text: Fana'). Self-annihilation or self-effacement or dissolution or passing away from self. Through being joined to Allah, the Real; man is annihilated from himself - the 'limited existence' of the traveller is overpowered by the 'absolute existence' of Allah, so that the traveller becomes unaware of his own self and the creation.
  Fana' is the last stage on the ascent to Allah. When travelling to the Source, the seeker passes through different levels of
  fana', each of which brings him closer to his Goal. There are hundreds, even thousands, of fana's. Every time a form of ignorance is removed to be replaced by knowledge, the
  murid has experienced
  fana'. He has tasted the annihilation of an ignorance. And, every moment of existence is in fact a moment which is pregnant with its own particular knowledge. So, for the aware one, each moment can be a
  fana'. However, within the higher teaching of
  Tasawwuf there are three major types of
  fana', through which the
  murid must travel if he is to reach the Absolute. These are Annihilation in the
  Murshid/Spiritual Guide, Annihilation in the Messenger and Annihilation in Allah.