01/08/2026
■ What Are the Two Levels of Tawheed (Oneness of God) for Faqeer i.e Spiritual Seekers, and How Does the Soul Journey Through Fana and Baqa to Reach Its Final Peace?
Bismillah Irehman Niraheem
To begin with, we need to understand that for the Faqeer i.e spiritual seekers, the meaning of Tawheed, which is the Oneness of Allah, has two main levels.
These levels are not just for the highly advanced Aulia Allah, but they are a path for every sincere person who wants to come closer to their Creator.
We will go through them one by one, step by step, so that everything becomes as clear as water.
- The First Level of Tawheed: Being with Allah (Ma' Allah)
The very first level of Tawheed is called "Maa' Allah," which simply means "Being with Allah." This is a state where a person feels the presence of Allah so strongly that they are never alone. If a small child who is holding the hand of his father in a big, crowded market. The child is not scared because he knows his father is right there with him. This feeling of constant closeness and safety is the first taste of this level.
Allah tells us about this in the Holy Quran in Surah Al-Hadeed, verse number 4, where He says, "And He is with you wherever you are." This means that no matter if you are sitting at home, walking on the road, or working in your office, Allah is always with you. He knows everything you do and everything you think.
Then, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Sallāllāhu 'alayhi wa 'alā ālihi wasallam) spoke about an even deeper part of this level. He said, "I have a time with Allah where no angel who is close to Allah can enter, and no prophet who was sent by Allah can reach." SubhanAllah Just imagine that Maqam of Prophet! The Prophet is telling us that he has a special, private moment with Allah that is so sacred and so deep that even the greatest angels and the other prophets cannot come into that space. It is a secret meeting between the Prophet and his Lord, where nothing else exists. (Sallāllāhu 'alayhi wa 'alā ālihi wasallam)
To help you understand this better, If a king who has a special private room in his palace. Even his highest ministers and his best generals are not allowed to enter that room. Only the king and his most beloved friend can go there. That is the kind of closeness the Prophet is talking about, but it is with Allah, the King of all kings. (Sallāllāhu 'alayhi wa 'alā ālihi wasallam)
Now, there is a famous saying from a great Aulia Allah and the master of the Sufi path, who is called Sultan al-Arifeen, the King of the Knowers of Allah. He said a very deep thing: "You do not know whether you are with 'Hoo' (which is a divine name of Allah) or with God Himself."
What does this mean? It means that when a person reaches this level of being with Allah, they become so lost in the feeling of Allah's presence that their own mind stops working. They cannot even tell the difference between themselves and the divine light they are experiencing. They are so absorbed that the question of "who is with whom" simply disappears. They just are in a state of total union.
- The Second Level of Tawheed: Annihilation in Allah (Fana Fillah) and Subsistence with Allah (Baqa Billah)
Now we come to the second major level of Tawheed. This one is even higher and deeper than the first. This level is divided into two beautiful and powerful parts.
The first part is called "Fana Fillah," and the second part is called "Baqa Billah." Let us look at them Bismllah.
First, let us see what Allah says in the Holy Quran in Surah Ar-Rahman, verses 26 and 27. Allah says, "Everyone upon the earth will perish. And there will remain the Face of your Lord, the Owner of Majesty and Honor." This verse tells us a great truth: everything in this world, including us, our houses, our money, our families, and even the mountains and oceans, will all come to an end. Nothing will last forever. The only thing that will remain forever is Allah's holy face, His divine light and existence.
- Part One: Fana Fillah (Annihilation in Allah)
The first part of this second level is called "Fana Fillah," which means "Annihilation in Allah." This is a state where a person experiences a spiritual death before their physical death. Some Aulia Allah taught us a beautiful saying: "Die before you die." This does not mean you actually kill yourself. No, never. It means that you should kill your ego, your selfish desires, and your pride while you are still alive. You should make your own will and wishes disappear so that only Allah's will remains. This is called a "spiritual death."
In this state, a person loses all their senses of self. It is like a deep sleep, but it is not sleep. It is a state of total love and absorption in Allah, where you are not aware of your own body or your own thoughts. You are so deeply connected to Allah that you forget everything else.
If a small drop of water that falls into the vast ocean. As soon as the drop touches the ocean, what happens? The drop loses its own identity. You cannot see the drop anymore. It has become part of the ocean. That is exactly what Fana Fillah is. Your own self, your ego, becomes so small and disappears into the vastness of Allah's greatness. You become nothing, and Allah becomes everything in your heart.
A great Sufi master, Mawlana Rumi, said in his poetry:
"Strive hard to find yourself in a state of selflessness."
He is saying that you should work hard to lose your own selfish identity, because only when you lose yourself do you truly find yourself in Allah.
The famous poet and philosopher, Allama Iqbal called this state "Ramooz-e-Bekhudi," which means "The Secrets of Selflessness."
He explained that there is a great wisdom and power in becoming so humble and so lost in Allah that you forget your own existence.
- Part Two: Baqa Billah (Subsistence with Allah)
Now we move to the second and even higher part, which is called "Baqa Billah." This means "Subsistence with Allah" or "Surviving in Allah."
After a person has completely lost themselves in Allah (Fana), Allah gives them a new life. It is like the drop that fell into the ocean is now given a new form, a new existence, but now it is not a separate drop anymore. It is part of the ocean itself, and it has the qualities of the ocean.
