Originally published in Sufi Journal Issue 12 (Winter 1991-92)
Sufi masters have discussed annihilation (fanā’) and subsistence (baqā’) extensively according to their own spiritual states and stations. Yet, for non-Sufis, this subject remains one of the more complex of those discussed in Sufism, and the great Sufis have made it even more difficult by expressing divergent views.
To the extent possible in words, this essay will attempt to clarify the subject of annihilation and subsistence from the point of view of Sufism. The reader should be reminded, however, that fanā’ and baqā’ are spiritual states to be experienced, not topics to be discussed. Hence, words cannot explain this subject to the extent one might wish. Nevertheless, as Rumi says:
Though the ocean cannot be swallowed completely,
Taste it to the extent of your thirst!
As a technical term in Sufism, the word annihilation signifies the annihilation of the attributes of human nature and their transformation into Divine Attributes. In the state of annihilation, the Sufi is completely immersed in the contemplation of the Attributes of God and oblivious to his own self. Some masters have said that annihilation means the annihilation of attributing acts to oneself, while others have held that it means the annihilation of one’s vision of creation. It has also been said that annihilation means the disappearance of the temporal in the face of the first outpourings of the Eternal. In any case, annihilation always proceeds from a lower stage to a higher stage, not vice versa.
Baqā’—or subsistence—is the opposite of annihilation. As a Sufi term, it signifies the traveler’s gaining of subsistence through the Attributes of God after reaching annihilation. Those who reach this station become qualified by a greater or lesser number of His Attributes.
In general, the wayfarer attains the station of subsistence in God according to different stations of annihilation: annihilation in His Essence (dhāt), in His Attributes (ṣefāt), in His Acts (af‘āl) and in His Effects (āthār), stations that are equivalent to the four levels of tawḥid or the “profession of Unity”.
Kinds of Annihilation
Ebnol-‘Arabi has classified the kinds of annihilation as follows:
- Annihilation from breaking the shari‘at or Divine Law. This can be called “annihilation from sins”.
- Annihilation from acts. This is the stage of the traveler who has become annihilated from his own acts in the Acts of “He accomplishes what He desires” (Koran, XI:107). Such a Sufi contemplates God’s Acts beyond the veils of created existence.
- Annihilation from attributes. In this state, the Sufi is annihilated from created attributes. The possessor of this state is liberated from the bonds of unveiling and visions.
- Annihilation from the essence. In this state, the Sufi realizes that his essence is composed of both a “subtle” (latīf) and a “gross” (kathīf) reality, the state of each being opposed to the other. His subtle reality has many and various forms, but his gross body is fixed within a single form, even though it undergoes variations in its accidental properties. If the Sufi becomes annihilated from his own essence in the Object of Contemplation, then in everyone whom he contemplates he sees God as that person, and in every object of contemplation he sees God as that object. In this state of annihilation, if the contemplator should contemplate the subtle reality that is his own essence and see no others in himself, his annihilation is from himself in himself, for he is contemplating his own subtle reality, even if his body has been lost to sight. And if he should contemplate his body in the state of this annihilation, his object of contemplation is his own fantasy; his state is like that of a sleeper who sees a dream.
- Annihilation through the contemplation of God. In this kind of annihilation, annihilation is actualized and the Sufi truly knows what he is seeing; he has seen God with God’s eye. But God does not become annihilated through the contemplation of His own Essence, and the Sufi also will not be annihilated from the world in this state. His vision of the world will be through the direct vision of God, not through the vision of a being of the created world.
- Annihilation from other than God through God. In this kind of annihilation, the Sufi does not contemplate separate entities. But if he contemplates God in His States, he has not been annihilated from everything other than God, and God remains forever in His States. He says, “Every day He is in a state” (Koran, LV:29). If the Sufi should contemplate God’s absolute Independence from the world, then he has reached the perfection of contemplation. God says, “Verily God is Independent of all beings” (Koran, 111:97). It was in this station that Abu Bakr said, “I see nothing without seeing God before it.” Likewise, in reference to such a station, the Prophet said, “God is, and nothing is with Him.” In this station the Sufi contemplates the emanation of all things from God.
