Who are the Abdal? Are they as some say the special ones among the Shia of the Levant?
[AR_ID:1522]
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1 Answer
Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.
Summary Answer:
The narrations that discuss the Abdal and their presence in the Levant have been reported by the Sunnis, not by the Shia. It appears that the hadith about the Abdal in the Levant was fabricated, seemingly by the Umayyads, to support their rule and authority. Therefore, it is not correct to apply the hadith of the Abdal in the Levant to the Shia of Ahl al-Bayt who live in this region.
Detailed Answer:
The scholar Sayyid Ja'far Murtada, may his soul be sanctified, mentioned in his book Mukhtasar Mufid:
The narrations that discuss the Abdal and their presence in the Levant have been reported by the general [i.e., the Sunnis], not the special ones.
However, it has been narrated by Khalid ibn Abi al-Haytham al-Farsi, who said: I asked Abu al-Hasan al-Ridha (peace be upon him): People claim that there are Abdal on earth, who are these Abdal?
He said: They are correct, the Abdal are the successors, whom God Almighty has placed on earth as replacements for the prophets when the prophets are raised, and He sealed them with Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) [Al-Ihtijaj, vol. 2, pp. 449-450; Al-Bihar, vol. 27, p. 48].
This hadith dismisses the hadith reported by the general and raises more than one question about the reason for its fabrication.
In a supplication narrated from Umm Dawood, from Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him), in the middle of Rajab, he said:
"O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and have mercy on Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings, had mercy, and blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim. Indeed, You are Praiseworthy and Majestic. O Allah, send blessings upon the successors, the happy ones, the martyrs, the Imams of guidance. O Allah, send blessings upon the Abdal, the pillars, the travelers, the worshippers, the sincere ones, and the ascetics, and the people of diligence and effort" [Al-Bihar, vol. 27, p. 48; Iqbal al-A'mal, vol. 3, p. 244; Al-Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 95, p. 401; Musnad al-Imam al-Ridha, vol. 2, p. 11].
However, although what is mentioned in this supplication is merely descriptive, it does not indicate the existence of specific individuals with this name. Yet, it does not contradict the content of the aforementioned narration, as those who possess these attributes in reality are specifically the Imams of guidance. Applying this term to others is merely a form of exaggeration and leniency in expression.
Moreover, it has been narrated that the Imams were uncomfortable with such a hadith being attributed to them. Al-Mufid narrated, with his chain of transmission from Muhammad ibn Suwayd al-Ash'ari, who said:
"I entered with Fitr ibn Khalifah upon Ja'far ibn Muhammad, and he offered us dates, and we ate, and he kept handing Fitr some of them...
Then he said to him: What about the hadith you told me from Abu al-Tufail regarding the Abdal?"
Fitr said: I heard Abu al-Tufail say: I heard Ali, the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him), say: The Abdal are from the people of the Levant, and the Nobles are from the people of Kufa; God gathers them for the worst day against our enemy.
Ja'far al-Sadiq said: May God have mercy on you, the affliction begins with us, then with you. And the ease begins with us, then with you. May God have mercy on whoever makes us beloved to the people and does not make us hated by them.
As you can see, this hadith was narrated to the Imam by Fitr ibn Khalifah, who is among the general [i.e., the Sunnis]. It is noteworthy that the Imam was offering dates to Fitr, perhaps to be kind to him, to extract from him an acknowledgment of Abu al-Tufail's hadith about Imam Ali (peace be upon him), as if it were a prelude to announcing his discontent with such narrations. After Fitr repeated the hadith in his hearing, the Imam (peace be upon him) gently and wisely expressed his discontent with its content, perhaps because he considered it one of the means of incitement against Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and their followers. This is because it would provoke their opponents against them if they knew that the Shia would gather on a day when calamity would befall those opponents.
The Imam (peace be upon him) mentioned that if affliction befalls Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), it will also befall others.
Or perhaps he (peace be upon him) saw in this hadith a support for the rule of the Umayyads and a strengthening of them. This would increase the affliction of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) and their followers.
In any case, we say:
The hadith of the Abdal in the Levant was fabricated, seemingly by the Umayyads, and promoted to support their rule and authority. There seems to be no trace of this hadith in the books of the Shia of Ahl al-Bayt.
The aforementioned hadith from Al-Ihtijaj indicates that the term Abdal refers to another meaning that cannot be applied to the people of the Levant or anyone else; thus, it is a term that has changed its course and has been applied to those who do not deserve it.
Therefore, it is clear that it is not correct to apply the hadith of the Abdal in the Levant to the Shia of Ahl al-Bayt who live in this region, as the saying goes: "The throne comes before the inscription."
Source:
Mukhtasar Mufid.. (Questions and Answers in Religion and Belief), Sayyid Ja'far Murtada al-Amili, "The Sixth Collection", Islamic Center for Studies, First Edition, 1424 - 2003, Question (305).