Abdul Qadir Gilani

ʿAbdul Qādir Gīlānī, (Persian: عبدالقادر گیلانی‎, Arabic: عبدالقادر الجيلاني‎, Turkish: Abdülkâdir Geylânî, known by admirers as Muḥyī l-Dīn Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Sāliḥ ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gīlānī al-Ḥasanī wa'l-Ḥusaynī, was a Hanbali Sunni Muslim preacher, ascetic, mystic, jurist, and theologian, known for being the eponymous founder of the Qadiriyya tariqa (Sufi order) of Sufism.[8]

Abdul Qadir Gilani
Title	Shaykh al-Islam
Personal
Born	March 23, 1078 CE (1 Ramadan, 470 AH) Gilan, Seljuk Empire
Died	February 21, 1166 CE (11 Rabi' al-Thani, 561 AH) (aged 87). Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Resting place	Baghdad, Iraq
Religion	Islam
Children	Abdul Razzaq Gilani
Era	Islamic Golden Age
Region	Baghdad
Denomination	Sunni
Jurisprudence	Hanbali[1][2]
Main interest(s)	Fiqh, Sufism
Tariqa	Qadiriyya (founder)
Muslim leader
Influenced by Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi
Influenced Abdul Razzaq Gilani, Mu'in al-Din Chishti,[3] Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi,[3] Sayyid Mir Jan,[4] Al-Nawawi,[5][6] Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi,[3] Madar Ahmed Shirwac[7]

He was born on 29 Sha'ban 470 AH (March 23, 1078) in the town of Na'if in Gilan, Iran, and died on Monday, February 21, 1166 (11 Rabi' al-Thani 561 AH), in Baghdad.[9][nb 1][10] He was a Persian Hanbali Sunni jurist and Sufi based in Baghdad.[9][1][2] The Qadiriyya tariqa is named after him.[11]

Name

The honorific Muhiyudin denotes his status with many Sufis as a "reviver of religion".[12] Gilani (Arabic al-Jilani) refers to his place of birth, Gilan.[13][14] However, Gilani also carried the epithet Baghdadi, referring to his residence and burial in Baghdad.[15][16][17]

Family background

Gilani's father, Abu Saleh, was from a Sayyid lineage, tracing his descent from Hasan ibn Ali, a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[18][19][8] Abu Saleh was respected as a saint by the people of his day, and was known as Jangi Dost (meaning "fight-lover" in Persian), which was originally his father's sobriquet.[8][20][21][22] Gilani's mother, Ummul Khair Fatima, was also a Sayyid, having been a descendant of Muhammad al-Jawad, himself descended from Husayn ibn Ali, the younger brother of Hasan.[23]

Education

Gilani spent his early life in Gilan, the province of his birth. In 1095, at the age of eighteen, he went to Baghdad. There, he pursued the study of Hanbali law under Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi and ibn Aqil.[24][25] He studied Hadith with Abu Muhammad Ja'far al-Sarraj.[25] His Sufi spiritual instructor was Abu'l-Khair Hammad ibn Muslim al-Dabbas.[26] (A detailed description of his various teachers and subjects are included below). After completing his education, Gilani left Baghdad. He spent twenty-five years wandering in the deserts of Iraq.[27]

School of law

Al-Jilani belonged to the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools of law.[28] He placed Shafi'i jurisprudence (fiqh) on an equal footing with the Hanbali school (madhhab), and used to give fatwa according to both of them simultaneously.[29] This is why al-Nawawi praised him in his book entitled Bustan al-'Arifin (Garden of the Spiritual Masters), saying: "We have never known anyone more dignified than Baghdad's Sheikh Muhyi al-Din 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, may Allah be pleased with him, the Sheikh of Shafi'is and Hanbalis in Baghdad."[6][5][30]

Later life

In 1127, Gilani returned to Baghdad and began to preach to the public.[31] He joined the teaching staff of the school belonging to his own teacher, al-Mazkhzoomi, and was popular with students. In the morning he taught hadith and tafsir, and in the afternoon he held discourse on the science of the heart and the virtues of the Quran. He was said to have been a convincing preacher and converted numerous Jews and Christians. He was able to reconcile the mystical nature of Sufism with the sober demands of Islamic Law.[31]

Death and burial

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani Mosque in Baghdad 1925

Gilani died on 21 February 1166 (11 Rabi' al-Thani 561 AH) at the age of 87.[10] His body was entombed in a shrine within his madrasa in Babul-Sheikh, Rusafa on the east bank of the Tigris in Baghdad, Iraq.[32][33][34]

During the reign of the Safavid Shah Ismail I, Gilani's shrine was destroyed.[35] However, in 1535, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had a dome built over the shrine, which still exists.[36]

Birthday and death anniversary celebration

1 Ramadan is celebrated as Gilani's birthday while his death anniversary is on 11 Rabi' al-Thani, although some scholars give 29 Sha'ban and 17 Rabi' al-Thani as his birth and death days. In the Indian subcontinent, his ‘urs, or death anniversary, is called Giyarwee Shareef, or Honoured Day.[37]

Tomb of Sheikh Abdul Qadir, Baghdad, Iraq.

