The secrets of the unseen (ghayb) are divided into two categories: zāhir (outer) and bāṭin (inner). The outer secrets can be known by those skilled in observation and investigation. The inner secrets, however, cannot be known by any temporal gaze; knowing them depends solely on divine bestowal. This pertains to the station of prophethood (nubuwwa) and sainthood (walāya). The distinction between these two is clear: the prophet (nabī) is to be followed, while the walī (friend of God) follows him and derives illumination from his lamp. (Tadbīrāt, 208)
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The nuqabāʾ (leaders of the Sufis, i.e., the supervising saints of the unseen) have ten acts: four are zāhir (outer), six are bāṭin (inner). Their outer acts are abundant worship, realization of asceticism (zuhd), divestment from will, and striving (mujāhada); their inner acts are tawba (repentance), ināba (turning to God), muḥāsaba (self-examination), tafakkur (contemplation), iʿtiṣām (adherence to God's commands), and riyāḍa (spiritual discipline). (Jāmiʿ, 3)
The nujabāʾ (the elect) are forty in number, though some say seventy. They are occupied with the affairs of the people, yet they do not turn their gaze to any but the Real (al-Ḥaqq). They have eight acts: four zāhir, four bāṭin. Their outer acts are futuwwa (spiritual chivalry), humility (tawāḍuʿ), proper conduct (adab), and abundant worship; their inner acts are sabr (patient endurance), riḍā (contentment with God's decree), shukr (gratitude), and modesty (ḥayāʾ). They are people of noble character and gnosis (ʿirfān).
The abdāl are seven in number; each is free from delusion and fancy, and are people of virtue, perfection (kamāl), uprightness (istikāma), and moderation. They have four zāhir and four bāṭin acts. Their outer acts are silence, sleeplessness, hunger, and seclusion.
Moreover, each of these four acts has an outer and an inner aspect. Silence: its outer aspect is not speaking except in remembrance of Allah (dhikr), its inner aspect is the qalb (the heart) being free from all details and reports. Sleeplessness: its outer aspect is not sleeping, its inner aspect is remaining awake so as not to fall into heedlessness.
Hunger: its outer aspect is the hunger of the abrār (the righteous) for the perfection of the spiritual path (sulūk), its inner aspect is the hunger of the muqarrabūn (those brought near) for intimacy (uns) with God. Seclusion: its outer aspect is refraining from socializing with people, its inner aspect is refraining from intimacy with people.
Their inner acts are: detachment (tajarrud), isolation (tafrīd), gathering (jamʿ), and tawhid (the oneness of God).
One of the characteristics of the abdāl is this: when an abdāl leaves his community, he always leaves behind someone like himself. The badal is upon the qalb (heart) of Abraham (Ibrāhīm). Each of these badals has an imam (leader) whom he follows and from whom he receives spiritual effusion. It is said that the number of abdāls is either forty or seven. They are among the akhyār (the good ones). Each has an imam from among themselves, and that imam is the pole (quṭb) of the group.
The awtād are four in number. Their stations are at the four corners of the world: East, West, North, and South. Each one's maqām (spiritual station) is in one of these directions. They have eight acts: four zāhir, four bāṭin. Their outer acts are frequent fasting, rising for worship at night while people sleep, abundant obedience, and seeking forgiveness at dawn; their inner acts are tawakkul (reliance upon God), tafwīḍ (entrusting affairs to God), trustworthiness, and submission. Each has a chosen pole (quṭb) from among themselves.
The imāmān (the two imams) are two persons, one on the right of the pole (quṭb), one on the left. The one on the right looks to the realm of malakūt (the spiritual dominion), and is higher than his companion. They are mirrors reflecting the aid that is the source of existence and baqāʾ (subsistence in God) from the center of the pole to the spiritual world; there is no doubt about this mirror. The other looks to the realm of mulk (the physical dominion), reflecting the substance of animality (perceptible by the senses) from the other pole; there is no doubt about this mirror either. The imam on the right is the deputy of the pole. These two imams have four zāhir and four bāṭin acts. Their outer acts are asceticism (zuhd), scrupulousness (warāʿ), enjoining good, and forbidding evil; their inner acts are truthfulness (ṣidq), ikhlas (sincerity), modesty (ḥayāʾ), and murāqaba (spiritual vigilance). (Jāmiʿ, 4)
These (the nuqabāʾ of the Sufis) are the leaders of the Sufis and have ten acts: four zāhir, six bāṭin. The four outer acts are: abundance of worship, realization of asceticism, divestment from will, and strength in striving. The six inner acts are: tawba (repentance), ināba (turning to God), muḥāsaba (self-examination), tafakkur (contemplation), iʿtiṣām (adherence to God's commands), and riyāḍa (spiritual discipline). (Jāmiʿ, 28)