Abdul-Qadir Gilani

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Abdul-Qadir Gilani

Top
Saint
Abdul Qadir Gilani
Sheikh, Ghaus-e-Azam

Shrine of Abdul Qadir Gilani (Baghdad, Iraq).
Born Abdul Qadir
c. 18 March 1077(1077-03-18)
Amol, Iran
Died 15 January 1166(1166-01-15) (aged 88)
Baghdad, Iraq
Cause of death contracting some illness.
Resting place Shrine of Abdul Qadir, Baghdad, Iraq.
Other names Sheikh, Ghaus-e-Azam
Religion Islam
Children Shaikh Abdul-Wahab, Sheikh Abdul-Razzaq, Shaikh Abdul-Aziz, Shaikh Isa, Shaikh Musa, Sheikh Yahya, Sheikh Abdullah, Sheikh Muhammed and 41 More. Sheikh Ibrahim.
Parents Father: Abu Salih
Mother: Umm Khair Fatima

Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani[1][2] (Kurdish: Evdilqadirê Geylanî, Persian: عبد القادر گیلانی‎,Urdu: عبد القادر آملی گیلانی Abdolqāder Gilāni) (also spelled Abdulqadir Gaylani, Abdelkader, Abdul Qadir, Abdul Khadir - Jilani, Jeelani, Gailani, Gillani, Gilani, Al Gilani, Keilany) (470–561 AH) (1077–1166 CE) was a Kurdish[3] or Persian[4] Islamic preacher who is highly esteemed by Sunni scholars. Sheikh Abdul Qadir is considered the patron Saint of the Kurds and is held in great veneration by the Muslims of the Indo-Pak sub-continent.[5] Among followers in Pakistan and India, he is also known as Ghaus-e-Azam. He was born on a Wednesday the 1st of ramadan in 470 AH, 1077 CE[6] south of the Caspian Sea in what is now the Mazandaran Province of Iran.

Contents

Lineage and biography

Al-Gilani was born in 1078 CE (471 AH)1st of ramadan and died 11 rabi usani in a small town of Gilan Province.[7][8]

Sayyid Abu Muhammad Abdul Qadir R.A was born in Naif in the District of Gilan in Persia (Iran) in the month of Ramadan.... His father's name was Abu Salih, a God-fearing man and a direct descendant of Hazrat Imam Hasan R.A., the eldest son of Ali R.A, the Holy Prophet's (SAW) first cousin, and husband of Fatima R.A his beloved daughter. His mother was the daughter of a saintly person- Abdullah Sawmai who was a direct descendant of Imam Husain R.A, the younger son of Ali R.A and Fatima R.A. Thus Sayyid Abdul Qadir was both a Hasani and Hussaini.[9]

His complete name al-Sayyid Muhiyudin Abu Muhammad Abdal Qadir al-Jilani al-Hasani wal-Hussaini,[1][2] Sayyid denoting his descent from Muhammad,[10] Muhiyudin the title "Reviver of Religion",[11] al-Jilani his home region,[12][13] although however he also had the epithet al-Baghdadi.[14][15][16] (denoting also the city of Baghdad where he was now residing in and therefore also geographically recognised through, eventually being buried there), and al-Hasani wal-Hussaini affirming his lineal descent from both Hasan ibn Ali and Hussein ibn Ali, the grandsons of Muhammad.[1][17]

His father, Abu Salih Musa al-Hasani[18] was a sayyid.[17][19] He was an acknowledged saint of his day "and was popularly known as Jangi Dost, because of his love for Jihad"[20] Jangidost thereby being his sobriquet[7][21]

His mother Umm al-Khair Fatima,[22] daughter of Sayyid Abdullah Sawmai az-Zaid[17][23] through Zain ul Abideen,[24] was known as a "great saint of his time and a direct descendant of Hazrat Imam Husain, the Great Martyr of Karbala"[25] He was known as the greatest Sufi scholar of all time as proved in Qaseedada-tul-Gausia where he states " I am Hassani and my abode is my cell, And my feet are on the neck of each Saint. Abdul Qdir is my famous name. And my ancestor is one possessed of an insight Perfect"

Education

He spent his early life in the town of his birth. At the age of eighteen he went to Baghdad (1095), where he pursued the study of Hanbali law under several teachers. The Shaikh received lessons on Fiqh from Abu Ali al-Mukharrimi, a Hadith from Abu Bakr ibn Muzaffar and Tafsir from the renowned commentator, Abu Muhammad Ja'far. In Tasawwuf, his spiritual instructor was Abu'l-Khair Hammad ibn Muslim al-Dabbas. From him, he received his basic training, and with his help he set out on a spiritual journey.

After completion of education, Abd al-Qadir Gilani abandoned the city of Baghdad, and spent twenty-five years as a wanderer in the desert regions of Iraq as a recluse.[26] it is also notable that in Iraq or Arab "Sheikh" known as a saint and those saint or religious leader are Syed they known as "Sharif" like Allama Razi Sharif etc. hence it is understandable that how Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani is known as Syed. Please clarify that he became a Hafiz -e- Quraan in 4.5 years age.

