Wikipedia's first sentence called it “concept in sufism that refers to a stage of mystical development in the path of gnosis”. Today it says “the "passing away" or "annihilation"”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Annihilation of self in Sufism”. It now reads “Annihilation of sef in Sufism”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2010
Fanaa ( Arabic :فناء) is a concept in Sufism that refers to a stage of mystical development in the path of gnosis . The concept of fanā was originally coined by the Sufi Abū Sa’id Karrāz, and is often attributed to Abū L-Qāsim al-Junayd. Fanā comes from a doctrine that has been developed since the execution of Mansur Al-Hallaj in 922 A.D. The terms fanā and baqa are drawn from the Koranic passage (55:26-27): “All that dwells upon the earth is perishing (faāen), yet still abides (yabqā) the Face of thy Lord, majestic, splendid.” Arabic : Fanā means annihilation or passing away, but since this is an experiential concept, there is no one perfect definition of fanā. Two allied definition have been offered of fanā (1) the passing away from the consciousness of the mystic of all things, including himself, and even the absence of the consciousness of this passing away and its replacement by a pure consciousness of God, and (2) the annihilation of the imperfect attributes of the creature and their replacement by the perfect attributes bestowed by God. After the death of its founder, Islam (like other religions) crystallized into differentiated exoteric and esoteric institutional forms: the exoteric “religious” or “outer” practice and the esoteric “spiritual” or “inner” practice. The exoteric crystallization within Islam became popularly known as the Sharia, Divine Law or Canon, and the esoteric crystallization as the Tariqa, the Way. The Tariqa’s focus and praxis became known as tasawwuf, or Sufism in English.1
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The opening as it stood in 2015 8 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Fanaa ( fanāʾ ) is the Sufi term for "passing away" or "annihilation" (of the self).Fana represents a breaking down of the individual ego and a recognition of the fundamental unity of God, creation, and the individual self.Persons having entered this enlightened state obtain awareness of the intrinsic unity ( Tawhid ) between Allah and all that exists, including the individual's mind.It is coupled conceptually with baqaa , subsistence, which is the state of pure consciousness of and abidance in God.The state of Fana is represented by Rumi in Book Six of the Masnavi where he writes: When the Shaykh (Halláj) said ‘I am God’ and carried it through (to the end), he throttled (vanquished) all the blind (sceptics).When a man's ‘I’ is negated (and eliminated) from existence, then what remains?The Mathnawí of Jalálu’ddín Rúmí .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 664052126.
The opening as it stood in 2020 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Fanaa ( fanāʾ ) in Sufism is the "passing away" or "annihilation" (of the self ).Fana means "to die before one dies", a concept highlighted by famous notable Muslim saints such as Rumi and later by Sultan Bahoo . Fana represents a breaking down of the individual ego and a recognition of the fundamental unity of God, creation, and the individual self. Persons having entered this enlightened state obtain awareness of the intrinsic unity ( Tawhid ) between Allah and all that exists, including the individual's mind. It is coupled conceptually with baqaa , subsistence, which is the state of pure consciousness of and abidance in God.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963166835.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Annihilation of self in Sufism "Fanaa" redirects here. Fanaa ( fanāʾ ) in Sufism is the "passing away" or "annihilation" (of the self ). Fana means "to die before one dies", a concept highlighted by famous notable Persian mystics such as Rumi and later by Sultan Bahoo .There is controversy around what Fana exactly is, with some Sufis defining it as the absolute annihilation of the human ego before God, whereby the self becomes an instrument of God's plan in the world ( Baqaa ).Other Sufis also interpret it as breaking down of the individual ego and a recognition of the fundamental unity of God, creation, and the individual self.However, persons having entered this enlightened state are said to obtain absolute awareness of an intrinsic unity ( Tawhid ) between Allah and all that exists, including the individual themselves.This second interpretation is condemned as heretical by orthodox Islam.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1161177644.
The opening as it stood in 2025 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Annihilation of self in Sufism "Fanaa" redirects here. Fanaa ( Arabic : فناء fanāʾ ) in Sufism is the "passing away" or "annihilation" (of the self ). Fana means "to die before one dies", a concept highlighted by famous notable Persian mystics such as Rumi . There is controversy around what Fana exactly is, with some Sufis defining it as the absolute annihilation of the human ego before God, whereby the self becomes an instrument of God's plan in the world ( Baqaa ). Other Sufis also interpret it as breaking down of the individual ego and a recognition of the fundamental unity of God, creation, and the individual self. However, persons having entered this enlightened state are said to obtain absolute awareness of an intrinsic unity ( Tawhid ) between God and all that exists, including the individual themselves. This second interpretation has sometimes been decried by religious and political authorities as heretical, famously in the execution of Mansur al-Hallaj .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1283120862. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “concept in sufism that refers to a stage of mystical development in the path of gnosis”. Today it says “the "passing away" or "annihilation"”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Annihilation of self in Sufism”. It now reads “Annihilation of sef in Sufism”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
concept in sufism that refers to a stage of mystical development in the path of gnosis
Now
the "passing away" or "annihilation"
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
