Effect of Mystical Perspective on the Jurisprudential Opinions (A Case Study of Ibn Al-Arabi's Fatwa on the Permission of Women's

The present article has been developed to explain the relationship between jurisprudence and mysticism and the effect of the mystical view on the process of ijtihad. By reflecting on the process of ijtihad, it is possible to remove the sciences affecting the process of ijtihad from the monopoly of a few limited ones. It is through these presuppositions that the mujtahid may reach the fatwa; and mysticism, if not the most effective, is at least one of the effective foundations on the process of ijtihad. Accordingly, the article deals with the case study of Ibn Al-Arabi's fatwa on the permission of women to lead men over men in congregational prayers (contrary to the well-known opinion of the jurists of the two religious sects). In this regard, the principles of the separation of humanity and animalism, the commonality of men and women in humanity, the interpretation of narrations that seemingly overshadow the superiority of men, and a different view of the category of marriage and ijtihad, have been extracted from Ibn Al-Arabi's works. It should be noted that this article does not seek to prove the correctness of this fatwa of Ibn Al-Arabi and his explanation of ijtihad and the status of women; rather, the aim is to show the way based on which Ibn Al- Arabi reached such a rare fatwa with such a presupposition.