Abdul Qadir Gilani

Abdul Qadir Gilani was a Hanbali scholar, preacher, and Sufi mystic leader who was the eponym of the Qadiriyya, one of the oldest Sufi orders.

He was born in in the town of Na'if, Rezvanshahr in Gilan, Persia, and died in 1166 in Baghdad. His epithet, Gilani refers to his place of birth, Gilan, while the epithet, Baghdadi, referring to his residence and burial in Baghdad.

Titles He had the honorific title of Muḥi al-Dīn, denoting his status according to many Sufis as a reviver of Islam.

According to Sufi Hagiography, Abdul Qadir held the highest position in the hierarchy of Awliya (Sufi saints) having achieved the spiritual rank (Maqam) of the succour (Ghawth).

Family background Gilani was born in 1077 or 1078, though details of his early life and family background are uncertain, sources indicate that his father (or grandfather) was known by the nickname Jangi Dust, suggesting a Persian lineage.

His nisba, al-Jilani, denotes origin from Gilan, a region on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea in present-day Iran. During his stay in Baghdad, Gilani was called ajami (non-Arab), which according to Bruce Lawrence may be because he spoke Persian alongside Arabic. According to the al-Nujūm al-ẓāhira by the 15th-century historian Ibn Taghribirdi (d. 1470), Gilani was born in Jil in Iraq, but this account is questioned by French historian Jacqueline Chabbi. Modern historians (including Lawrence) consider Gilan to be his birth place. The region was then politically semi-independent and divided between local chieftains from different clans.

Gilani is claimed to be a descendant of Muhammad through his grandson Hasan ibn Ali, this claim is generally accepted within the Muslim community, including followers of the Qadiriyya order. Some scholars, including Lawrence, consider this claim inconsistent with Gilani's apparent Persian background, and suggest that it may have been emphasized or constructed by the later Hagiographers.

Education Gilani spent his early life in Gilan, the province of his birth. In 1095, he moved to Baghdad where he studied Hanbali jurisprudence under Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi and Ibn Aqil. He also studied hadith with Abu Muhammad Ja'far al-Sarraj. After completing his education, Gilani left Baghdad and reportedly spent twenty-five years in ascetic retreat and wandering in the deserts of Iraq.

School of law Gilani adhered to the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence. He is reported to have treated Shafi'i school of jurisprudence on an equal footing with the Hanbali school, issuing fatwas according to both schools of jurisprudence. Al-Nawawi, in his book Bustan al-'Arifin (Garden of the Spiritual Masters), praised him for this approach, noting that "we have never known anyone more dignified than Baghdad's Sheikh Muhyi al-Din 'Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani, the Sheikh of Shafi'is and Hanbalis in Baghdad."

Theology In his Kitab al-Ghunya, Gilani ascribes to an explicit incorporealist conception of God, describing God as transcending time and space; notably that He cannot be described as a body (jism), particle (jawhar) or an accident (arad); that he transcends limits (hudud) and all modalities (al-kayf).

Influence In 1127, Gilani returned to Baghdad and began to preach to the public. He established the Madrasa al-Qadiriyya in Baghdad, which became a center for Islamic learning and spirituality, offering instruction in the Quran, Hadith, Fiqh (jurisprudence), and Tasawwuf (Sufism), attracting students from various regions.

His teachings reportedly influenced political and military leaders, such as Nur ad-Din Zangi and Salahuddin Ayyubi, who respected his guidance.

Death and burial

Al-Gilani died in 1166 and was buried in Baghdad. His urs (death anniversary) is traditionally observed annually on 11 Rabi' al-Thani.

During the reign of the Safavid Shah Ismail I, in 1508, Gilani's shrine was destroyed. However, in 1535, Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned the construction of a new shrine over his grave, which remains in existence today.

Books The Vision of Muhyi al-Din ibn al-Gilani. Miniature from the Ottoman (1595) manuscript of "Nafahat al-uns" (Breaths of Fellowship) of Jami. Chester Beatty Library

Kitab Sirr al-Asrar wa Mazhar al-Anwar (The Book of the Secret of Secrets and the Manifestation of Light) Futuh al ghaib (Secrets of the Unseen) Jila' al-Khatir (The Purification of heart) Al-Ghunya (Treasure for Seekers) Al-Fuyudat al-Rabbaniya (Emanations of Lordly Grace) Fifteen Letters: Khamsata 'Ashara Maktuban Kibriyat e Ahmar A Concise Description of Jannah & Jahannam The Sublime Revelation (al-Fatḥ ar-Rabbānī)