The intended meaning of “the Abdal” is a number of Allah’s friends and righteous servants. They are called this because whenever one of them dies, Allah substitutes him with another so that the Earth is never devoid of them, or because they are substitutes for the Prophets. The view that such people exist was well-known among the predecessors, and none of them has been reported to have denied it, given its fame among them. This is what some consider to be the consensus of the predecessors. However, later scholars differed on their existence. Some denied it, and some affirmed it. Among those who denied it was ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 AH), as he narrated the reports regarding this matter in his book on fabricated hadiths and cast aspersions on them one by one[1]. Another was ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH), as he denied that the term “Abdal” was found in any authentic or weak but possibly sound report, except in one with a disconnected chain of narrators[2]. Al-Manawi (d. 1031 AH) criticized him severely, saying: «قَدْ أَبَانَتْ هَذِهِ الدَّعْوَى عَنْ تَهَوُّرِهِ وَمُجَازَفَتِهِ، وَلَيْتَهُ نَفَى الرُّؤْيَةَ، بَلْ نَفَى الْوُجُودَ، وَكَذَّبَ مَنِ ادَّعَى الْوُرُودَ»[3]; “This claim reveals his recklessness and audacity. He should have denied the vision (of the Abdal), but he has denied their existence, and refuted those who claimed its existence in the narrations.” Among those who affirmed it was al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH), as he said in al-Nukat al-Badi‘at: “The report about the Abdal is authentic, and it can be said that it is mutawatir. And I have written a separate book on this topic and collected the chains of transmission of the hadiths about it. And the result is that ibn Asakir has narrated it from Umar through two chains of transmission. And Ahmad, al-Tabarani, al-Hakim, and others have narrated it from Ali through more than ten chains of transmission, some of which meet the conditions of authenticity. And it has been narrated from Anas through six chains of transmission, one of which is found in al-Mu‘jam al-Awsat by al-Tabarani. And al-Haythami has considered it good in Majma‘ al-Zawa’id. And Ahmad has narrated it with an authentic chain of narrators from Ubadah ibn Samit, and he has narrated it with an authentic chain of narrators from ibn Abbas in Kitab al-Zuhd. And it has been narrated from ibn Umar through three chains of transmission in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir by al-Tabarani, Karamat al-Awliya’ by al-Khallal, and al-Hilyat by Abu Nu‘aym. and it has been narrated from ibn Mas‘ud through two chains of transmission in al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir and al-Hilyat. And al-Tabarani has narrated it with a good chain of narrators from Awf ibn Malik. And al-Daylami has narrated it from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal. And al-Bayhaqi has narrated it from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri in Shu‘ab al-Iman. And it has been narrated from Abu Hurairah through a chain of transmission other than that of ibn al-Jawzi, which al-Khallal has stated in Karamat al-Awliya’. And Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Hakim, al-Bayhaqi, and others have narrated it from Umm Salamah … And this inevitably reaches the level of tawatur in meaning, such that it necessarily leads to certainty about the existence of the Abdal.”

In any case, there should be no doubt that the Earth is never empty of Allah’s friends and righteous servants, whether these narratives are proven or not; because Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَمِمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا أُمَّةٌ يَهْدُونَ بِالْحَقِّ وَبِهِ يَعْدِلُونَ﴾[4]; “And among those We have created there are some who guide with the truth and establish justice with it.” Those who are certainly among them are Allah’s caliphs on Earth; because they are substitutes for the Prophets, and whenever one of them dies, Allah substitutes him with another so that the Earth is never empty of them. Among the things that indicate this is the statement of Allah Almighty, where He has said: ﴿إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً﴾[5]; “Indeed, I am the Appointer of a caliph on the earth”; as it has been stated in a narration from Khalid ibn al-Haytham al-Farisi that he said: «قُلْتُ لِأَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: إِنَّ النَّاسَ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَبْدَالًا، فَمَنْ هَؤُلَاءِ الْأَبْدَالُ؟ قَالَ: صَدَقُوا، الْأَبْدَالُ هُمُ الْأَوْصِيَاءُ، جَعَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ بَدَلَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ إِذَا رُفِعَ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ وَخُتِمُوا بِمُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ»[6]; “I said to Abu al-Hasan al-Rida : ‘People claim that there are substitutes on Earth. Who are these substitutes?’ He said: ‘They are right. The substitutes are the trustees. Allah has placed them on Earth in place of the Prophets after the Prophets were raised and sealed with Muhammad .’”