Shaykh al-Islām was asked:
Is the hadith reported concerning the abdāl (replacements) authentic, or is its chain of transmission broken? Are the abdāl confined to Syria, or are they found wherever the observances of Islam are upheld according to the Quran and Sunnah, whether in Syria or other regions? Is it true that a friend of Allah may be sitting among a group of people and his body disappear? What do the learned scholars say about the titles given to certain people associated with religious devotion and virtue, such as: “This is the Succour of Succours,” “This is the Pole of Poles,” “This is the Pole of the World,” “This is the Great Pole,” and “This is the Seal of the Friends of Allah”?
He answered:
As for the titles commonly used by many devout worshippers and ordinary people, such as the “Succour” in Mecca, the “Four Pegs,” the “Seven Poles,” the “Forty Abdāl,” and the “Three Hundred Noble Ones,” these titles are not found in the Book of Allah Most High. Nor are they transmitted from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, through an authentic chain of transmission, or even a weak one that could support the expressions concerning the abdāl.