Abdul Qadir Gilani

Abdul Qadir Gilani
عبد قادر گيلانی
Portrait of Abdul Qadir Gilani. Created in Mughal India in c. 1680
Personal life
Born1077 or 1078 (1 Ramadan 470 AH)
Gilan, Seljuk Empire
Died1166 CE (11 Rabi' al-Thani 561 AH)
Baghdad, Abbasid Caliphate
Resting placeAbdul Qadir Gilani Mosque, Baghdad
ChildrenAbdul Razzaq Gilani
Main interest(s)Fiqh, Sufism
Notable work(s)Al-Ghunya
Religious life
ReligionSunni Islam
DenominationSunni
JurisprudenceHanbali
Senior posting
Disciple ofAbu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi
Disciples

Abdul Qadir Gilani[a] (c. 1077 or 1078 – c. 1166) was a Hanbali scholar, preacher, and Sufi mystic leader who was the eponym of the Qadiriyya, one of the oldest Sufi orders.[2]

He was born in c. 1077 or 1078 in the town of Na'if, Rezvanshahr in Gilan, Persia, and died in 1166 in Baghdad.[3][4] His epithet, Gilani refers to his place of birth, Gilan, while the epithet, Baghdadi, referring to his residence and burial in Baghdad.[5][6]

Titles

He had the honorific title of Muḥi al-Dīn, denoting his status according to many Sufis as a reviver of Islam.[7]

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).[8][9][b]

Family background

Gilani was born in 1077 or 1078, though details of his early life and family background are uncertain,[2] sources indicate that his father (or grandfather) was known by the nickname Jangi Dust,[2][14] suggesting a Persian lineage.[14]

His nisba, al-Jilani, denotes origin from Gilan, a region on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea in present-day Iran.[2] During his stay in Baghdad, Gilani was called ajami (non-Arab), which according to Bruce Lawrence may be because he spoke Persian alongside Arabic.[14] 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.[2] Modern historians (including Lawrence) consider Gilan to be his birth place.[14][15][16] The region was then politically semi-independent and divided between local chieftains from different clans.[17]

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.[2] 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.[14]

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.[18][19] He also studied hadith with Abu Muhammad Ja'far al-Sarraj.[19] His Sufi spiritual instructor was Abu'l-Khair Hammad al-Dabbas.[20] After completing his education, Gilani left Baghdad and reportedly spent twenty-five years in ascetic retreat and wandering in the deserts of Iraq.[21]

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."[22]

Influence

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani Mosque in Baghdad in 1925

In 1127, Gilani returned to Baghdad and began to preach to the public.[4] He joined the teaching staff of the school established by his teacher, al-Makhzoomi, and became popular among students. In the mornings he taught Hadith and Tafsir, while in the afternoons he delivered lectures on spiritual discipline (ilm al-Qulub) and the virtues of the Quran. He was reported to be an effective preacher who attracted followers from diverse backgrounds, including Jews and Christians, and integrated Sufi mysticism with Islamic law.[4]

According to hagiographical sources, Gilani is reported to have converted many people to Islam through his emphasis on inner purification, ethical conduct and devotion.[23] 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.[24]

His teachings reportedly influenced political and military leaders, such as Nur ad-Din Zangi and Salahuddin Ayyubi, who respected his guidance.[25]

Death and burial

Tomb of Abdul Qadir Gilani in Baghdad

Al-Gilani died in 1166 and was buried in Baghdad. His urs (death anniversary) is traditionally observed annually on 11 Rabi' al-Thani.[14]

The Shrine of Abdul Qadir Gilani

During the reign of the Safavid Shah Ismail I, in 1508, Gilani's shrine was destroyed.[26][27] However, in 1535, Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned the construction of a new shrine over his grave, which remains in existence today.[28]

See also: Mausoleum of Abdul-Qadir Gilani

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)[29]
  • Al-Fuyudat al-Rabbaniya (Emanations of Lordly Grace)
  • Fifteen Letters: Khamsata 'Ashara Maktuban
  • Kibriyat e Ahmar
  • A Concise Description of Jannah & Jahannam[30]
  • The Sublime Revelation (al-Fatḥ ar-Rabbānī)

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ (Persian: عبدالقادر گیلانی, romanized: 'Abdul Qādir Gīlānī); (Arabic: عبد القادر الجيلاني, romanized: ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī). Full Name: Muhyid Din Abu Muhammad Abdul Qadir ibn Abi Salih Jangidost al Jilani al Hasani Arabic: محيي الدين أبو محمد عبد القادر بن أبي صالح جنگي دوست الجيلاني الحسني, romanized: Muḥyī al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ Jangī Dōst al-Jīlānī al-Ḥasanī[1]
  2. ^ According to the Sufi Hagiographies, he made statements, in which he reportedly said: "My foot is on the necks of every saint", in reference to his station of Ghawth al-Azam.[10][11][12][13]

References

  1. ^ Lawrence, Bruce B. (1983). "ʿAbd-al-Qāder Jilani". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. I. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation. pp. 132–133. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Chabbi 2009.
  3. ^ 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."
  4. ^ a b c 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  5. ^ 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."
  6. ^ 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."
  7. ^ 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)
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Indo-iranica pg 7. The Iran Society, Calcutta, India. (1985).
  10. ^ Schimmel 2022.
  11. ^ Qādrī 2007.
  12. ^ Fatoohi 2004.
  13. ^ Fatoohi, Dr Louay. Hanf in Hand on the way to Allah with Tariqa Aliyyah Qadiriyyah Casnazaniyyah. Adam Publishers. p. 24.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Lawrence 1982, pp. 132–133.
  15. ^ Anwar 2009.
  16. ^ Jonathan & Karamustafa 2014.
  17. ^ Madelung 2001, pp. 634–635.
  18. ^ Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009). "Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani". Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 9781438126968.
  19. ^ a b Gibb, H.A.R.; Kramers, J.H.; Levi-Provencal, E.; Schacht, J. (1986). Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. I (A-B) (New ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 69. ISBN 978-9004081147.
  20. ^ Malise Ruthven, Islam in the World, p 243. ISBN 0195305035
  21. ^ Esposito J. L. The Oxford dictionary of Islam. p160. ISBN 0199757267
  22. ^ 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (20 January 2019). Jamal al-Din Faleh al-Kilani [in Arabic] (ed.). Futuh al-Ghayb ("Revelations of the Unseen") (in Arabic).
  23. ^ Renard, John (2004). Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism: Foundations of Islamic Mystical Theology. Paulist Press (published July 1, 2004). pp. 202–205. ISBN 978-0809140305.
  24. ^ Algar, Hamid (1999). Sufism: Principles & Practice. Islamic Pubns Intl (published January 1, 1999). pp. 103–106. ISBN 978-1889999029.
  25. ^ W. Ernst, Carl (1997). The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Shambhala (published September 23, 1997). pp. 124–126. ISBN 978-1570621802.
  26. ^ A.A. Duri, Baghdad, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, 903.
  27. ^ Masters 2009.
  28. ^ W. Braune, Abd al-Kadir al-Djilani, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, 70.
  29. ^ Al-Qahtani, Sheik Saeed bin Misfer (1997). Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani and his Belief and Sufi views (in Arabic). Library of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah. p. 133.
  30. ^ "A concise description of Jannah & Jahannam, the garden of paradise and the fire of hell: excerpted from 'Sufficient provision for seekers of the Path of Truth (Al-Ghunya li-Tālibi al-Ḥaqq)". WorldCat.org. Retrieved 2022-11-03.

Sources

allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jilani