Caged Birds

Similar to pigeons are birds in cages; they signify free men or slaves or captives; or they ma y refer to children and stored wealth for the onewho possesses them. Shaykh Shihaab - ud - Deen said: The one that is in a cage signifiesone who is sick and in prison, or a captive or a wife, because they arenot in control of their own affairs and because some one else is takingcare of them. Song birds such as the nightingale, wood pigeon and the like, signify Khateebs, preachers and Qur'an readers, and also singers. If a personhas a wife who is pregnant, he will be blessed with a boy or will buy a slave girl wi th a beautiful voice. If the bird sings for one who has a sickloved one, weeping but not screaming, he will recover from sickness orhis livelihood will increase. But if it weeps with screaming or laughsor shouts, or dances, then his sick loved one will die or the one who isabsent will come or he will go through difficulties or his wife will leavehim. The one in the cage may be indicative of one who is in prison. Soif a person dreams that he is feeding a bird in a cage, he will speak tosomeone who is in pris on or he will try to set him free or he may tendto a sick person. If the one who is in the cage flies away without hisconsent, then his sick loved one will die or he will leave one who isdear to him. A man dreamt that he had a pouter pigeon whose tongue ha d been cut out and that he fixed its tongue and it became sound. Shaykh Shihaabud - Deen said to him: Do you know what cut its tongue? He said: It cut it on a piece of glass from a bottle. He said: You know a Khateeb or apreacher or singer who was banned fro m speaking. He was drinkingalcohol and you are trying to bring him back to his profession, or hemay have trouble with his wife. He said: You are right. Another man dreamt that he had a musical instrument, part of whichbroke and part was eaten by a slave. H e said: You will be enabled to repent, because the loss of the instrument is indicative of that, and thatinstrument was birds with beautiful voices, some of which will die andsome will be eaten by the cat, because the cat is a slave. And that is whathappene d.