The Categories of Saints

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

On the authority of Sayyidina Abu ‘Abd ar-Rahman ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (r.a.), Rasulullah (s.a.w.) said, “Allah (s.w.t.) has Created three hundred people, whose hearts are like that of Adam, and He Created forty people whose hearts are like Moses.  He also Created seven people whose hearts are like that of Abraham, and he Created five people with a heart like that of Gabriel, and three people with a heart like that of Mika’il and only one person with a heart like that of Rafa’il.  When such a person dies, Allah (s.w.t.) will Replace him with one of the three.  When one of such three dies, Allah (s.w.t.) will Replace him with one of the five.  When one of the seven dies, Allah (s.w.t.) will Replace him with one of the forty, and when one of the forty dies, He will Replace him with one of the three hundred and when one of the three hundred elite dies, Allah (s.w.t.) will Replace him with someone He Chooses from among the pious masses.  Such a person will live among the people, and through his prayers, by Allah’s (s.w.t.) Permission, life and death, rain and prosperity will come and calamity will be averted.”  Imam Abu Nu’aym Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullah al-Aswbahani (r.a.) recorded this hadits in his Hilyat al-Awliya’. 

Imam al-Aswbahani (r.a.) also recorded this hadits in Hilyat al-Awliya’: On the authority of Sayyidina ibn Mas’ud (r.a.), Rasulullah (s.a.w.) said, “Forty men from amongst my ummah are such whose hearts are like that of Abraham’s heart.  By virtue of them, Allah (s.w.t.) Protects His Creation from calamities; it is they who are known as ‘Abdal’.”  The rest of the hadits is the same as mentioned above to the end. 

Imam Abu al-Qasim Sulayman ibn Ayyub ath-Thabarani (r.a.) recorded the following hadits in his Mu’jam al-Aswath which is similar to Imam al-Aswbahani’s (r.a.) ahadits above.  On the authority of Sayyidina Anas ibn Malik (r.a.), Rasulullah (s.a.w.) said, “The Earth shall never be without forty men, whose hearts shall be upon Abraham.  By virtue of them, the Earth is in existence and by virtue of them, He Provides rain to you.  From among them, none dies but Allah (s.w.t.) Replaces him with another.”