Advanced search
Visit
10586
Last Updated: 2011/04/20
Summary of question
What does Fana mean in Irfan (Mysticism)?
question
What does Fana mean in Irfan (Mysticism)?
Concise answer
Detailed Answer

Fana’ is an Arabic word and literally means non existence and annihilation.[1] In the words of the Urafa’, it means for a servant to utterly abide in Allah in a way that the humanistic aspect of the servant fades away into the Rububiyyah aspect of Allah.

In order to explain what is mentioned above, we need to shed light on the following points:

1- As we know, Allah, due to his unlimited wisdom, has created man in a way that during every moment of his lifetime he thinks of unlimited perfection and seeks his immortality and eternal life through unlimited perfection and does not withhold from any effort in order to reach this aim. He seeks whatever he does not possess and when he possesses it, he longs to have a higher level and better quality of it, and therefore this desire does not let him rest for one moment.

However, we must pay attention that the origin of this desire is true and not fake and false, in fact it is a truth utterly in accordance with the essence of man so that by this exclusive gift that only he enjoys, he can raise himself from the lowest to the highest point and once again return to his true station and value.

2- Man is a creature with free will that has the potential to both ascend to high levels and to descend to the lowest of low.

3- On his way towards perfection lies obstacles that the Urafa’ refer to as the “Ta’ayyonat”[2] and “Inniyyaat Fardiyyah”[3] and until he does not show disregard and detachment from these “Ta’ayyonat” and does not bypass these barriers, he will not be able to reach his aim. These are the very obstacles and curtains that do not allow the light of Allah to shine upon His servant.

In light of what was mentioned above, we conclude that: when a spiritual wayfarer passes each station after another and disregards all Inniyyat  and materialistic and spiritual Ta’ayyonat and his existence fades away in that of Allah, he has then reached the stage of Fana. At this point, he pays no attention to his own existence and is utterly fascinated and overwhelmed by the beauty of his beloved one, and whatever he sets sight on, is a reflection of his beloved one in his eyes.

This is why some of the Urafa’ have said that the person who stated “Ana al-Hagh” (I am the lord) never intended to claim being Allah, but rather he was negating any means of Inniyyah, meaning that “I do not see any of me inside my being, instead I only see my beloved one.”

In closing, we should mention two points:

1- The Urafa have divided this path into different stations and stages and have perceived Fana’ as the last stage of the path towards Allah.[4]

For example, Attar believes this path to be comprised of seven stations: request, love, knowledge, self-sufficience, tawhid (unity), astonishment, need and Fana’.

2- The Urafa have mentioned different types of Fana[5]:

A: The external Fana which is the Fana of one’s acts in a way that an Aref would perceive all acts as Allah’s and attributes all of them to Allah. It is mentioned in the famous hadith of Qurb al-Nawafil that: “...و انه لیتقرب الی بالنافلة حتی احبه فإذا احببته کنت سمعه الذی یسمع به و بصره الذی یبصر به و لسانه الذی ینطق به و یده التی یبطش بها ان دعانی اجبته و ان سالنی اعطیته[6]. The prophet of Islam said: Allah has said: “My servant strives to come closer to me through mustahab acts until I love him, and when I love him, I will be his ear by which he hears, and his eye by which he sees, and his tongue by which he speaks. (At that point), if he calls me, I will answer him and if he asks for something, I will grant it to him.”

B: The internal Fana which is Fana of one’s features and attributes; the change of human features into Godly features.

Khajeh Nasir Tusi (rah) says: “When an Aref is withdrawn from himself and connected to Allah, he will perceive all powers as a means and manifestation of Allah’s power that every possible thing is made possible with and all knowledge as a manifestation of Allah’s knowledge to which no being is hidden or unrevealed, and all longing and desiring as longing for Allah from which no dependant being refrains from.”[7]

C: The Fana of one’s Dhaat (essence and entity); this is the final stage of the Aref’s spiritual journey towards Allah which not all Urafa can achieve. At this point, even the curtains of light of Allah’s names and attributes are removed and the Aref sees the inner essential manifestations of Allah.  In this perception, the Aref clearly sees Allah’s utter power and authority and the Fana’ of his own essence and entity and witnesses that his and other beings’ Wujud (existence) is all a shadow of Allah’s, as it is said in the hadith: [8]ان روح المؤمن لأشد اتصالاً بروح الله من اتصال شعاع الشمس بها” (Surely the closeness and connection of the soul of a believer to that of Allah is greater than the connection of the sun’s rays to the sun.)[9]



[1] Farhange Farsi, Amid, pg. 1551.