Books

• Kitab Sirr al-Asrar wa Mazhar al-Anwar[38] (The Book of the Secret of Secrets and the Manifestation of Light)
• Futuh al ghaib (Secrets of the unseen)
• Ghunyat tut talibeen (Treasure for seekers) غنیہ الطالیبین

See also

• Jilala
• Moinuddin Chishti

Bibliography

• Sayings of Shaikh Abd al-Qadir al-Jīlānī Malfūzāt, Holland, Muhtar (translator). S. Abdul Majeed & Co, Kuala Lumpur (1994) ISBN 1-882216-03-2.
• Fifteen letters, khamsata ashara maktūban / Shaikh Abd Al-Qādir Al-Jīlānī. Translated from Persian to Arabic by Alī usāmu ́D-Dīn Al-Muttaqī. Translated from Arabic into English by Muhtar Holland.
• Kamsata ašara maktūban. First edition. ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn, ʿAlī B., ʿAbd al-Malik al- Muttaqī al-Hindī (about 1480–1567) and Muhtar Holland (1935–). Al-Baz publications, Hollywood, Florida. (1997) ISBN 1-882216-16-4.
• Jalā Al-Khawātir: a collection of forty-five discourses of Shaikh Abd Al-Qādir Al-Jīlānī, the removal of cares. Chapter 23, pg 308. Jalā al-Khawātir, Holland, Muhtar (1935–) (translator). Al-Baz publications, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (1997) ISBN 1-882216-13-X.
• The sultan of the saints: mystical life and teachings of Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani / Muhammad Riaz Qadiri Qadiri, Muhammad Riyaz. Gujranwala, Abbasi publications. (2000) ISBN 969-8510-16-8.
• The sublime revelation: al-Fath ar-Rabbānī, a collection of sixty-two discourses / Abd al-Qādir al- Jīlānī, Second edition. al-Rabbānī, al-Fath. Al-Baz publications, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (1998). ISBN 1-882216-02-4.
• Al-Ghunya li-talibi tariq al-haqq wa al-din, (Sufficient provision for seekers of the path of truth and religion), Parts one and two in Arabic. Al-Qadir, Abd, Al-Gaylani. Dar Al-Hurya, Baghdad, Iraq, (1988).
• Al-Ghunya li-talibi tariq al-haqq wa al-din, (Sufficient provision for seekers of the path of truth and religion.) in Arabic. Introduced by Al-Kilani, Majid Irsan. Dar Al-Khair, Damascus, Bairut, (2005).
• Encyclopædia Iranica, Bibliotheca Persica PresS, ISBN 1-56859-050-4.
• Geography of the Baz Ahhab second reading in the biography of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, and the birthplace of his birth according to the methodology of scientific research (MA in Islamic History from Baghdad University in 2001) of Iraqi researcher Jamal al-Din Faleh Kilani, review and submission of the historian Emad Abdulsalam Rauf،Publishe Dar Baz Publishing, United States of America, 2016, translated by Sayed Wahid Al-Qadri Aref.

Notes

1. 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani at the Encyclopædia Britannica

