According to Yehia Gouda's reference book on Muslim oneiromancyDreams and Their Meanings, Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Sirin Al-Ansari, was born in Basra, as mentioned, in 653, i.e., the 33rd year after Muhammad's leaving from Makkah to the then Yathreb. His birth came two years before the end of the rule of CaliphUthman ibn Affan. Muhammad's father was one of the many captives taken by Khalid ibn al-Walid after the Battle of Ayn al-Tamr. He was a coppersmith from a town called Jirjaya , settled and working there, where a decisive battle took place in year 12. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, vol. 3, p. 947, Ibn Sirin's mother, Safiyya – a slave of the caliph Abu Bakr – was held in such esteem within the community that when she died, her laying-out was performed by three of Muhammad's wives and eighteen Badris, led by Ubay ibn Ka'b, were present at her burial. 'Omar sent him as a present, either directly to Anas ibn Malik or first to a man called Talha Al-Bukhari who, in turn, gave him to Anas.
Works
The most notable of the books attributed to him is Dreams and Interpretations. Ibn Al-Nadim says that he was the author of Taabir Al-Ro'oya, which is different from or an abridged version of Muntakhabul Kalam Fi Tafsir El Ahlam first printed in Bulaq, Egypt, in 1284 AH, in Lucknow in 1874 and in Bombay in 1296 AH. It was subsequently reprinted numerous times in various parts of the Arab World under different titles. But that book, allegedly written by Ibn Sirin, who died in 110 AH, comprises many discrepancies. For instance, it tells a story about Imam Shafi'i who died in 204 AH. It also quotes Is'haq Ibrahim ibn 'Abdullah Al-Kirmani, who died in 400 AH. Nonetheless, some scholars are of the view that most if not all of the works related to Ibn Sirin might be apocryphal, or even misattributed to him completely. Another example lies in the authenticity of the book "Muntakhabul Kalam..." which is definitely non-genuine, for the simple reason that it relates those stories that happened long after Sirin's death as already stated. Nevertheless, it is possible that these books were written by another expert or by Ibn Sirin's students and/or admirers. The major suspect is a Muslim preacher by the name of Abu Sa'id Al-Wa'ez, himself author of several books on Islamic oneiromancy. What lends credence and adds weight to the theory that Ibn Sirin never wrote anything is the established fact that he abhorred books. He always relied on his excellent memory and was of the view that it is books that led to the and doom of past generations. Whenever he wanted to memorize a hadith'', he wrote it down on a piece of paper which he destroyed as soon as he learned it by heart. One night, a friend begged him to keep in his house a book he was carrying, which he categorically refused by saying he had vowed that never "shall a book" spend a night at his home. Although he was known for correctly interpreting dreams, this book cannot be authentically traced back to him. The rare second edition in Italian of his interpretation of Egyptian and Persian dreams was translated from Leo Toscano's Latin into Italian by the famous cheiromantistPatricio Tricasso, who, in his foreword to Alessandro Bicharia, explains that he has omitted many of the original interpretations owing to many dreams being inspired either by melancholy or evil spirits. The original Arabic, Greek and Toscano's Latin texts seem not to have survived and this is the second of three Italian editions of the sixteenth century, the others appearing in 1525 and 1551
