Famous Ahadith on the Abdal

The Hadith of ‘Ubadah ibn Samit from the Prophet (saw):

"There will always be thirty people in this Ummah like Ibrahim,

each time one of them dies Allah substitutes another in his
place." (« Musnad Ahmad » v 5 p 322)

Imam Ahmad, who narrated this Hadith, said after mentioning it :

« Munkar » (rejected)

Another Hadith of ‘Ubadah with words:

« The Abdal of my community are thirty, by them the earth is

established, by them you receive rain and by them you are saved »
(« At-Tabarani »)

Al-Haythami said : « From the way of ‘Umar and by Al-Bazar from the way
of ‘Anbasah Al-Khawwas, and I do not know these two » (« Majma’ uz-
Zawa’id » v 10 p 63). So this Hadith is weak as these two narrators are
unknown.

The Hadith of ‘Awf ibn Malik:

« The Abdal are among the people of Sham (Syria and surrounding
areas): By them they are saved and by them they receive their
sustenance »

Al-Haythami said: « Narrated by At-Tabarani. The chain of narrators

contains ‘Amr ibn Waqid, and the majority of Imams weakned him…As for
the narrator Shahr, there is difference about him » (« Majma’ uz-Zawa’id » v
10 p 63)

Hafiz ibn Hajar said concerning ‘Amr ibn Waqid: « Matruk » (abandoned)
(« Taqrib » 5132)

The Hadith of ibn Mas’ud:

« There will always be forty people in this community whose

hearts are upon the heart of Ibrahim. Allah will remove harm from
people by them, they are called the Abdal… »
Al-Haythami said : « Narrated by At-Tabarani from the narration of Thabit
ibn ‘Abbas Al-Ahdab, from Raja Al-Kalbi, and I do not know them »
(« Majma’ uz-Zawa’id » v 10 p 63)

The Hadith of Umm Salamah:

« Difference will occur after the death of a caliph and a man from
the people of Madinah will flee to Makkah. Some people from
Makkah will come towards him, take him against his will and
give him Bay’ah between the corner (of the Ka’bah) and the
Maqam of Ibrahim. A Military expedition will be send against
him, but it will be swallowed by the earth in the desert between
Makkah and Madinah, and when people will see this, the Abdal
of Syria and the best people of ‘Iraq will come towards him and
give him Bay’ah. » (« Musnad Ahmad » v 6 p 316, « Sunnan Abu
Dawud » Kitab Al-Mahdi n°4286)

The chain of narrators contains Salih Abu Khalil from one of his
companions, from Umm Salamah. So the companion of Salih Abu Khalil is
unknown.

Abu Dawud et Al-Hakim mentioned a similar narration from Abu Khalil

from Abdullah ibnul Harith from Umm Salamah, so the unknown narrator
in the first narration might be this Abdullah ibnul Harith, but all these
chains of narrators contain Abul ‘Awam, and his name is ‘Imran ibn Dawar
Al-Qattan. Az-Zahabi said: « Many people weakened him and he was a
Khariji » (« Talkhis » v 4 p 431)

Also Az-Zahabi included him in his book of weak narrators « Al-Mughni fi

Ad-Du’afa » n° 4596.

The contradiction in the texts (Matn) of the Ahadith of Abdal

Shaykh Muhammad Al-Lowh mentioned in his book « Taqdis Al-Ashkhas »

that the Sufis who believe in the Abdal are in majority Ash’aris and people
of Kalam, and these people do not accept Ahad narrations in matters of the
creed. How can they then believe in the Abdal without one authentic Isnad?

Also the Shaykh objected to the Matn of the Ahadith as there is a clear
Idhtirab (contradictions that cannot be removed)

Indeed, some Ahadith mention 30, other 40, and some other numbers, and
Sufis could not explain this clear contradiction. Some Sufis tried to say that
the number of Abdal is 40 and 30 are upon the heart of Ibrahim, but this
reconciliation is false as one can see that Hadith of Ibn Mas’ud says 40 men
like Ibrahim and Hadith of ‘Ubadah says 30 men like Ibrahim. Also another
Hadith of Ubadah says the Abdal are 30, meaning their total number is 30.

This Idhtirab about the Ahadith of Abdal has been mentioned by Hafiz as-
Sakhawi who said, "It has a number of different routes from Anas (RA) from
the Prophet (SAW), WITH CONTRADICTORY WORDING, all of which
are da'eef." ['Maqaasid al-Hasanah' (pp 26-28 no.8)]

So one whose heart is free of Ta’asub can clearly see contradictions in these
Ahadith, as for people who follow their desire, then 30 and 40 is the same.
When one is under influence of opium of Sufism, then everything is
possible.

