Fana and Baqa

Fana (annihilation) and baqa (subsistence) are a paired Sufi doctrine describing the mystic path. Fana is the passing-away of the self, its will, and its blameworthy attributes in the presence of God; baqa is the abiding or subsistence of the seeker through and in God once that annihilation has occurred, the self persisting no longer by its own nature but by God-given, praiseworthy qualities.

In Hujwiri's account, Abu Sa'id al-Kharraz was the first to formulate these two states as technical expressions of the mystical path, and his teaching is summed up in this pair of terms. Understanding fana and baqa as a concept is therefore the bridge between al-Kharraz the person and the doctrinal exposition of the school named after him.