The very word faqīr (poor) whispers the secret of fanāʾ (annihilation) in Allāh, silencing the restless mind and drawing the seeker closer to the divine Presence in a single, transformative moment. 

The letter fāʾ (ف) embodies this fanāʾ, a state of complete absence from all but al-Bārī (the Originator), who becomes not just a “destination” but the ultimate goal. In this journey, the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ serves as the point of arrival. He is the guiding light on the path to complete extinguishment in the divine.

By fixing your gaze upon the Prophet ﷺ—his prophethood, messengerhood, and sainthood (wilāya)—you walk in his footsteps, your words dissolving into his, your actions mirroring his, and your opinions flowing from his. This is the essence of the sunna, a path to true annihilation.

Through sincere spiritual migration (hijra) of the heart, you become annihilated, absorbing the essence of the letter fāʾ with its esoteric numerical value of eighty (80). This sarayān (flowing) is celestial, known as sarayān ʿulwī (higher flowing). This state is accessible only to those revived by the divine light, allowing them to flow "through" (fī) all of humanity.

When infused with this divine light, you move through the world like the eight ḥamalat al-ʿarsh (bearers of the Divine Throne). This is what the number 8 represents within the 80 of fāʾ. You become like these eight, ascending toward the dot of the zero—a singular point of unity, devoid of multiplicity.[1] [2] This dot is the essence of our Master Muḥammad ﷺ, and your ascent (miʿrāj) is toward him. This point is also known as "the city of knowledge," where "ʿAlī is its door."[3] Reaching the gate means entry into the city itself.

This is the essence of fanāʾ—to be absent, the self withdrawing completely from all except God, to vanish from the self, to die before death, and to hold yourself accountable before the final reckoning.

The Prophet ﷺ said, as reported in Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī: "The clever person is the one who subjugates his soul and works for what is after death. And the incapable is the one who follows his desires and merely hopes in Allāh." It is related that Sayyidunā ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb also said: "Reckon with yourselves before you are reckoned with, and prepare for the Greatest Inquisition. The reckoning of the Day of Judgment is only light for the one who reckoned with himself in the world."[4]

This is true annihilation in God!

Many of you speak of tawakkul without understanding its essence. Do you know how to truly have tawakkul on Allāh? True tawakkul, or reliance on Allāh, arises only when you disappear from all that is other than Him, depending solely on Him, and aligning every action and intention with His will. This is not a state reserved for moments of seclusion, but a constant presence in every breath, every action, and every endeavor. Your path becomes one of specific conduct, ontologically aligning with the Prophet’s ﷺ twenty attributes of comparability (tashbīh). This path draws you closer to the Divine Essence, a hidden treasure that we strive to uncover through the knowledge and the reading of the Singular Divine Name, as the verse echoes: "Read in the Name of your Lord Who has created."[5] It is through this reading that we flow through this sarayān, becoming the true meaning of annihilation.

After the fāʾ (ف) in the word faqīr, we have the letter qāf (ق). When we consider the letter qāf, we are referred to the word qarīb, or "close." This refers to a state of proximity to God that can only be tasted by those who receive a sign of Allāh’s nearness. This sign is the light of Allāh, the object of the seeker's yearning, confirming their closeness to the divine. It tells them that they are in this divine companionship, for indeed, God is always near, regardless of our state. Allāh the Almighty says: "And when My slaves ask you concerning Me, then, I am indeed near."[6]

Yet, when we stray from the path pleasing to Allāh and His Messenger ﷺ, it is we who turn away, not Allāh.

Therefore, we must strive against our own selves, guided by the Book and the sunna. Even the smallest step toward God is met with His immense embrace, for, as the prophetic traditions tell us, He comes to us running if we journey toward Him walking. The Prophet ﷺ said: "My Lord says, ‘If My servant comes nearer to Me by a span, I draw nearer to him by a cubit; and if he comes nearer to Me by a cubit, I draw nearer to him by the span of outstretched arms; and if he comes to Me walking, I come to him running.’"[7]

This is the divine response to our "efforts," guided by the kāf al-tashbīh (ك), whose esoteric numerical value is 20, representing the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. Sadly, in our times, this kāf has become somewhat stagnant. Its sarayān (flowing) and laṭāfa (subtlety) are obscured by scholastic rigidity, reduced to mere memorization and recitation, devoid of its transformative power.

May we rediscover the essence of these Arabic letters, allowing them to guide us on the path of fanāʾ, towards complete immersion in the Divine Presence.

[1] Sūrat al-Ḥāqqah, verse 17: "And the angels will be on its sides, and eight angels will, that Day, bear the Throne of your Lord above them."

[2] In Arabic script, the zero is represented by a dot.

[3] Tirmidhī, Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Chapters on Virtues, ḥadīth 3723; Ḥākim, al-Mustadrak, ḥadīth 4637; Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-kabīr, vol. 11, p. 65, ḥadīth 11061.

[4] Tirmidhī, Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Chapters on the Description of the Day of Judgement, ḥadīth 2459.

[5] Sūrat al-ʿAlaq, verse 1.

[6] Sūrat al-Baqarah, verse 186.