Note: the information about narrators have been taken from the article of
Abu Rumaysah that is also on this web page and from « Taqdis ul
Ashkhas » of Shaykh Muhammad Al-Lowh, also the quote of As-Sakhawi is
taken from Abu Rumaysah.

Explanation of the words « By them » in these Ahadith

Shaykhul Islam Ibn Taymiyah wrote in his Fatwa on the Abdal, published
in his « Jami ul Masail » v 2 p 67, (Tahqiq Shaykh Uzayr Shams):

« There is no doubt that some saints are a causis for sustenance

and help as said by the Prophet (saw) to Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas :
« O Sa’d, don’t you receive help and sustenance except by your
weak one, BY THEIR INVOCATIONS, their prayers, their
sincerity (Ikhlas) » (« Sahih Al-Bukhari » and « Sunnan An-
Nassai »)

And this is true and proved by the Book and the Sunnah. There is
no mean to reach the satisfaction of Allah and His favour except
by Iman (faith) in the Prophets and by obeying them. »

So one can see in the Hadith mentioned by Shaykhul Islam that Muslims are
helped by the invocations of their weak ones, and the meaning of receiving
help and sustenance by them as been explained by the Prophet (saw) to
mean « by their invocations ».

So likewise, if we were to suppose the Ahadith of Abdal to be authentic,

then the words in them « BY THEM you receive sustenance and help »
would mean « BY THEIR INVOCATIONS, prayers and sincerity »
The word « BY THEM » is general, it can mean by their invocations as
explained by the Prophet (saw), or by their powers as understood by some
Sufis. Yet when the Prophet (saw) made its Tafisr, it is not allowed for
anyone to oppose it.

How can it be otherwise, as where in these Ahadith of Abdal did the

Prophet (saw) say that Allah gives the Abdal the power to help and give
sustenance, Allah conferred the matters of managing and governing the
world to them?

So if these Ahadith are authentic -which they are not- they do not prove the
creed of the Sufis who claim Abdal are ruling the world and have received
powers by Allah, they have their assemblies in which they decide the
matters of the world, who to make rulers, what to give to everyone. While
the Sufis even claim Awliya have the power of « Kun fa Yakun » meaning
they say about something « Be » and it is so.

The word « Kun Fa Yakun » (« Be » and it is) is given to saints according

to Ash-Sha’rani, An-Nabbahani and Habib Ali Al-Jifri

An-Nabbahani wrote in his « Jami’ Karamat » v 2 p 158 that the Sufi ‘Ali ibn
Muhammad Ad-Dinawri received the word « Kun » but Ad-Dinawri said :

« I abandoned the word « Kun fa Yakunu » (« BE » and it is) by

respect of Allah »1

Ash-Sha’rani wrote in his « Al-Jawahir wa Durrar » p 123-124 that he asked

his Shaykh Al-Khawwas: “Have the Awliya been given the control
(Tasarruf) of « Kun » (meaning they say « Be » and it is)? » He replied: « Yes,
by the inheritance of the Prophet (saw), because he used it in many
places… » Ash-Sha’rani further asked: « Is it better for the Awliya to use
this control or abandon it? » Al-Khawwas said: « Abandoning this control is
the level of the great saints, those who act according to His word: « Do not
take protectors beside Me » (Al-Isra : 2), thus they let Al-Haqq (Ta’ala)
control for them by respect (for Allah) »2

Habib Ali Jifri said in the video on http://www.almijhar.net/rm/kon.rm

1
As quoted in « Awliya Allah bayna Mafhum As-Soufi wal Manhaj As-Sunni As-Salafi » of
Shaykh AbdurRahman Ad-Dimashqi p 77

2
As quoted in “Taqdis ul Ashkas » v 1 p 135
 “It has been revealed in some divine books: O my slave I am Allah,
when I desire something, I say “Kun” and it is, obey me my slave
and I would give you “Kun fa Yakunu” (be and it will be).”

Shaykhul Islam ibn Taymiyah said:

« Whoever affirms that there is among saints someone who says

about something « KUN (Be) » and this happens, then we should
seek repentance from this individual, and if he refused, he should
be killed, as none can do such except Allah. » 3

So where do these Ahadith about Abdal say that Awliya have power of Kun
fa Yakun?

