Ego-Transcendence and the Release of Preference

Central to Rabia's mystical practice was the concept of fana—the annihilation of ego and personal will in the presence of the Divine. Favoritism, by contrast, is fundamentally an ego function: it protects our interests, elevates our chosen tribe, and shores up our sense of importance through selective alliance. When we practice favoritism, we reinforce the illusion of a separate self with separate stakes. Rabia taught that spiritual maturity means surrendering the need to control outcomes or privilege certain people because we fear scarcity or abandonment. By examining our favoritism patterns, we can trace them back to ego-based fears: fear of loss, fear of mediocrity, fear of not belonging. The dissolution of these fears—through contemplation, honest self-inquiry, and expanding our circle of care—mirrors Rabia's journey toward ego-transcendence. In this way, releasing favoritism becomes a spiritual practice, not merely an ethical correction.