Abdals
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The Abdals (lit.: servants of Allah) in Islamic folklore are a group of 40 mysterious beings, only known to and appointed by Allah. It is through their operations that the world continues to exist.
The Abdals were also a set of Muslim radicals in Persia.
"Abdal" is the plural of "Badal" or rather "Badeel", and means those who get replaced OR those who serve as a partial replacement to the role of the Prophets. "Abdal" are the group of true pure believers in God. They serve God during their life-time. When they die, they are replaced by another selected by God from a larger group said to be the 500 "Akhyar", i.e., the semi-divine good ones. "Abdal" are headed by their leader, "Al-Ghawth", i.e., the "Helper", who is said to reside in Mecca. The missions of Abdal are, inter-alia, to be God's merciful subjects everywhere they reside, and to render the helping blessing hand to all of God's creatures. It is said that a "Badal" exists is each continent. Although their majority live in "Al-Sham", i.e., Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, only one lives in Iraq. They have divine powers and super-natural abilities. A person does not recognize that he is one of the "Abdal" until he becomes aware of his status suddenly though a revelation. It is said that a "Badal" can be identified through, inter-alia, his continuous good deeds and forgiving nature. He may be rich or poor, married or bachelor or a kid or an adult. Such concepts are established in the Sunni branch of Islam, and in particular in the latter’s original Sufi schools of spiritual disciplines.
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