Baqaa

Baqaa, with literal meaning of permanency, is a term which describes a particular state of life with God, through God, in God, and for God. It is the summit of the mystical manazil, that is, the destination or the abode. Baqaa comprises of three degrees, each one referring to a particular aspect of the divine theophanies as principle of existence and its qualitative evolution, comprising of faith, knowledge, and grace.

First aspect: the level of acts
The first aspect of the Sufi permanency is situated at the level of acts. The action of the Sufi is here united with the divine action acquiring its order, harmony and durability. This specific degree of Sufi ‘’baqâ'’’ is the result of the shooting forth of the divine theophany as existential principle and the lights of nature as source of knowledge.

Second aspect: the level of qualities and attributes
The second aspect of permanency is situated at the level of qualities and attributes. Here human virtues are raised to the level of the divine Attributes, acquiring their perfection, dignity and durability: such that the man's heart attains to a spiritual abode where it is the pure and clear mirror on which the characteristics of the supreme Creator are engraved. In its turn, the power of acts in the abode of permanence becomes a docile instrument by which the divine plans in the world and within the living person are realized. This particular form of ‘’baqâ'’’ is a reflection of the divine existential theophanies at the level of the Attributes and Qualities, and the effect of the lights of the intellect as principle of knowledge.

Third aspect: the level of the essence
The last degree of baqâ' is permanency of the essence. In this domain the essence of the servant is raised to the height of the divine Essence in its Unity, Sublimity and Universality. He is totally absorbed by the divine Life. It is through God that he sees, through Him that he hears, through Him that he expresses his will, through Him that he contemplates. This is the most perfect form of Sufi ‘’baqâ'’’, the final stage of the hero's quest. This particular abode is in its turn acquired by the effect of the theophanies of the Essence on the existential plane and by the effect of the theophanies of Light at the gnostic level.

Reference

 * Theophanies and Lights in the Thought of Ibn 'Arabi