- Annihilation from annihilation. Here there is a total absence of contemplation of annihilation. It can be compared to a dreamer in sleep who sees images but does not know that he is asleep. The perfection of the drunkard is that he should be unaware of his intoxication (adapted from the Rasā’il of Shāh Ne‘mato’llāh). Concerning this last kind of annihilation, Jāmī writes in Lawā’eh:
“Annihilation” means that the overpowering force of the manifestation of God’s Being to the Sufi’s inward reality erases his awareness of other than God. It should be understood that “annihilation from annihilation” is contained in annihilation. That is, if the annihilated traveler is aware of his own annihilation, he is not truly annihilated, since both the attribute of annihilation and the possessor of that attribute are in the category of “other than God”. Hence, awareness of annihilation negates annihilation.
The Distinction Between Annihilation and Subsistence
Subsistence in our view is nobler than annihilation. The one who has undergone annihilation regards the station of annihilation as lower than that of subsistence, and the one who experiences subsistence regards the station of subsistence as higher. Annihilation is our relationship to the world, while subsistence is our relationship to God. In subsistence God is contemplated, while in annihilation the creation is contemplated. Subsistence is an attribute of the substance, while annihilation is an attribute of the accident (from the Rasā’il of Shāh Ne‘mato’llāh).
The Meaning of Annihilation
It should be pointed out here that annihilation does not mean that a person’s reality ceases to exist, nor does it mean that one kind of existence is changed into another. Contrary to what certain people have imagined, annihilation does not entail a kind of suicide. On the contrary, it means the passing away of the human side of our nature in the Divine side. It should also be understood that the stage of annihilation does not come suddenly. Rather with the first step that the traveler takes upon the path, he gradually moves forward on the way of annihilation. Moreover, the stage of subsistence begins at the same place. Each step the Sufi takes in departing from the human side of his nature is both a step toward annihilation and a step closer to subsistence, bringing him closer to the Divine. Rumi expressed this point well when he wrote:
The whole world has taken the wrong path from fear of non-existence, which in fact is its refuge.
The non-existent one, who has gone outside himself is the best and greatest of beings.
In relation to God’s Life he has been annihilated, but truly he has found subsistence in annihilation.
It should also be kept in mind that since the annihilation of all human attributes is impossible, perfect annihilation cannot be achieved. The only exception to this is the state of intoxication and selflessness, but even that is not perfect and continual in every respect.
The Psychology of Annihilation and Subsistence
At the beginning of the spiritual journey, in keeping with the Koranic verse, “Everything is perishing but His Face” (Koran, XXVIII:88), the Sufi holds that all that exists is God and that there is nothing and no one other than God. While traversing the stations of the path, he strives to experience this in practice. That is, he tries to grasp this truth directly in spiritual states, immediate perception, unveiling and contemplation, or to see it face to face with the eye of the heart. To accomplish this end, the Sufi strives to return to Infinity from which he had initially come. This return to Infinity can be likened to traveling the second half of a circle, the first half of which represents the journey from Infinity. In Rumi’s words:
Whoever remains far from his Origin,
Strives to regain the days of his union with it.
The Koran alludes to this return in a number of verses:
“…who reckon that they shall meet their Lord and that unto Him they are returning” (II:46).
“…who, when they are visited by an affliction, say, ‘Surely we belong to God and to Him we return’” (II:156).
“All shall return to Us.” (XXI:93). “…that they are returning to their Lord” (XXIII:60).
At this point, one might ask what traversing the half of this circle refers to. In order to describe this journey, we can say that the length of the first semi-circle extends from birth to maturity. In other words, man comes from another world (the womb) into this world. He grows, gains experience, and reaches maturity.
How then does he go about traversing the second half of the circle? The Sufis say that maturity is not sufficient. In order to reach spiritual maturity, man must travel the second semi-circle. He must go outside of the world of limitations, directions, intellect and discernment and forget “I and we”, so that he can reach the world of Infinity and Eternity. As Maghrebi says:
Since you are enclosed within the six directions, you seek Him there.
But if your own directions become obliterated, you will see Him outside dimensions.
Sufi masters have spoken vividly of these two kinds of maturity: “Ordinary maturity occurs when mani (‘semen’) leaves a man, but spiritual maturity occurs when man leaves mani (‘I-ness’).”
When an infant is first born, he does not perceive “I”, “you” and “he”, but rather sees all things in one manner as a single entity. Gradually, the infant distinguishes himself from the things around him, seeing himself as a third person (“he”). Then, as a result of the experiences he undergoes and the things he learns from his parents and surroundings, he discerns and distinguishes his own self and turns his attention to “I”. At this point, the child’s “I” establishes relationships with his surroundings through his experiences of the outside world. He develops attachments and relationships within himself toward objects like his parents, family, teachers, people in authority, furnishings, wealth, position, self-regard, affection toward others, interest in a wife or husband, regard for self-subsistence, religion and God. These experiences of the outside world, as well as his earlier experiences, mix together with the individual’s ego and gradually form the human personality. In this manner, sometime between the ages of 22 to 25 and in keeping with the difference between the sexes, the personality more or less becomes completed and brings into existence a world specific to the individual. Thus, he traverses the first semi-circle.