Later life

He was over fifty years old by the time he returned to Baghdad in 1127, and began to preach in public. He moved into the school belonging to his old teacher al-Mukharrimii; there he engaged himself in teaching. Soon he became popular with his pupils. In the morning he taught hadith and tafsir, and in the afternoon held discourse on science of the hearts and the virtues of the Qur'an.

He busied himself for forty years in the service of Islam from 521 to 561 AH. During this period hundreds of thousands of people converted to Islam because of him and organized several teams to go abroad for dawah purposes.

He was also the teacher of Ibn Qudamah whom he also designated as a Caliph of his Sufi order. Ibn Qudamah also later fought as a general in Sultan Saladin Ayyubi's army and conquered Jerusalem from the Christian dominance.

Death

He died on Saturday night 1166 (11 Rabi'us sani 561AH)[27] at the age of ninety one years (by the Islamic calendar), and was entombed in a shrine within his Madrassa in Baghdad.[28][29][30] His Shrine and Mosque are in what used to be the school he preached in, located in Babul-Sheikh, Resafa (East bank of the Tigris) in Baghdad, Iraq. Worldwide the Sufi orders celebrate Ghouse-al-azham day on 11th al-thani closest to his birthday not his death-date for respect and elevation of their Shaykh which is 10th of Rabi at-Thani in the Islamic calendar[27]

Al-Gilani succeeded the spiritual chain of Junayd Baghdadi. His contribution to thought in the Muslim world earned him the title Muhiyuddin (lit. "The reviver of the faith"), as he along with his students and associates laid the groundwork for the society which later produced stalwarts like Nur ad-Din and Saladin.

Family

The Shaikh had four virtuous wives and forty-nine children, twenty-seven sons and twenty-two daughters.[citation needed] The most famous of his sons are Shaikh Abdul-Wahab, Sheikh Abdul-Razzaq, Shaikh Abdul-Aziz, Shaikh Isa, Shaikh Musa, Sheikh Yahya, Sheikh Abdullah, Sheikh Muhammed and Sheikh Ibrahim. His sons and grandsons reached the Indian sub-continent throughout the years preaching Islam in his method (Arabic=Tareqa,طريقة). As they have reached North Africa and Morocco, and parts of the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Somalia (a country that predominantly professes to the Qadiriyyah order only in the Sufi Path though small patches of Ahmed ibn Idris' order is found) ). In Somalia the order is subdivided to Zaylaiyyah order and Uwaisiyyah order.His namaz cap or Kulhe Mubarak is currently with The Family of Syed Jalaluddin Hasan now with his daughters Raees Hasan& Anees Khan. It Ziyarat is done every year.

Works

Some of Jilani's more well known works include:

  • Qaseedat-Tul-Gausia (Available in English translation and tranliteranation on the following websight [scroll down] www.spiritualfoundation.net/qadiriya.htm )
  • Al-Ghunya li-talibeen tariq al-haqq wa al-din (Sufficient Provision for Seekers of the Path of Truth and Religion)
  • Al-Fath ar-Rabbani (The Sublime Revelation)available for download (urdu)
  • Malfuzat (Utterances)
  • Futuh al-Ghaib (Revelations of the Unseen) available for download (urdu) (English)
  • Jala' al-Khatir (The Removal of Care)
  • Sir Al-Asrar (Secret of Secrets) Available for Purchase in English

Bibliography

  • Utterances of Shaikh Abd al-Qadir al-Jīlānī (Malfūzāt) / transl. from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland Malfūzāt

Author: Muhtar Holland (1935-) Year: 1994, Publisher: Kuala Lumpur : S. Abdul Majeed & Co, ISBN 1-882216-03-2

  • Fifteen letters, khamsata ashara maktūban / Shaikh Abd Al-Qādir Al-Jīlānī ; translated from the Persian into Arabic by Alī usāmu ́D-Dīn Al-Muttaqī ; and from Arabic into English by Muhtar Holland, Kamsata ašara maktūban

Author: ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn ʿAlī b. ʿAbd al-Malik al- Muttaqī al-Hindī (ca1480-1567); Muhtar Holland (1935-) Year: c1997 Edition: 1st ed Publisher: Hollywood, Fla : Al-Baz Pub ISBN 1-882216-16-4

  • The removal of cares = Jalā Al-Khawātir : a collection of forty-five discoures / Shaikh Abd Al-Qādir Al-Jīlānī ; transl. from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland

Jalā al-Khawātir Author: Muhtar Holland (1935-) Year: c1997 Publisher: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla : Al-Baz Pub Extent: xxiii, 308 p Size: 22 cm ISBN 1-882216-13-X

  • The Sultan of the saints : mystical life and teachings of Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani / Muhammad Riaz Qadiri

Author: Muhammad Riyaz Qadiri Year: 2000, Publisher: Gujranwala : Abbasi Publications, Size: 22 cm, ISBN 969-8510-16-8

  • The sublime revelation = al-Fath ar-Rabbānī : a collection of sixty-two discourses / Abd al-Qādir al- Jīlānī ; transl. from the Arabic by Muhtar Holland, al-Fath al-Rabbānī

Year: 1998 Edition: 2nd ed, Publisher: Ft. Lauderdale : Al-Baz Publishing, 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), (Arabic), Part I, II, Abd Al-Qadir Al-Gaylani, Pub. 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)

(Arabic), Introduced by Dr. Majid Irsan Al-Kilani, Pub. Dar Al-Khair, Damascus-Bairut, 2005.

