and, through the One remembered, unaware of his remembrance; and, through the One known, unaware of his knowing, until he becomes oblivious to himself and to everything other than Allah. This is a deficient condition that may befall some travellers on the path, but it is by no means an essential component of the way to Allah; for nothing of this kind ever befell the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or the earliest forerunners.

Whoever regards this as the ultimate station of the seekers has strayed into manifest error, and whoever deems it a necessary stage on the path to Allah is likewise mistaken. It is merely one of the incidental experiences that may occur to some people and not to others; it is not a requisite through which every seeker must pass.

The third type is the fanāʾ that negates the very existence of all else: a state in which one fancies that the existence of the created being is identical to the existence of the Creator, that existence itself is numerically one. This is the creed of the atheistic champions of pantheistic union, and they are among the most misguided of all servants.