During its development, the child’s “I” learns that certain experiences must be avoided, whereas others are allowed, and that certain natural desires should not be implemented. This learning brings into existence in the individual’s mind a series of conflicts which each person faces in a particular manner. Sometimes, the individual succeeds in resolving his conflicts (i.e., becomes a healthy person); other times, however, he remains struggling with them (i.e., becomes unstable) and sometimes is defeated (i.e., becomes mentally ill).
Preliminary Requirements for Traversing the Second Semi-Circle
The first precondition for traversing the second semi-circle, or reaching spiritual maturity, is physical and mental health. If an individual has psychological problems, the master must first take him to the stage of total health (i.e., the master must be a “psychologist” for the disciple, so that he can begin traversing the second semi-circle). This stage is called “preparation”.
Certainly, the family environment has an effect upon the early development of the child and the forming of his ego and personality, so that if a child grows up in a family that might be called “incomplete” (i.e., in an environment devoid of love and mixed with conflict, struggle and violence), his healthy development will be endangered. Similarly, at the beginning of the spiritual path a perfect master is needed, a guide who can help the disciple enter the spiritual life on a solid foundation. In this way, the disciple will be able to move forward on the “straight path” and be protected from deviation and error.
Imagine the traveler as an egg being formed into a bird under the wings of a dove. If the dove is not able to maintain the proper temperature and environment for the egg, it will rot and be prevented from reaching perfection (the stage of becoming a dove). In this analogy, the “Perfect Man” or master is like a bird who is able to maintain a variety of temperatures and environments under its wings for many different kinds of eggs. He is able to take different birds from the stage of an egg to the stage of a bird which flies in the air of God’s Essence. But if the master is only a “good man” and not perfect, it is as if one were to place a duck egg under a chicken. It is possible that the duck will hatch from the egg, but it is certain that such a duck will not be able to follow all the details of the chicken’s actions and will be left behind eventually. No one knows what the duck’s destiny will be. This resembles those disciples in the history of Sufism who after a period of time have objected to their master, considered themselves higher than he, and separated their path from his.
Entering the Second Semi-Circle
In order to reach spiritual perfection, man must relinquish, one by one and in reverse order (i.e., from last to first or from new to old), everything that he has acquired from infancy to maturity. This is the meaning of the Prophet’s saying, “Die before you die!”
One should know, however, that this return to simplicity is totally unrelated to the psychological disorder known as “regression”, for in every stage of his return the Sufi is self-conscious; his mental state and his relationship with his environment are maintained more harmoniously than before.
Regression is an unconscious flight from reality, while the Sufi’s return is a conscious and willful movement toward God and Reality. While traversing the first semi-circle includes the perfecting of self-consciousness (which is necessary for human maturity and the beginning of spiritual maturity), the second half of the circle is traversed solely for the sake of heart-consciousness, for which the rules and standards of the first semi-circle are not needed. The traveler on this way must be as Hāfez says, “free from everything that appears as an attachment.”
Various stages exist in the second half of the circle back to infinity:
- As the Sufi enters the second semi-circle, which in reality is the journey back to God, he prepares himself to hope for nothing but God in order that he may reach the Truth. In this state, his tawḥīd (“profession of Unity”) is expressed by the words, “Lā ilāha ellā’llāh” (“There is no god but God”). That is, he wants nothing but God. He does not want anything that God does not love, and he loves that which God wants. He avoids bad attributes and strives to become qualified by God’s Attributes. He turns away from the world of possible being and turns toward God, the Necessary Being. In this state the Sufi tramples upon his own wishes and desires. He eliminates all regard for the future from his consciousness, and replaces it with regard for God. Like Maghrebi, he asks:
O you who for a lifetime have desired union with Him,
Why have you not passed beyond all desires for the sake of that desire?