  • Encyclopædia Iranica

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Biographical encyclopaedia of Sufis: Central Asia and Middle East by N. Hanif, 2002, p123
  2. ^ a b The Sultan of the saints: mystical life and teaching of Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, Muhammad Riyāz Qādrī, 2000, p24
  3. ^ From the 12th century onward, Sufism spread amongst the Kurds. The main Sufi orders amongst them are the Qadiriya who trace their origin to the Kurdish Sufi 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani
  4. ^ Philip Khuri Hitti, "Islam, a way of life ", University of Minnesota Press (August 12, 1970). pg 64: "The earliest and most attractive Sufi order was al-Qadiri, named after its founder, the Persian ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jili (al-Jilani 1077–1166)
  5. ^ A Great Saint: Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani
  6. ^ The works of Shaykh Umar Eli of Somalia of al-Tariqat al-Qadiriyyah 1260H
  7. ^ a b [1]
  8. ^ History of Multan: from the early period to 1849 A.D. Ashiq Muhammad Khān Durrani, 1991, p31
  9. ^ The Election of Caliph/Khalifah and World Peace by Khondakar G. Mowla, 1998, p180
  10. ^ Muslim communities of grace: the Sufi brotherhoods in Islamic religious life by Jamil M. Abun-Nasr, 2007, p94
  11. ^ Mihr-e-munīr: biography of Hadrat Syed Pīr Meher Alī Shāh by Faid Ahmad, Muhammad Fādil Khān, 1998, p21
  12. ^ Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics: Volume 1. A - Art. Part 1. A - Algonquins By James Hastings, John A Selbie Published by Adamant Media Corporation, 2001. pg 10:"and he was probably of Persian origin"
  13. ^ J. Spencer Trimingham, John O. Voll, "The Sufi Orders in Islam", Edition: 2, reprint, illustrated, revised Published by Oxford University Press US, 1998. pg 32: "The Hanbali Qadirriya is also included since 'Abd al-Qadir, of Persian origin was contemporary of the other two
  14. ^ Devotional Islam and politics in British India: Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi by Usha Sanyal, 1996, p144
  15. ^ Cultural and Religious Heritage of India: Islam by Suresh K. Sharma, Usha Sharma, 2004, p321
  16. ^ Indo-iranica‎Iran Society (Calcutta, India) 1985, p7
  17. ^ a b c The Election of Caliph/Khalifah and World Peace by Khondakar G. Mowla, 1998, p176
  18. ^ Historical and political who's who of Afghanistan‎ by Ludwig W. Adamec, 1975, p177
  19. ^ The Sultan of the saints: mystical life and teaching of Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, Muhammad Riyāz Qādrī, 2000, p19
  20. ^ Mihr-e-munīr: biography of Hadrat Syed Pīr Meher Alī Shāh by Faid Ahmad, Muhammad Fādil Khān, 1997, p27
  21. ^ Encyclopaedia of Sufism, Volume 1 By Masood Ali Khan, S. Ram
  22. ^ Hadrat Sultan Bahu: life and work‎ Sayyid Ahmad Saīd Hamdānī, 2001, p66
  23. ^ Mystical discourses of Ghaus-e-Azam Hazrat Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani‎Muhammad Riyāz Qādrī 2002, p66
  24. ^ Biographical encyclopaedia of Sufis: Central Asia and Middle East by N. Hanif, p123
  25. ^ Ghous ul Azam Dastgir: by Abdul Azīz Urfī, 1973, p2
  26. ^ Abd-al-Haqq, Akbar, p.11
  27. ^ a b The works of Shaykh Umar Eli of Somalia of al-Tariqat al-Qadiriyyah
  28. ^ Al-Ghunya li-talibi tariq al-haqq wa al-din (Sufficient Provision for Seekers of the Path of Truth and Religion), (Arabic), PartI,II, Abd Al-Qadir Al-Gilani, Pub. 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) (Arabic), Introduced by Dr. Majid Irsan Al-Kilani, Pub. Dar Al-Khair, Damascus-Bairut, 2005
  29. ^ Majid 'Ursan al-Kilani, Nash'at al-Tariqat al-Qadiriyah
  30. ^ The Qadirya Shrine, Baghdad (PDF)

External links

His works


Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:

Copyrights: