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3.2.8 - A Simple Disagreement

Nevertheless, despite that he considers him the Shaykh of Shaykhs, and despite the fact that all people of God take their knowledge through divine disclosure as we have seen in section

ef(unveiling above, this does not prevent that Ibn al-Arabi sometimes disagrees with his Shaykh on some secondary issues, because of their different scenes, or perspectives. He said, for example, while discussing the Sharia rule for Ta’mîn: saying “Amen” for the imam after he finishes reading the Fatihah, whether he is required to say Amen or not? He answers that the scholars differed on this issue, so some say yes and some say no, but then he explains the esoteric consideration of this issue:

If a person considers his soul extrinsic, he will address her as a second person. For example, Allah the Almighty says: ((We have created man and we know what their souls whisper to them.)) [Quran: 50.16]. Everyone finds this (whispering) in themselves and feel it in their natural configuration. Also, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, says to the committed person: “You have obligation against your soul” [Kanz: 5325]. Therefore, he added the soul to him, and nothing is added to itself. Thus he considered that the soul is other than the human, and he imposed on him some obligations for her.

Therefore, if the imam was reciting, his soul should respond with Amen when he finishes the Fatihah, yet also if his soul was actually reciting then he should say Amen as well, because the human has one entity but multiple associations. This is supported by His saying: ((Some of them is oppressive against his soul)) [Quran: 35:32], and (in the Holy Tradition) about someone who commits suicide: “My servant returned his soul prematurely” [Kanz: 39960].

Therefore, those wo has this perspective they say that the Imam must say Amen, and also those praying solo. However, those who consider that the Imam is one entity, or that he speaking by his Lord, according to His saying (in the Holy Tradition): “He hears by Me, sees by Me, and speak by Me.” [Kanz: 21327], those say that Ta’mîn is not required.

Accordingly, our Shaykh Abu Madyan in Bugia says that the Imam does not say Amen, but (I believe that) the Ta’mîn is better in all aspects, because the committed person is recommend to start by himself when he asks God (Doaa), and his saying “Amen” is a Doaa, meaning: “Oh God, we have said Amen for the goodness and for what we are seeking from You”. The human must act according by virtue of his situation and his perspective, but it has been confirmed in the hadith that: “When the Imam says Amen you also say Amen!”

[Futuhat: I.448].