- The second stage in attaining spiritual maturity is to eliminate all attachments to the past from the consciousness. The Sufi casts aside memories and past time and lives in the present, breaking his attachments to wife, husband, children, possessions, position, status, friends, knowledge, the talents of the particular intellect, and other such things. In this connection, one must understand that most of these attachments derive from self-love in the sense that we love others so that they will love us, and we love things, position and knowledge so that they will protect us. In this stage, the Sufi expresses his tawḥīd with the words, “Lā ilāha ellā Anta” (“There is no god but Thou”). The tongue of his heart says, “Thou art worthy of my love. Until now I was attached to these things and cut off from Thee. Now I have chosen Thee and cut myself from these attachments.” Like Maghrebi, the Sufi says:
All at once, His all-encompassing Ocean plundered every created thing That Maghrebi had acquired.
- After cutting himself off from the past and the future, the Sufi’s “I” remains without desire. In this state, the “I” which has placed its foot upon this world and the next, is situated on the threshold of heart-awareness. The Sufi realizes that the expanse of the heart is in fact unlimited, since temporal things have no effect upon it; he sees everything as Eternal. Like Bāyazīd he says, “Glory be to Me! How tremendous is My state!” Or like Hallāj he utters, “I am God.” In this state, he expresses tawḥīd with the words, “Lā ilāha ellā Ana” (“There is no god but I”).
- In the fourth stage, the Sufi pulls the veil of “I” to one side and places his foot upon his own head. He no longer speaks of “I”, but only of “He”. He becomes like Bāyazīd in the following story:
One day someone came to Bāyazīd’s door and knocked.
The shaykh said, “Who are you seeking?”
The man replied, “Bāyazīd.”
Bāyazīd then answered, “Poor Bāyazīd! I have been seeking him for thirty years yet have found no sign or trace of him.”
In this state, the Sufi is like a child who has not yet learned the word “I”, but calls everything by the third person. In the words of Sabzewārī:
O you who shout on the path of your search, “Friend! Friend!”
In Ka‘ba or monastery, what is there other than Him? All is He, He!
In this fourth stage of the journey, when the Sufi hears the Prophet’s saying, “God was, and nothing was with Him,” like Jonayd he says, “And He is now as He was.” Abu Sa‘īd Abe’l-Khayr once said: “I used to wander in the mountains and deserts entranced by the thought of reaching Him. Sometimes I found Him and sometimes I did not. But now I have become such that I cannot find myself, for all is He and I am not, just as He was when I was not, and He will be when I will be not” (Asrār al-tawḥīd). In reference to these words, ‘Attār writes in the Asrār-nāma:
Listen to the words of the sultan of the Way, the leader of religion, the king of the Truth,
The Solomon who knows the spiritual bird’s language, Abu Sa‘īd, the son of Abo’l-Khayr:
“In every work and every state, for many long years I kept looking for His signs.
When I found what I sought, I became lost like a drop drowned in the Sea.
And now I am lost within the veil of mystery, he who has lost himself finds himself not again.”
- In the preceding stage, perfect annihilation has still not been fully actualized, since the Sufi still sees an “other” who says “He”. He must obliterate all expressions and allusions and become silent. This final stage is called “annihilation of annihilation”, a stage alluded to in these words of the Prophet, “When the discussion comes to God, be silent!”
By means of these stages, the Sufi casts aside the veil of “other than God” or the central kernel of the turmoil of life which veils Reality and causes his misfortunes and anxieties. He embraces the heart-embellishing Beloved who is pure felicity and true union. In this state, like a drop of water, the Sufi returns to the Ocean of Infinity and completes the circle of “We belong to God and to Him we return” (Koran, II:156). Like Maghrebi, once again, he becomes a nightingale:
Before the appearance of this cage of created beings, We all were nightingales within the garden of celestial secrets.
Notes
- Freud was of the opinion that as soon as the child gains the ability to speak his first few words, he feels universal power in his own mouth; and as soon as he can move himself with his own hands and feet, he feels infinite power in his extremities. However, as he grows, he represses these feelings. Then in later years, when a person is faced with difficulties and becomes angry, he grinds his teeth, bites his lip, rubs his hands together, spits angrily, or curses. These are obvious regressions to that stage of infancy when the child felt infinite power in the parts of his body. In this way, he unconsciously tries to gain the help of that power.
Reprinted by the kind permission of the author from his book:
Sufism: Fear and Hope, Contraction and Expansion, Gathering and Dispersion, Intoxication and Sobriety, Annihilation and Subsistence,
published by Khaniqahi Nimatullahi Publications, 1982.
The author wishes to thank William C. Chittick for the translation of this article into English.