From his Mother Nur al-Ansariyya to his Sayh Fatima bt. Ibn al-Mutanna: Important Female Figures around Muhyi l-Din b. al-'Arabi (d. 638/1240)

Muhyi l-Din b. al-'Arabi (d. 638/1240), well known for his favorable views on woman, is of the idea that there is a very strict love-bond in the God, man and woman trinity: God created Adam/man in His own image, and created woman on Adam/man's image. Thus, God is the watan (country of origin) of Adam, and in turn Adam is the watan of woman. His mother Nur al-Ansariyya, his wife Maryam and his daughter Zaynab should be regarded as the immediate important women around him. As he believed that man and woman were equal in everything, he followed both female and male sayhs. Ibn al-'Arabi's esteemed female sayhs include Fatima bt. Ibn al-Mutanna, about whom he used the term Divine mother; Sams Umm al-Fuqara, and Fahr al-Nisa bt. Rustam, a scholar and the sayh of Higaz.