The Dual Mystical Concepts ofFanā’andBaqā’in Early Sūfism

Abstract

The objective of this essay is to present an understanding of the dual concepts of fanā’ and baqā’ based upon the earliest formulations of the Sūfī tradition. This will be done through an initial explanation of the development of the concept of tawīd upon which the twin concepts are based, followed by an analysis of the earliest detailed description of the practical experience of fanā’ from the personal accounts of Bayazīd Bistāmī. The third section will briefly discuss the doctrinal and socio-political ramifications of the two schismatic interpretations of the nature and role of fanā’ and baqā’ as expressed by the ‘Sober’ School of Baghdād and the ‘Intoxicated’ School of Khurāsān. This discussion will then be continued in more detail by an in-depth analysis of the theory of the two Sūfī masters generally accepted as the principle advocates of these opposing doctrines: starting with Abū'l-Qāsim al-Junayd (d.910), the definitive exponent of the doctrine of Sobriety; followed by the counter-claims of Husayn ibn Mansūr al-Hallāj (d.922), often described as the ecstatic intoxicant par excellence. Finally, this essay will analyse inconsistencies frequently found within current academic understandings of the concepts of fanā’ and baqā’ through an examination of two eminent and respected encyclopaedia entries on the subject, and will close by offering a third definition based upon the material discussed in this study.

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