Efrād refers to those saints of the unseen (ghayb) who remain outside the supervision of the quṭb (the spiritual pole)... (Iṣṭilāḥ, 531; Kāshānī, 31; Jāmiʿ, 5, 76). These are the most perfected among the people living on earth. (Jāmiʿ, 5)
After the Companions (ṣaḥāba), the greatest of the walī (friend[s] of God) is the quṭb. After the quṭb—though there is some disagreement—come the efrād, then the imāmān (two imams), then the awtād, and then the abdāl. (Mashāriq, 120)
The efrād are innumerable, and in the language of the sharia (the sacred law), they are called muqarrabūn (those brought near to God). Muḥammad Evānī, may Allah have mercy on him, was also among them. He was known as the son of the governor of Baghdad and the commander of Adana, and a companion of Imām ʿAbd al-Qādir Jīlī (al-Gaylānī). In the tariqa (a Sufi path/order), the opinion of the shaykh (spiritual guide) is sought regarding individuals; ʿAbd al-Qādir, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that Muḥammad Qāʾid Evānī was among the efrād. The efrād are saints of the unseen (ghayb) who remain outside the supervision of the quṭb. Prophet Khiḍr is also among them. (Nabhānī, I, 47)