For the forgetting of māsiwā (all that is other than Allah) to be possible, what is required is tawhid-i shuhūdī (the witnessing of the oneness of God). Moreover, it is within the realm of possibility that a sālik (spiritual traveler) may traverse the path from bidāya (beginning) to nihāya (end), and yet none of the sciences or maʿrifa (experiential knowledge of God) of tawhid-i wujūdī (the oneness of being) ever manifest in him; on the contrary, he may even reach the point of denying these sciences altogether.
In this humble one's view, the path of a person whose sulūk (spiritual journey) is possible without the manifestation of these maʿrifa is shorter than the path of one whose sulūk occurs with the manifestation of these maʿrifa. Furthermore, most sāliks on this (shuhūdī) path reach the sought-after goal, while most sāliks on other paths remain stranded along the way. These see but a drop from the ocean, fall into the illusion of union with the shadow instead of the reality, and thus are deprived of this union. I too have understood this meaning through various experiences. Allah is the One who inspires what is right. Even though this humble one's journey was along the second path, and he derived much pleasure from the manifestation of the sciences and maʿrifa of tawhid-i wujūdī, since his state was encompassed by the ināya (divine favor) of the Real and his journey was a mahbūbī journey (the journey of the beloved), by His help and ināya he crossed the valleys and deserts of this path, surpassed the levels of shadows, and again, by the tawfīq (divine enabling) and help of Allah Most High, reached the reality.
However, when he became qualified for irshād (spiritual guidance) and began to interact with those seeking guidance, he saw that the other path was closer to union and its attainment was easier. Praise be to Allah who has guided us to this hudā (guidance); had it not been for His hudā, we would not have found this path. Our Lord's messengers have brought the truth. (Maktūbāt, 1, 287)
Note: It has been understood from investigation that although existents are many and everything other than Him exists, the realization of fanāʾ (annihilation in God) and baqāʾ (subsistence in God), and the attainment of minor and major walāya (friendship with God) is possible.
Fanāʾ is not the total negation and eradication of all that is other than Allah, but its forgetting. The requirement of fanāʾ is not the actual disappearance or reduction of māsiwā to nothingness, but its being perceived as lost. Although this kalām (discourse) is apparent, it has remained hidden from many of the khawāṣṣ (spiritual elite). What then of the common people? For they, mistaking tawhid-i shuhūdī for tawhid-i wujūdī, have made the maʿrifa of waḥdat al-wujūd (the unity of being) a condition of the tariqa (Sufi path). As a result, they have considered those who believe in the multiplicity of wujūd (existence) as both misguided and misguiding. Indeed, the majority of them have thought that the maʿrifa of the Real is exclusive to tawhid-i wujūdī, and have supposed that witnessing unity in the mirrors of multiplicity comes from perfection in this matter. (Maktūbāt, II, 288)
Know that among the exalted Sufis, the aim of one who believes in waḥdat al-wujūd and sees things as identical with the Real, judging that everything is He, is the ittihād (union) of things with the Real.