Body & Soul · Sufism: from the self to the soul

Subsistence (baqā)

In Sufism, baqā is subsistence in a new mode of being with the Real after fanā. Once the old 'I' has dissolved, the person continues to exist on another ground. If fanā is a closing, baqā is the opening that follows it. The two are complementary faces of the same journey.

Related concepts

The lower self (nafs)The stations of the self (nafs)The spirit (rūḥ)The heart (qalb)The secret (sirr)The subtle centers (laṭāʾif)Spiritual state (ḥāl)Station (maqām)