It is the trace left behind by something that has ceased to exist. One of the Sufis said the following regarding athar (trace): Whoever is deprived of seeing (a thing) is left only with its athar (trace, what remains from the background); and whoever is deprived even of the athar, is left only with the mention (of its name). (Lumaʿ, 432)
asfār al-ʿārifīn Asfār al-ʿārifīn (the journeys of the gnostics) is the journey of the common people (al-ḥalq), perfect maʿrifa (gnosis, experiential knowledge of God), and the all-encompassing ḥaqīqa (inner reality) to the people. This is the manifestation of traces (athār) and the descent (nuzūl) of the Real (al-Ḥaqq), the One and the Subduer (al-Wāḥid, al-Qahhār), by assuming the form of existence (wujūd). The meaning of what they say is this: the ends (nihāyāt) return to the beginnings (bidāya). This journey of the Divine Names (asmāʾ / asmāʾ Allāh) can only be understood by those who are heirs of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), who are the people of guidance (irshād).
The first journey is the journey of the people to the Real (al-Ḥaqq), by becoming annihilated (fanāʾ) in everything other than Him. The second is the journey from the Real to the Real. This is the realization of the Real and His manifestation in the cosmos and its ...