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Quṭb

The pole: the supreme saint of an age, around whom the spiritual order of the world turns.

Also: Qutb, pole

Sufism and Islamic thought

In Sufi cosmology, the quṭb or ghawth is the highest of the hidden hierarchy of saints, the axis of the world in each generation. Several founders of orders were regarded as poles. The idea parallels other traditions’ belief in hidden righteous ones.