Note 258 — Chapter III · (continued 3)

It is said that "the Nuḳabà are three hundred; the Nujabà, seventy; the Abdál, forty; the Akhyár, seven; the 'Omud, four; the Ghós [as before mentioned,] is one. The Nuḳabà reside in El-Gharb [Northern Africa to the west of Egypt]; the Nujabà, in Egypt; the Abdál, in Syria; the Akhyár travel about the earth; the 'Omud, in the corners of the earth; the abode of the Ghós is at Mekkeh. In an affair of need, the Nuḳabà implore relief for the people; then, the Nujabà; then, the Abdál; then, the Akhyár; then, the 'Omud; and if their prayer be not answered, the Ghós implores, and his prayer is answered." (El-Is-ḥáḳee's History, preface.)—This statement, I find, rests on the authority of a famous saint of Baghdád, Aboo-Bekr El-Kettánee, who died at Mekkeh, in the year of the Flight 322. (Mir-át ez-Zemán, events of the year above mentioned.)