Learn Arabic › B2 › فَناء
فَناء
annihilation, passing out of existence /faˈnaːʔ/
nounB2#3992 most common
Also: extinction, mortality, transience, self-annihilation (Sufi term)
Example sentences
كل شيء يسير نحو الفناء.
Everything moves toward annihilation.
الإنسان يخاف من الفناء.
People fear annihilation, the end of their existence.
لا بقاء بلا فناء، فكل موجود لا بد أن يزول يومًا.
There is no permanence without passing away; everything that exists must vanish one day.
تحدث الفيلسوف عن فناء الكون في نهاية الزمن.
The philosopher spoke about the annihilation of the universe at the end of time.
يؤمن بعض الصوفيين بأن الفناء في الله هو أسمى درجات الحب.
Some Sufis believe that self-annihilation in God is the highest degree of love.
يرى ابن عربي أن الفناء عن النفس شرط الوصول إلى الحقيقة المطلقة.
Ibn Arabi holds that the annihilation of the self is a precondition for reaching absolute truth.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | فَناءٌ | (no plural; abstract masdar) |
| Genitive | فَناءٍ | (no plural; abstract masdar) |
| Accusative | فَناءً | (no plural; abstract masdar) |
| Vocative | يا فَناءُ | (no plural; abstract masdar) |
Word family
فَنِيَto perish, vanish, run out
فانٍperishing, mortal, transient
أفْنىto annihilate, wipe out, use up completely
فانيةmortal, fleeting (feminine form)
Etymology
Fanā' comes from the Arabic root f-n-y, whose verb faniya means to perish, run out, or cease to exist. The noun follows the fa'āl masdar pattern used for weak-final verbs, where the final root letter y turns into a hamza after the long ā. In classical usage the word became a technical term in Sufism, paired with its opposite, baqā' (subsistence), to describe the mystic's dissolution of self before union with the divine.
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More Arabic words
نَفِدto run out (be used up, depleted)مُتَسَلْسِلserial, sequential (occurring one after another in a chain)مُسْتَنْقَعswampتَخْفِيضreductionحَظْرban, prohibitionتَرْكِيبstructure, composition (also: installation)آخِرlast (the final one)جالto roam or wander about; to move around an area, often in a circling or patrolling way