīl al-Nābulsī in interpreting dreams, with the list of symbols he treats in his primary work.

Era and place

1050 AH / 1641 CE — 1143 AH / 1731 CE, Damascus

A great Ṣūfī scholar and Ḥanafī jurist, one of the foremost figures of Damascus in the 11th century AH. He combined jurisprudence, Sufism, and the literary sciences and authored some two hundred works. His book on dream interpretation is an encyclopaedic reference that collects the citations of his predecessors and adds his own Ṣūfī insights.

Primary work

Taʿṭīr al-Anām fī Tafsīr al-Aḥlām

Method of dream interpretation

Al-Nābulsī combines Ibn Sirin's narrative method with the Ṣūfī method of ishārah (symbolic indication). He arranges symbols lexically, citing the views of earlier scholars before adding a Ṣūfī consideration or subtle note. He gives greater weight to the dreamer's state, intention, and the setting of the dream.

Symbols this scholar interpreted (72)

Dream symbols this scholar treats on the site, with direct links to each symbol's full interpretation page.