212 



Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, [N.S. , XII, 



''Fana." That conception which embraces the 

 idea of passing away" of all passions and 

 desires as well as of the cessation of all thought 

 save of God is, indeed, a basic doctrineiof Sufiism. 

 He must be understood, I think, to be criticis- 

 ing only the extreme doctrine of total annihilation 

 of the attributes which some Sufis regarded 

 possible, the false theory that when a mans 

 qualities were annihilated, he entered into God's. 

 This myolved the pernicious heresy of "incarna- 



t a a ( ^ ] , whlch was odious t0 ev eiy right- 

 minded Sufi , who understood by the term < 'an- 



n h,lation of attributes ' ' nothing more than the 

 submergence of man's will in God's, so that he no 

 longer regarded himself, but became entirely 

 devoted to, and conscious of nothing save God » 



as 

 man's 



66. 



Appoint me to Thy service, of Thy mercy, O Lord 

 Acquaint me with the truths of Thy pecul ar neonl* 

 My heart is oppressed by tyrant Re^on P ? 



Make me mad witli Thee, and liberate me. 



othlrl h!"^rT hat i8 ' 1 ! ¥ i . berate m * from thoughts of 

 SSn^ Th6e - HlS Setvice " then « ' is P erfe <* 



service H nCe aSk !, d Ab6 Sa ' Id the meanin 8 of 

 ZJ ?% answered - " God created you free ; 



iddi^r s s remain ,,; wMch he ex p^ned b; 



vou lm 7u l y ° U ^ e free of the <™> ^ 

 you will not become His servant ' ' 



whtT f i7^^ n iS n ° § uide t0 the truths after 



htns blf^ ld WM SeekiD ^ God is [ ^pre. 

 S" e ^^ markort -e of Him/and 



knowledg 



mT7afnr „ *. u ° -r* wu ^iure can pierce tne 



Paul ES. u Ch - -? n , be revealed only to what St. 

 WsrLn y mt ™l,™ion." "In addition to 



the cT2 • p? 8 Lahijf in his commentary on 



wherebvH. "^- " man ha * a certain faculty 

 Z„!i? by > e P/rceives hidden mysteries. This 



voked 



in n;™- -n " J D U1 UIJe iru «i, and ends 



' 'vl • ne lllu mmation." 



vision 8 "'^ 5? ^, inner U « ht '" or "intellectual 

 A Platonists. 



welLknown story relates how after the great 



' See Dr. R. A . Nicholson on Fana in the J.R.A.S. for 191 3 . 



^JIAJ ^ 



1; j. (Mansur-ul-Hallaj) 



