3.1.9 - His Vision of the Prophet peace be upon him (Tlemcen, 590/1194)

We mentioned at the beginning of this chapter above that Shaykh Muhyiddin considers Abu Madyan his Shaykh even though he did not meet him in reality, but he certainly loves him so much and believes in him to the extent that he would hate those who may hate him for any reason. When the Shaykh was in Tlemcen in the year 590 AH, he met a man from the people of God named Abdullah al-Tarsusi, and there was a conversation between them about Shaykh Abu Madyan, from which he learned that al-Tarsusi hates his Shaykh, so he instantly felt hating him.

However, in the same night, he saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and he said to him: Why do you hate this person? Ibn al-Arabi replied: For his hatred in Abu Madyan. The Messenger said to him: Does he not love God and loves me? He said: Yes, O Messenger of God, he loves God and loves you. The Messenger said to him: Why did you hate him for his hatred in Abu Madyan and did not love him for his love of God and His Messenger? Then Ibn al-Arabi said: “O Messenger of God, from now on I will. I have been lost and now I repent, and by God he is now one of the most loved people to me. You have alerted and advised me, may God bless you.”

Subsequently, when the Shaykh woke up, he went to the house of Abdullah al-Tarsusi and took for him a gift and told him what happened in the vision. Shaykh Abdullah cried and accepted the gift, and also took the vision as a warning from God, thus he removed the hatred in Abu Madyan and loved him once again. He told the Shaykh that the reason why he hated Abu Madyan was because he once divided the sacrifices on his companions but he gave him nothing [Futuhat: IV.498].