The elite (khawāṣṣ), union (ittiḥād), and those who have attained fanāʾ (fanāʾ, annihilation in God) are such people. Through worshipping Him, loving Him, fearing Him, hoping in Him, relying upon Him (tawakkul), expecting help from Him, and seeking from Him, they have become annihilated (fānī) from loving, fearing, hoping in, and relying upon anything other than Him (mā siwā).
One of the ways this fanāʾ is realized is to love only for Allah, to hate only for Allah, to befriend only for Him, to show enmity only for Him, to give only for His pleasure (riḍā), to withhold only for Him, to hope only from Him, and to seek help only from Him.
Then, both the outward and inward aspects of his religion become for Allah. Allah and His Messenger become dearer to him than anything else. As a result, even if they are his closest relatives, he does not love those who transgress against Allah and His Messenger. The ḥaqīqa (inner reality) of this is that, by guarding what his Lord is pleased with and His rights, he becomes annihilated from the desires and pleasures of his nafs (lower self). (Buġya, 29)
It is narrated that Ibn ʿAbbās saw the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) in a dream, and when he entered the house of one of the mothers of the believers (the wives of the Prophet), the Prophet took out his mirror for her. Fanāʾ–baqāʾ, 262
When she looked into the mirror, she saw the image of the Messenger of God, but she could not see her own image. This, in the language of this group (the Sufis), is the fanāʾ in rābiṭa (spiritual connection). It cannot be said that our words are not about the image of the Prophet. For we say that this is not among the exclusive characteristics of the prophets. According to the people of this path, undoubtedly, everything of this kind is shared between prophets and the walī (friends of God). Indeed, speaking with anyone other than the Prophet during prayer invalidates the prayer. To bring his image to mind during prayer, for the owner of the prayer to surrender to him, is among the characteristics of the Master of the Spirit of Existence, the Generous and Loving (al-Karīm, al-Wadūd) (i.e., Allah), and the owner of the Praised Station (Maqām Maḥmūd)—may peace and blessings be upon him, his family, and his Companions. (Buġya, 75)
Fanāʾ al-murīd (the fanāʾ of the murīd, or aspirant) is the cleansing of his nafs (lower self) from impurities.
Fanāʾ al-murād (the fanāʾ of the murād, or the one sought) is to be adorned with the attributes of sanctity. If you wish, you may also say that the fanāʾ of the sālik (traveler) is his transition from darkness to lights.
Fanāʾ al-ʿārif (the fanāʾ of the ʿārif, or gnostic) is to become annihilated from witnessing anything other than Allah. If you wish, you may call this the annihilation of intention and the fanāʾ of selfhood (inniyya), or, if you wish, the fanāʾ of purification (takhallī) for the manifestation of the Light.
Mashrāʿ: The fanāʾ of the path of the common people is through loving the people of realization (taḥqīq). If help comes to them, it directs them to the path of hudā (guidance).
Manzāʿ: Fanāʾ al-muḥibb (the fanāʾ of the lover) is through the love of the Beloved. The fanāʾ of the Beloved is through union when the observer is absent.
Fanāʾ al-fard (the fanāʾ of the individual) is through becoming absent from everyone by the manifestation of the One.
Manzāʿ: It is the place where sensation is perceived. It is the orbit of the sun. When your sun reaches its zenith at the time of decline, all existing shadows disappear. Strive for your sun to be at its zenith so that the shadows produced by the clouds of your sensations may vanish. (Qawānīn, 45)
Baqāʾ (subsistence in God) is a maqām (spiritual station) in which one possesses the reality of witnessing, and while being with the witnessed, one also preserves proper etiquette. (Qawānīn, 47)
The final stages (nihāyāt) are: maʿrifa (gnosis), fanāʾ, baqāʾ, realization (taḥqīq), telbīs (veiling), existence (wujūd), abstraction (tajrīd), isolation (tafrīd), union (jamʿ), and tawhid (the oneness of God). (Riḥla, 207)
The maqām of baqāʾ (station of subsistence) is also called union (jamʿ) and separation (farq). For the servant's witnessing of his Lord is his union, and his witnessing of God's acts and creations in the perfection of immersion (kamāl-i istighrāq) is his separation. According to the view of the Mufti of Beirut, Shaykh Mustafa Najā, this station is called the station of the union of unions (jamʿ al-jamʿ). In Kashf al-asrār (unveiling of secrets), it is stated that this station is when God takes His servant after his fanāʾ and brings him to the state of intoxication (sakr) in the station of witnessing Allah's Essence, and then causes him to become annihilated from his self and from all besides Allah. However, at the time of obligatory acts and fulfilling the needs of the people, he is returned to himself, and this return to Allah is with total annihilation (fanāʾ bi'l-kulliyya). He mentions the view of a group of shaykhs who hold this opinion, saying: This return is called the second separation (farq al-thānī). It is to witness that God subsists with creation, to see unity in multiplicity, and to see that multiplicity is in unity without one preventing the other; this is perfect sainthood (walāya).
Another group among the people of this path says: The station of the second separation is different from the station of the union of unions, and the very essence of unity (ʿayn al-waḥda) is above all stations. This is the station that the Pole, the Greatest Helper (Quṭb al-Ghawth al-Akbar), longed to witness Allah. (Riḥla, 217)
He also called me to baqāʾ (subsistence in God)
He clothed me in the garment of joy
With the profundity of the saying 'You are me'
He granted me all His love
Fanāʾ al-kulliyya/fanāʾ bi'l-kulliyya (total annihilation): When Hasan al-Basrī asked Rābiʿa, 'Will you marry me?' Rābiʿa replied: 'Marriage is necessary for one who has the freedom to choose. As for me, I have no freedom to choose for myself. I am in the service of my Lord and under the shadow of His command; my person has no value.' When Hasan al-Basrī asked, 'How did you reach this degree?' she replied, 'Through total fanāʾ.' Upon this, Hasan al-Basrī said to her, 'How do you know this? We do not have this.'
(See also: fanāʾ–baqāʾ)