Send Salawaat upon ‘ الْأَبْدَالِ ’ ‘Abdal’ (the pious Imams -asws ) ...
Send Salawaat upon ‘ الْأَبْدَالِ ’ ‘Abdal’ (the pious Imams -asws ) , the ‘Awtad’ (the spiritual pillars), the ‘Siyyah’ (the ascetics), the ‘Ubbad’ (the devout worshippers), the ‘Mukhlisin’ (the sincere ones), the ‘Zuhhad’ (the ascetics), and the people of diligence and striving, and specifically Send Salawaat on Muhammad -saww with Your -azwj most excellent Salawaat and Your -azwj most abundant bounties.
Convey to his -saww soul and body my greetings and salutation, and Increase him -saww in virtue, and honour, and dignity until You -azwj Raise him ‑saww to the highest ranks of the distinguished among the Prophets -as and Messengers -as , and the most favoured ones drawn close to You -azwj !
[17] Those who replace Ahl Al-Bayt -asws with others (man-made imams): In a lengthy Hadith, one supplicates to Allah -azwj : اللَّهُمَّ مُدَّ لِآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ أَشْيَاعِهِمْ فِي الْآجَالِ وَ خُصَّهُمْ بِصَالِحِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَ لَا تَجْعَلْنَا مِمَّنْ يُسْتَبْدَلُ بِهِمُ الْأَبْدَالُ يَا ذَا الْجُودِ وَ الْفَعَالِ O Allah -azwj !
Extend for Progeny -asws of Muhammad -saww and their -asws Shias in the life-terms, and Specialise them with the righteous deeds and do not Make us from the ones who ‘ الْأَبْدَالُ ’ replace them -asws with others (man-made imams), O Possessor of the Generosity and the excellent Actions! (an extract) [18] Al-Qutb The term qutb[a] (Arabic: قطب) means ‘axis’, ‘pivot’, or ‘pole’; word ‘Al-Qutb’ is also found in Ahadith.
However, from the Sufi school of thought, it refers to a perfect human being, Al-Insān al-Kāmil or Mard e Kamil (‘The perfect human), who is infallible (Masoom) and has a divine connection with Allah -azwj . The Sufi s believe that are five qutbs per era, and they are infallible and trusted spiritual leaders. Also, as per Sufi beliefs, they are only revealed to a select group of mystics because there is a ‘human need for direct knowledge of God’, which they provide to their followers.