Moreover, the Sufis have some weak and fabricated Ahadith on the Abdal,
but they also mention Qutb, Ghawth, Awtad, Nuqaba, Nujaba and they do
not have any justification for it. They have made up a hierarchy of saints
and assemblies of saints, while no Ahadith say such, so their creed is based
on fairy tales and satanic Kashf of their leaders.

The books of Sufis differ about the number of Abdal

The Sufis differ about the Abdal and the hierarchy of saints.

Hakim At-Tirmidhi mentions 40 Abdal in his “Khatmul Awliya”:

“These forty are the guarantee of protection for the (Muslim)

community. Through them the earth exists and through them the
people pray for rain. When they die, the community will suffer
what it has been threatened with”4

Ibn ‘Arabi says that the assembly of saints is composed of one Qutb, 2
Imams, 4 Awtad and 7 Abdal, but the 4 Awtad in this assembly are only
substitutes to the 4 real Awtad who are the Prophets Ilyas, Idris, ‘Isa and
Khidr, who are all alive according to him (In fact, only ‘Isa is alive). The real
four Awtad do not change and they have four substitutes on the earth, and

3
« Mukhtasar Fatawa Misriyah » p 589, as quoted by Ad-Dimasqi in the same book.

4
“Khatmul Awliya” p 346, according to “Sanctity and Mysticsim in Medieval Egypt” by
J.A. Mc Gregor p 13.
these substitutes’ hearts correspond to the hearts of these four Prophets, and
these substitutes change after the death of one of them.5

J.A. Mc Gregor wrote after mentioning this description of the assembly of

saints:
“This incorporation of Nubuwwa into the congress of saints is far
removed from the diwan as conceived by Tirmidhi”6

So Ibn ‘Arabi gives a different description of this Diwan (assembly) of saint

than Hakim At-Tirmidhi, so how can Sufis explain these differences?

Ibn ‘Arabi mentions 7 Abdal while Hakim At_tirmidhi mentions 40 and the
weak Ahadith mention 30 or 40, how can Sufis explain this, and at the same
time say « Al-Futuhat » and « Al-Fusus » are divinely inspired to Ibn
‘Arabi ?

If this description was from Allah, would there be any difference in it?

Shadhilis believe in 7 Abdal and not 30 or 40

P 96 of the English Translation of “Lataif ul-Minnan”, ibn Ataillah wrote:

“Shaykh Abu al-‘Abbas (may God be pleased with him) said, “I

went wandering through the kingdom of God and I saw Abu
Madin (Correction: Abu Madyan), a fair-skinned man with blue
eyes, clinging to the leg of the throne. I said to him, ‘What are your
fields of knowledge, and what is your station?’ He replied, ‘As for
my fields of knowledge, they are seventy-one, and as for my
station, I am the fourth of the caliphs and the first of the SEVEN
substitutes (abdal).’ I asked him, ‘What do you say about my
Shaykh, Abu al-Hasan Al-Shadhili? He replied, ‘He has forty more
fields of knowledge than I do. He is the sea which cannot be
contained.’”

So for the Shadhilis, like ibn ‘Arabi, there are 7 Abdal, and this opposes
these weak Ahadith of 30 or 40, and Shadhilis attribute knowledge of Ghayb
to theirs leaders.

P 152 of the same book, ibn Ata Illah described Al-Mursi

5
“Al-Futuhat Al-Makkiyah” v 3 p 9 Dar Al-Fikr, according to “Seal of saints” of
Chodkiewicz p 94, as mentioned in “Sanctity and Mysticsim in Medieval Egypt”

6
“Sanctity and Mysticsim in Medieval Egypt” p 23
 “You would hear him speak of nothing but the Supreme
Intelligence, the Most Excellent Names and its four branches, the
names, the letters, the saints’ varied spheres of influence, the
spiritual stations of those with inward certainty, the angels with
near access to the Throne, the sciences of the mysteries, the
spiritual resources released through phrases of divine
remembrance, the day on which human beings’ destinies were
determined, the science of the (divine) will, the divine “grasp” in
which the cosmos exists and the men with an understanding
thereof, the sciences of the Solitaries (‘ulum al-afrad) and what
will take place on the Day of Resurrection by way of God’s
dealings with His servants: His forbearance, His grace, and His
vengeance. In fact, I once heard him say, “I tell you truly, if it
weren’t for people’s limited understanding, I would speak to
them of the future manifestation of God’s mercy.”

