It is not even correct for it to occur. For Allah does not withhold what He has granted to the servant by taking it back and keeping it within His power, and He certainly never does this by returning it from the highest degree to the lowest. (Ta'arruf, 98)
The (Sufis) have indicated (ishāra) that in the congregation, fanāʾ (annihilation in God) is the cessation of blameworthy attributes, and baqāʾ (subsistence in God) is the replacement of those attributes with praiseworthy ones. When the servant is never devoid of one of these two qualities (if one of these states befalls the servant), it is known that if one is absent, the other will necessarily (mutlaqan) be present. In the person who has shed bad attributes, good attributes become manifest; in the one dominated by bad traits, good attributes remain hidden. (Qushayrī, 39)
No alteration occurs in fanāʾ. Nor is change (taghayyur) possible in baqāʾ. One cannot attain baqāʾ until one has reached fanāʾ (union), and one cannot become fanī (annihilated) until proximity (qurb, nearness to God) is realized in baqāʾ. (Hujwīrī, 34)
In the language of this group, that is, the Sufis, what is meant by ʿadam (non-existence) and fanāʾ is the disappearance of base instruments and blameworthy attributes so that good attributes may be attained. Otherwise,