Fountain of Christianity — Page 40
40 God Himself is Light, His love produces 'the light of sal- vation'. The love which is ingrained in human nature draws the love of God, and then God’s personal love gives extraordinary strength and enthusiasm to man’s per- sonal love, and the union of the two results in the state of 'annihilation' ( Fan a ) and culminates in the light of 'im- mortality with God' ( Baq a Bill a h ). The fact that the meeting of the two loves necessarily leads to 'annihilation in God' and the body (which is only a veil) is totally con- sumed, and the soul becomes wholly submerged in Divine love, can be illustrated with the example of a man who is struck with lightning. The fire falls upon him from heaven, and its powerful attraction draws the fire that is within him, and this results in the annihilation of the body. In the same way, spiritual annihilation also requires two kinds of fires: the heavenly fire and the inner fire of man. The meeting of both these fires creates a state of 'an- nihilation ( Fan a ), without which the spiritual journey remains incomplete. This is the state of 'annihiliation' ( Fan a ) where the journey of the spiritual wayfarers comes to an end, and it is the limit beyond which human endeav- our cannot go. After reaching the point of Fan a , man is granted the status of 'eternity' ( Baq a ) as a gift and a fa- vour. This is what the following verse points to: 23 Briefly stated, it means that anyone who attains this sta- 23 Al-F a ti h ah, 1:7 [Publishers]