[2] Personal characteristics and traits.

[3] Existence.

[4] However, there are different opinions among the Urafa in regard to the number of these stations.

[5] Refer to: Divane Hafez ba Sharhe Erfani, Ahmad Daneshgar, pp. 144-145.

[6] Usul Kafi, the book of Faith and Disbelief, chapter: “من اذی المسلمین و احتقرهم” (those who bother the believers and belittle them).

[7] Sharh Isharaat, Ibn Sina, vol. 3, the degrees of the mystics, pg. 390.

[8] Kafi, vol. 2, the book of Faith and Disbelief, chapter: “أخوة المؤمنین” (the brotherhood of believers), hadith 4.

[9] Refer to: Chehel Hadith, Imam Khomeini, pg. 382.

Question translations in other languages
Comments
Number of comments 0
Please enter the value
Example : Yourname@YourDomane.ext
Please enter the value
Please enter the value

Thematic Category

Random questions

  • What is the meaning of self-consciousness according to the Holy Quran?
    17982 Exegesis 2015/04/18
    According to the Quran, self-consciousness means realization of one's own self through nourishing or nurturing and reviving one's own inner and inborn talents and potentialities followed by a profound understanding of the realities of the universe and divine attributes. Self-consciousness has various degrees and it is of ...
  • Is there a problem in paying off one's debt in the evening or after dark?
    7251 Laws and Jurisprudence 2009/03/12
    Continue... ...
  • Will a husband and wife, after leaving this world, live together in paradise?
    14652 Traditional 2009/10/22
    The specific conditions and details of how we will live in the next world are not completely known to anyone except the infallibles (masoomeen). With this in mind the relationship between a husband and a wife is something that is related to this world and pious women are ...
  • What is the meaning of mutawatir and ma'roof traditions?
    10523 Contextual study 2014/10/01
    For information about the meaning of mutawatir traditions and its various types, see index "the criterion for verbal, spiritual and ambiguous mutawatir traditions", question 2412. Ma'ruf Hadith Different definitions have been presented for Ma'ruf tradition: 1. A ma'ruf tradition is one whose text and it is content ...
  • How can I repent from an illegitimate sexual relationship I had with one whom I planned to marry?
    9030 Laws and Jurisprudence 2010/11/22
    Zina or fornication (in Islamic terms, which is the subject of certain Islamic laws) means for a man’s penis to enter the vagina or anus of a woman until the glans is completely enveloped without the two being married or at least ‘similar to married’ (“similar to married” ...
  • Is it permissible to eat chips containing porcine enzymes?
    8238 Laws and Jurisprudence 2012/01/19
    The grand maraji’ responded to this inquiry like this:The office of the grand Ayatullah Khamenei:In the case of the question it isn't permissible.The office of the grand Ayatullah Makarem Shirazi:It isn’t permissible.The office of the grand Ayatullah Safi Golpaygani:If ...
  • Please let me how to get rid of masturbation?
    10527 Practical 2015/01/05
    Sin is like a foul-smelling swamp full of sewage; the more one sinks into it, the less he senses its smell, because he actually loses his sense of smell and can't tell that he is drowning anymore. At the same time, anytime one makes a strong decision ...
  • Is the story of the wedding of Hadrat Qasim in Karbala true or false?
    31431 تاريخ بزرگان 2012/10/01
    One of the concocted stories regarding the epic of Ashura is the story of the marriage of Qasim bin Al-Hasan (as), a story which has no basis and which has not been related by any authentic and reliable sources. In addition, such a thing is not rationally ...
  • Do my feet become najis when I walk on wet pavement that a dog has walked on?
    10868 Laws and Jurisprudence 2008/07/21
    If rainwater or any other water gathers in a ditch and is less than kur (there is a difference of opinion on what amount is exactly kur, and there are different ways of measuring it, according to Imam Khomeini, one way is that if ...
  • What is the Sunni opinion on Bilal al-Habashi?
    14612 تاريخ بزرگان 2008/07/02
    What Sunni references say about the great sahabi, Bilal, is that he was freed by Abu Bakr, a resistant believer against the tortures of the Kuffar, the Prophet's Mu'adhin, and one of the Mujahidin (soldiers) of Islam in different battles alongside the Prophet (pbuh). After the Prophet's demise, he ...

Popular