Surrendering to Divine Will (Fana)
In Sufism, the pinnacle of spiritual evolution is when the servant completely abandons their limited will, selfish desires, and objections, demonstrating complete submission (acceptance) before Allah’s decree and destiny. Geylani (may Allah be pleased with him) expresses this state of absolute surrender with a unique analogy: “The baby in its mother’s arms, the corpse in the washer’s hands, is like a stone at the end of a sling.” A dead body has no right to object, resist, or say, ‘Why are you turning me to the right?’ to the person washing and turning it. Similarly, the perfect believer bows before Allah’s decree with the same objectionless and silent manner when faced with illness, poverty, pain, or joy.
The Serenity in the Hand of the Fate-Washer
Those who surrender their will to Allah are “turned from right to left by the Fate-washer.” The servant who reaches this exalted station (the Station of Acceptance) finds immense serenity even amidst storms and calamities. Whoever makes themselves “a corpse in the washer’s hands” finds that immortal life (Bekābillah); they are safe from their own evil and become a “vessel of goodness, a source of joy and happiness; a light of security and tranquility.” Conversely, the person who does not relinquish their illusory power and fights against fate only increases their worldly fatigue and the torment of the afterlife.