In this state, a person gets back their awareness, but now they are filled with Allah's Noor. The most beautiful thing about Baqa Billah is that you do not need to close your eyes anymore. You do not need to go into a deep sleep-like state or lose your senses to feel Allah's presence. Instead, even with your eyes wide open, even while you are walking, talking, eating, and working, you feel that same deep connection with Allah that you had in Fana.
In Fana, if you are in a dark room and you have to close your eyes to see a beautiful Noor inside you.
But in Baqa, the Noor is so bright that even when you open your eyes, the whole room is filled with that Noor, and you see that Noor everywhere. You do not need to close your eyes anymore because the Noor is now a permanent part of your vision. Your own ego has completely vanished, and only the beautiful, bright face of Allah's Noor remains in your heart and in your vision at all times.
This high stage is called the stage of "Ain," which means "Certainty."
It is the certainty of seeing the truth with the Noor of your heart, without any doubt or confusion. This is the stage of the Great Wali Allah, the one of the 7th Sultan, Sakhi Sultan Bahoo, who used to do dhikr the divine name "Hoo" and lived in this state of total union with Allah.
We must know that Sahaba had all of these levels of Tawheed in their hearts. They were the best examples of this path. They lived with Allah, they annihilated their egos, and they survived in Allah's Noor.
Now, Allama Iqbal gave us a wonderful perspective on this. He talked about "Khudi," which means "The Self" or "The Ego." But he did not mean the selfish ego that makes you proud. He meant a strong, purified self that is connected to Allah. He wrote a very famous poetry:
"Raise your self (Khudi) so high that before every destiny, God asks the servant, 'Tell me, what is your wish?'"
This means that when a person reaches this high level of Tawheed, they become so beloved to Allah that Allah Himself asks them what they want. SubhanAllah Just imagine that Maqam! The King of the universe asks His humble servant, "What do you desire?"
Now, there is a beautiful answer to this poetry from a spiritual seeker, a Faqeer, who wrote:
"When the servant has become 'with God', then why should he ask for a wish? When God has come into the house (the heart), then what need is there to ask for anything else?"
This is a very deep answer. It means that if you have reached the point where God is with you and inside your heart, you do not need to ask for anything. You have everything. The greatest gift is Allah's presence itself. Why would you ask for money, health, or a long life when you have the Creator of all these things with you? The very presence of Allah in your heart is the greatest wish fulfilled, so there is no need to ask for more.
Now, we must also talk about how a person reaches these levels. It is not just by thinking about them. It requires a long journey of purifying the nafs, which is called "Tazkiyah Nafs." The details of this purification are explained deeply in the spiritual practices of the great Sufi orders, such as the Qadri order, the Naqshbandi order, the Chishti order, and the Suhrawardi order etc.
We will discuss those detailed practices later on. But right now, it is very important for us to understand the basic stages that our soul goes through during this purification.
Your soul, your inner self is like a wild horse that has never been trained. It does whatever it wants. It runs after bad things, it loves selfishness, it gets angry easily, and it is full of pride. This wild, untrained soul is called "Nafs Ammara," which means "The Commanding Soul." This soul commands you to do bad things and to follow your evil desires.
Now, when you start doing good deeds, remembering Allah, Salawat in abundance and fighting against your bad habits, you start to train this wild horse. Slowly, a change happens. The soul becomes a little cleaner. It transforms into "Nafs Lawwama," which means "The Self-Accusing Soul."
What does this soul do? It blames you when you do something wrong. It is like a living conscience inside you. For example, if you tell a lie, this soul makes you feel guilty and regretful. It scolds you and says, "Why did you do that?" This is a very good sign because it shows that your soul is now alive and awake. It knows right from wrong.
If a child who is growing up. When he is very young, he does whatever he wants without thinking. But as he gets older and his parents teach him, he starts to feel bad when he makes a mistake. He says to himself, "I should not have done that." This is exactly what Nafs Lawwama is for our spiritual growth.
Then, if you continue to purify this nafs even more, it reaches the next stage, which is called "Nafs Mulhima," meaning "The Inspired Soul."
This soul gets divine hints and knowledge about what is right and wrong without even thinking too much. It is like a person who has practiced driving a car so much that they do not have to think about pressing the clutch or turning the steering wheel. Their body just does it automatically. Similarly, the inspired soul automatically receives guidance from Allah. It knows what is good and what is bad, and it naturally avoids sin and does good deeds.
Finally, after a long and sincere struggle, this nafs reaches its ultimate and most beautiful stage, which is called "Nafs Mutmainna," meaning "The Soul at Peace" or "The Satisfied Soul."
In this stage, the soul has become completely calm, peaceful, and fully satisfied with Allah. All the doubts, worries, and fears have gone away. The person feels so much peace in their heart that nothing in this world can disturb them. They are happy with whatever Allah gives them, and they know that Allah is happy with them.
When a person reaches this stage, their journey of purifying the soul is complete. They have successfully trained their wild horse, and now it is a gentle, loving, and obedient animal. They have become one of the successful people who have achieved the highest goal in life. They have not only understood Tawheed in their mind, but they have lived it with their heart and soul. They have gone from being a commanding soul to a peaceful soul, and they have finally joined the ranks of those who are truly close to Allah.
FJ 30/7/26
