Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (, ) was a Hanbali scholar, preacher, and Sufi leader who was the eponym of the Qadiriyya, one of the oldest Sufi orders.
He was born on March 23, 1078 (1 Ramdhan 470 AH) in the town of Na'if, Rezvanshahr in Gilan, Iran, and died on February 21, 1166 (11 Rabi' al-Thani 561 AH), in Baghdad.
Name
The honorific Muhiyudin denotes his status with many Sufis as a "reviver of religion". Gilani (Arabic al-Jilani) refers to his place of birth, Gilan. However, Gilani also carried the epithet Baghdadi, referring to his residence and burial in Baghdad. He was also known as Gauth Al-Azam.
Family background
Gilani was born in 1077 or 1078. Despite his popularity, his background is uncertain. His father (or perhaps grandfather) had the Iranian name of Jangi Dust, which indicates that Gilani was of Persian stock. His nisba means "from Gilan", an Iranian region located on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea.
During his stay in the city of Baghdad, Gilani was called ajami (non-Arab), which according to B. Lawrence may be because he spoke Persian alongside Arabic. According to the al-Nujūm al-ẓāhira by the 15th-century historian Ibn Taghribirdi (died 1470), Gilani was born in Jil in Iraq, but this account is questioned by French historian Jacqueline Chabbi. Modern historians (including Lawrence) consider Gilani to have been born in Gilan. The region was then politically semi-independent and divided between local chieftains from different clans.
Gilani is claimed to have been an descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad, which is generally considered to have been genuine by the Muslim community, including the Qadiriyya. Lawrence questions this claim due to Gilani's suggested Persian background, and considers it to have been "traced by overzealous hagiographers".
Education
Gilani spent his early life in Gilan, the province of his birth. In 1095, he went to Baghdad. There, he pursued the study of Hanbali law under Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi and ibn Aqil. He studied hadith with Abu Muhammad Ja'far al-Sarraj. His Sufi spiritual instructor was Abu'l-Khair Hammad ibn Muslim al-Dabbas. After completing his education, Gilani left Baghdad. He spent twenty-five years wandering in the deserts of Iraq.
School of law
Gilani belonged to the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools of law. 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. This is why al-Nawawi praised him in his book entitled Bustan al-'Arifin (Garden of the Spiritual Masters), saying:
Later life
In 1127, Gilani returned to Baghdad and began to preach to the public. He joined the teaching staff of the school belonging to his teacher, al-Mazkhzoomi, and was popular with students. In the morning he taught hadith and tafsir, and in the afternoon he discoursed on the science of the heart and the virtues of the Quran. He was said to have been a convincing preacher who converted numerous Jews and Christians and who integrated Sufi mysticism with Islamic Law.
Death and burial
Al-Gilani died in 1166 and was buried in Baghdad. His urs (death anniversary of a Sufi saint) is traditionally celebrated on 11 Rabi' al-Thani.
During the reign of the Safavid Shah Ismail I, Gilani's shrine was destroyed. However, in 1535, the Ottoman emperor Suleiman the Magnificent had a dome built over the shrine.
Books
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) Ghunyat al-Talibeen (also spelled as : Ghunya- tut-talibeen) (Treasure for Seekers) غنیہ الطالیبین 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)