Eternal Subsistence In the Divine

Eternal Subsistence In the Divine
Baqa is the state of eternal subsistence, where the seeker, having undergone Fana (annihilation of the ego), now lives through the Divine. It is not merely an existence but a rebirth in Truth, where the soul no longer claims its own will but moves entirely in harmony with the Beloved. To reach Baqa is to walk in the world yet belong elsewhere. The seeker breathes, speaks, and acts, but their being is no longer bound to the illusion of separation. They become a reflection of the Divine, existing only through Him.

“Die before you die,” said the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. This is not a death of the body but the death of all that veils the seeker from Divine Reality. When the false self (nafs) dissolves, what remains? A light that was always there, hidden beneath layers of illusion.

The path of Fana is the burning away of identity, desires, and personal will. It is a descent into nothingness. But Baqa is the rising—like the sun after the night of longing, like the ocean that remains when the wave has disappeared.

“Once, I called out for Him, believing I was separate. I searched in books, in prayers, in the sky above me. But when the fire of longing consumed me, something shattered. I disappeared. And what remained was not I, but He. Now, even as I walk through this world, I am not here. I am only a shadow in His Light.”

The one who attains Baqa does not act from their own will anymore. They are moved by the Divine, just as a river flows effortlessly toward the ocean. The state of Baqa is beautifully described in a Hadith Qudsi, recorded in Sahih Bukhari (Hadith 6502).

The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ narrated from Allah:

“Whosoever shows enmity to a wali (friend) of Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more beloved to Me than the religious duties I have imposed upon him. And My servant continues to draw near to Me with voluntary acts of worship until I love him. And when I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he grasps, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask of Me, I would surely give him, and were he to seek refuge with Me, I would surely grant him refuge.”

This Hadith reveals the reality of Baqa—where the seeker, through devotion and surrender, becomes an instrument of divine will. At this stage, the seeker no longer speaks for themselves, but their words heal hearts. They no longer move for personal gain, but their presence brings light wherever they go.

The journey from illusion to truth is a path of deepening certainty (Yaqeen). First comes Ilm al-Yaqeen, the knowledge of truth. Then Ayn al-Yaqeen, the direct vision of it. Finally, Haqq al-Yaqeen, where one does not only see the truth but becomes it. This mirrors the transition from Islam (submission) to Iman (faith) to Ihsan (spiritual excellence), where worship becomes not just an act, but a state of being.

In the cosmology of Sufism, Baqa aligns with the higher realms, such as Jabarut (the realm of divine power) and Lahut (the realm of absolute unity), where all distinctions dissolve, and the soul exists in the presence of the Divine. The one who reaches Baqa is no longer bound by personal identity. They walk among people but are not affected by worldly distractions. They have become an ocean without shores, a flame that does not burn but illuminates.

To live in Baqa is to move through the world with effortless grace. The seeker no longer struggles against fate, nor do they seek recognition or status. They have become a heart that only knows love, a mind that sees only unity, a presence that radiates peace.

“Once, I was a drop longing for the ocean. Now, I have drowned, and only the ocean remains. There is no ‘I’ left—only the tide of His will moving through me.”

The lover (ashiq) who reaches Baqa is like the sun—giving light without asking, warming without seeking anything in return. The journey of Baqa does not end. It is a continuous unfolding, a deepening absorption into Divine Reality. The one who reaches Baqa becomes a whisper of the Beloved in this world—a light that never fades, a presence that never dies.

“The wind passes, but it does not linger. The river flows, but it does not claim. The light shines, but it does not possess. Such is the way of one who walks in Baqa—the way of the one who is no longer ‘someone,’ but only a shadow of the Real.”

This is the state of the true seeker—the one who has died to everything except Love. The one who, like a flame, is consumed by the Divine, and in that burning, becomes eternal. Baqa is not a destination; it is a state of eternal presence in the Divine. The seeker who reaches it does not proclaim it, for they have become silence itself. They do not speak of love; they are love. They do not seek light; they are light. And in their presence, everything dissolves, leaving only the scent of the Eternal.

Written by Sufi shah