So if Al-Mursi knows Ghayb, then Abdal should be 7, so Shadhilis should at

least say that for us, Ahadith mentioning 30 or 40 are weak, else the
knowledge of their leaders is false and they are liars in claiming such
knowledge.

Ad-Dabbagh mentions 7 Aqtab (plural of Qutb) instead of one

It is written p 579 of the English translation of “Ibriz” done by Radke

and O’Kane, in chapter four:

”On the Diwan of the godly men (salihun) - God be pleased with
them one and all!

I heard the Shaykh say - God be pleased with him: 'The Diwan is in
the cave of Hira which is where the Prophet (saw) undertook pious
devotions - God's blessings and peace be upon him: 'The support
(al-ghawth) sits outside the cave. Mecca is behind his right
shoulder and Medina is in front of his left knee. On his right are
four pivots (aqtab) who are Malikites, adherents of the school of
jurisprudence of the imam Malik b. Anas - God be pleased with
him! Three pivots are on his left each one an adherent of the (other)
three schools of jurisprudence. Then in front of them is the Wakil
who's called the Qadi of the Diwan. At this time he too is a
Malikite from the Banu Khalid who live in the region of Basra. His
name is Sayyidi Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Karim al-Basrawi. The
Support speaks to the Wakil, and the latter is called the Wakil
 (deputy) because he speaks on behalf of everyone who's in the
Diwan'

Al-Dabbagh said: 'The action of the seven pivots is under the

command of the Support, and each of the seven Pivots has under
him a special group which acts on his behalf...”

Comment: So for Ad-Dabbagh the Qutb are 7, while other say the Abrar are
7 and ibn Arabi and others say the Abdal are 7, and Ad-Dabbagh also says
that the Awliya know Ghayb, so we let the Sufis explain who is the liar in
them and why do they respect all these contradicting books?

We have indeed p 517 of “Al-Ibriz”, Eng. Trans. n°434:

“Next, I said to the Shaykh -God be pleased with him-: ‘The

scholars of external religious learning among the specialists in
hadiths, and others as well, disagree about whether the Prophet –
God’s blessings and peace be upon him- knew the five things
mentioned in God the Sublime’s words: “Verily, God has
knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain and He knows
what’s inside wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow
and no soul knows what land it will die in. But God is all-
knowing and informed.” (31/34)’

He replied- God be pleased with him and with our lords the
religious scholars: ‘How could the matter of the five things be
unknown to him-God’s blessing and peace be upon him-since
none of the people with the power of free disposal (tasarruf)
among his noble community would be able to exercise that
power without knowledge of these five?”

P 456, Al-Lamati quoted his teacher Ad-Dabbagh saying:

““Whatever visible and hidden good things are in the heavens, on

the earth, and in all the worlds, receive support from this light
which is in my body.' Thus al-Dabbagh informed me that he has
the [supernatural] power of free disposal within all the worlds.”

So for the Sufis, Ad-Dabbagh has the knowledge of Ghayb, so why do they
differ with him about the number of Qutbs?

A religion based on fairy tales will certainly contain clear contradictions.

Description of saints by Ali Al-Hujweiri

Ali Al-Hujweiri writes in his « Kashf Al-Mahjub », translated by Nicholson,

p 213-214 , edition Adam Publishers :

« God, then, has caused the prophetic evidence (burhan-i nabawi) to

remain down to the present day, and has made the Saints the
means whereby it is manifested, in order that the signs of the Truth
and the proof of Muhammad's veracity may continue to be clearly
seen. He has made the Saints the governors of the universe; they
have become entirely devoted to His business, and have ceased to
follow their sensual affections. Through the blessing of their advent
the rain falls from heaven, and through the purity of their lives the
plants spring up from the earth, and through their spiritual
influence the Muslims gain victories over the unbelievers. Among
them there are four thousand who are concealed and do not
know one another and are not aware of the excellence of their
state, but in all circumstances are hidden from themselves and
from mankind. Traditions have come down to this effect, and the
sayings of the Saints proclaim the truth thereof, and I myself—God
be praised!—have had ocular experience (khabar-i 'iyan) of this
matter. But of those who have power to loose and to bind and are the
officers of the Divine court there are three hundred, called Akhyar,
and forty, called Abdal, and seven, called Abrar, and four called
Awtad, and three, called Nuqaba, and one, called Qutb or Ghawth. All
these know one another and cannot act save by mutual consent”

Comment: Why do other Sufis books do not mention these 300 Akhyar?
Also no Ahadith mentions that these saints work by mutual consent. What
is the proof of such a claim? Is this not legislating what Allah did not reveal,
or do these Sufis have other Books revealed to them?