References

1. John Renard, The A to Z of Sufism. p 142. ISBN 081086343X
2. Juan Eduardo Campo, Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 288. ISBN 1438126964
3. 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (20 January 2019). Jamal al-Din Faleh al-Kilani (ed.). "Futuh al-Ghayb ("Revelations of the Unseen")". Google Books (in Arabic). وقد تأثر به القائد صلاح الدين الأيوبي، والشيخ معين الدين الجشتي، والشيخ شهاب الدين عمر السهروردي رحمهم الله
4. Tazkare Khanwade Hazrat Ishaan, by Muhammad Yasin Qaswari, by Kooperatis Lahorin, Edare Talimat Naqshbandiyya, p. 281
5. "How the Mashaayikh Praise Shaykh 'Abdul Qadir Jilani". iqra.net. Iqra Islamic Publications. Archived from the original on 20 Oct 2020.
6. "Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al Jilani in Folklore". folkculturebh.org. Folk Culture - Bahrain. Archived from the original on 20 Oct 2020.
7. Burton, Isabel (1898). The Life of Captain Sir Richard Burton Volume 1. Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 121. ISBN 9783752405637.
8. Abdul Qadir Gilani at Encyclopædia Iranica
9. W. Braune, Abd al-Kadir al-Djilani, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, ed. H.A.R Gibb, J.H.Kramers, E. Levi-Provencal, J. Schacht, (Brill, 1986), 69;"authorities are unanimous in stating that he was a Persian from Nayf (Nif) in Djilan, south of the Caspian Sea."
10. The works of Shaykh Umar Eli of Somalia of al-Tariqat al-Qadiriyyah.
11. "Sufism, Sufis, and Sufi Orders: Sufism's Many Paths". islam.uga.edu. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
12. Mihr-e-munīr: biography of Hadrat Syed Pīr Meher Alī Shāh pg 21, Muhammad Fādil Khān, Faid Ahmad. Sajjadah Nashinan of Golra Sharif, Islamabad (1998).
13. Encyclopaedia of religion and ethics: volume 1. (A – Art). Part 1. (A – Algonquins) pg 10. Hastings, James and Selbie, John A. Adamant Media corporation. (2001), "and he was probably of Persian origin."
14. The Sufi orders in Islam, 2nd edition, pg 32. Triingham, J. Spencer and Voll, John O. Oxford University Press US, (1998), "The Hanafi Qadirriya is also included since 'Abd al-Qadir, of Persian origin was contemporary of the other two."
15. Devotional Islam and politics in British India: Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi and his movement, 1870–1920, pg 144, Sanyal, Usha Oxford University Press US, 19 August 1999. ISBN 0-19-564862-5 ISBN 978-0-19-564862-1.
16. Cultural and religious heritage of India: Islam pg 321. Sharma, Suresh K. (2004)
17. Indo-iranica pg 7. The Iran Society, Calcutta, India. (1985).
18. Historical and political who's who of Afghanistan. p 177. Adamec, Ludwig W. (1975)
19. Qādrī, Muḥammad Riyāz̤ (2000-01-01). The Sultan of the Saints: Mystical Life and Teaching of Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani. Abbasi Pablications. p. 19. ISBN 9789698510169.
20. "Sulook organisation website" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
21. Mihr-e-munīr: biography of Hadrat Syed Pīr Meher Alī Shāh pg 27, Khān, Muhammad Fādil and Ahmad, Faid. Sajjadah Nashinan of Golra Sharif, Islamabad. (1997)
22. Encyclopaedia of Sufism, volume 1, Kahn, Masood Ali and Ram, S.
23. Qādrī (2000, p. 21)
24. Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009-01-01). Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 9781438126968.
25. Gibb, H.A.R.; Kramers, J.H.; Levi-Provencal, E.; Schacht, J. (1986) [1st. pub. 1960]. Encyclopaedia of Islam. Volume I (A-B) (New ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 69. ISBN 978-9004081147.
26. Malise Ruthven, Islam in the World, p 243. ISBN 0195305035
27. Esposito J. L. The Oxford dictionary of Islam. p160. ISBN 0199757267
28. "The Tariqa of Shaykh 'Abdul Qadir Jilani". Iqra Islamic Publications.
29. Vidyajyoti Institute of Religious Studies (1989). Islam in India, Volume 4. Vikas Publishing House. p. 219.
30. 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (20 January 2019). Jamal al-Din Faleh al-Kilani (ed.). "Futuh al-Ghayb ("Revelations of the Unseen")". Google Books (in Arabic).
31. 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani at the Encyclopædia Britannica
32. Al-Ghunya li-talibi tariq al-haqq wa al-din (Sufficient provision for seekers of the path of truth and religion), parts one and two in Arabic, Al-Qadir, Abd and Al-Gilani. Dar Al-Hurya, Baghdad, Iraq, (1988).
33. Al-Ghunya li-talibi tariq al-haqq wa al-din (Sufficient provision for seekers of the path of truth and religion) with introduction by Al-Kilani, Majid Irsan. Al-Kilani, Majid, al-Tariqat, 'Ursan, and al-Qadiriyah, Nash'at
34. "The Qadirya Mausoleum" (PDF).
35. A.A. Duri, Baghdad, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, 903.
36. W. Braune, Abd al-Kadir al-Djilani, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, 70.
37. "Ghousia".
38. "Sirr-ul-Asrar". www.nafseislam.com. Retrieved 2016-08-04.

External links

• lisanarabs.جغرافية الباز الأشهب - قراءة ثانية في سيرة الشيخ عبد القادر الكيلاني - جمال الدين الكيلاني GOGHRAFI ALBAZ ALASHB, at archive.org.
• Revelations of the Unseen Translation of Futuh al-Ghaib, at archive.org.
• Sufficient Provision For Seekers Of The Path Of Truth Translation of parts of Al-Ghunya Li Talibi Tariq Al-Haqq, at archive.org.
• Openings from the Lord Translation of excerpts from Al-Fath Al-Rabbani, at archive.org.
• Utterances Translation of Malfuzat, at archive.org.