Your Third Question
Which were superior, the great imams and interpreters of the Holy Law, or the shahs and spiritual poles of the true Sufi paths?
The Answer: Not all the interpreters of the Law were superior to the shahs and spiritual poles, only Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi‘i, and Ahmad b. Hanbal. But in some respects, some wondrous spiritual poles like Shaikh Gilani reached more brilliant stations in particular virtues. However, general virtue was the Imams’. Furthermore, some of the shahs of the Sufi paths were also interpreters of the Law; it cannot therefore be said that all interpreters of the Law were superior to the spiritual poles. But it may be said that after the Companions and the Mahdi, the four Imams were superior.