P 228, Ali Al-Hujweiri wrote:

“On the other hand, Junayd and Abu al-`Abbas Sayyari and Abu
Bakr Wasiti and Muhammad b. 'Ali of Tirmidh, the author of the
doctrine, hold that miracles are manifested in the state of sobriety
and composure (sahw fi tamkin) not in the state of
intoxication. They argue that the saints of God are the governors of
His kingdom and the overseers of the universe, which God has
committed absolutely to their charge: therefore their judgments
must be the soundest of all, and their hearts must be the most
tenderly disposed of all towards the creatures of God. They are
mature (rasidagan); and whereas agitation and intoxication are
 marks of inexperience, with maturity agitation is transmuted
into composure. Then, and only then, is one a saint in
reality, and only then are miracles genuine. It is well known
among Sufis that every night the Awtad must go round the
whole universe, and if there should be any place on which
their eyes have not fallen, next day some imperfection will
appear in that place; and they must then inform the Qutb, in
order that he may fix his attention on the weak spot, and that by
his blessing the imperfection may be removed…

And the following story is related by Abu Bakr Warraq of Tirmidh:

"One day Muhammad b. 'Ali (al-Hakim) said that he would take
me somewhere. I replied: 'It is for the Shaykh to command.' Soon
after we set out saw an exceedingly dreadful wilderness, and in the
midst thereof a golden throne placed under a green tree beside a
fountain of running water. Seated on the throne was a person clad
in beautiful raiment, who rose when Muhammad b. 'Ali
approached, and made him sit on the throne. After a while, people
came from every side until forty were gathered together. Then
Muhammad b. 'Ali waved his hand, and immediately food appeared
from heaven, and we ate. Afterward Muhammad b. Ali asked a
question of a man who was present, and he in reply made a long
discourse of which I did not understand a single word. At last the
Shaykh begged leave and took his departure, saying to me: 'Go, for
thou art blest.' On our return to Tirmidh, I asked him what was
the place and who was that man. He told me that the place was the
Desert of the Israelites (tih-i Bani Israil) and that the man was the
Qutb on whom the order of the universe depends. '0 Shaykh,' I
said, 'how did we reach the Desert of the Israelites from Tirmidh in
such a brief time?' He answered: '0 Abu Bakr, it is thy business
to arrive (rasidan), not to ask questions (pursidan)." This is a
mark, not of intoxication, but of sanity.”

Comment: One can see the function attributed to the Awtad and the Qutb,
all these powers attributed to them, while no Prophets had such powers.
How can four Awtad check every night the whole world?

All these fairy tales are not justified by any Hadith, but Sufis base on
conjectures and stories.
Abdul Hakim Murad’s belief in the Abdal

Abdul Hakim Murad wrote about the Abdal in his notes to his translation of
Ghazali’s Ihya book 12 and 13 under English name “Al-Ghazali on
disciplining the soul and on breaking the two desires” p 89:

“The forty apotropean saints who, although hidden, direct the

world’s spiritual activity. When one dies, his (or her) place is taken
by another. Ranked above them, it is often held, there are seven
abrar, four awtad, three nuqaba and one qutb. All are in continual
communication and agreement. (Cf Makki Qut v 1 p 109; Hujwiri
214; Massignon essai 132-4; Passion 1 26-8, Jabre Lexique 23)”

Comment: One can ask Abdul Hakim Murad which Hadith says that the
Abdal direct the world’s spiritual activity and there are 7 Abrar, 3 Nuqaba
and 1 Qutb, and they are in continual communication?

So one can see that Abul Hakim Murad instead of rejecting this fabricated
religion, believes in it. Can there be a greater danger to Islam than these
books that ascribe to Islam what is not part of it? Can there be more
dangerous people than these Sufis and their legislation of a religion which
Allah did not reveal?

If such assemblies of saints existed, why would the Salaf not mention them
in their Tafasir and books of Hadith? Did they forget to tell us how the
Qutb, Ghawth, Abrar, Awtad and other work?

Saints governing the world in their assemblies is an important matter, and

this would have come in a Mutawatir way from the Salaf and in the words
of the Sahabah and Tabi’is. Yet there is no mention of such things, what
Sufis have is some weak Ahadith on Abdal which do not prove what they
ascribe to these saints.

May Allah protect us from this opium of Sufism

May Allah send Salah and Salam on the Prophet (saw), his family and
companions.

Compiled by Ali Hassan Khan