Dissolving the Self: Hallajian Fanā and the Poetics of Self-Negation in Ghani Khan’s The Fairy Princess and Question or Answer

Self-negation in Ghani Khan's Pashto poetry, analyzed through the mystical philosophy of Mansur al-Hallaj and the doctrine of fanā (annihilation of the self), is not a denial of life but an existential condition that enables authentic vision and spiritual awareness. Using qualitative thematic analysis, the study finds that Ghani Khan translates metaphysical self-annihilation into lived human experience through images of fragility, transience, and decay, reconfiguring fanā as both a spiritual and existential process. This situates his work within the Hallajian tradition, highlighting self-negation as a central poetic and philosophical principle.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This study examines the representation of self-negation in the poetry of Ghani Khan through the mystical philosophy of Mansur al-Hallaj, with particular focus on the doctrine of fanā (annihilation of the self). While Ghani Khan’s poetry has often been approached through aesthetic, existential, and socio-political frameworks, its engagement with radical Sufi mysticism remains underexplored. Employing a qualitative thematic analysis of selected Pashto poems, this paper investigates how Ghani Khan articulates the dissolution of the ego through recurring images of fragility, transience, and decay. The findings reveal that self-negation in his poetry is not portrayed as denial of life but as an existential condition through which authentic vision and spiritual awareness emerge. Drawing on Hallajian Fana, the study demonstrates that Ghani Khan translates metaphysical self-annihilation into lived human experience, thereby reconfiguring fanā as both a spiritual and existential process. By situating Ghani Khan within the Hallajian tradition, this paper contributes to Pashto literary studies and comparative mysticism by highlighting self-negation as a central poetic and philosophical principle in his work.