What is the authenticity of the hadiths narrated about the Abdal, and are they the forty "awtad" (pegs) of the earth?

Scholarly opinions regarding the Ahadith (narrations) about the Abdal (substitutes) have varied between those who authenticate them and those who weaken them. Some, like Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn al-Jawzi, and Al-Albani, have judged them to be fabricated. Others, like Al-Ajlouni, have strengthened them due to the multiplicity of their chains of transmission. Still others, like Ibn Hajar, Al-Suyuti, and Al-Sakhawi, held that some of them are sound while others are not.

Based on the view that some of these narrations are sound, the Abdal are those who follow the Book (Quran) and the Sunnah (definition) (Prophetic tradition) in knowledge, action, and spiritual state. They cannot be specifically identified, and limiting them to a certain number is invalid. It is not permissible for anyone to claim to be one of them, or to believe that they have the power to fulfill needs, cure illnesses, or to direct pleas for help or supplications to them. All of that is major shirk (definition) (associating partners with Allah). Likewise, it is not permissible to follow them in anything that contradicts the Book and the Sunnah, under the pretext that they are among the Abdal, for Allah Almighty has commanded us to follow His Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, and has made that a condition for Allah's love.