‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani

Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī was born in “Gaylān” in the north of today’s Iran in AH 470 (1077 CE). Both of his parents were descendants of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He received his first religious education at home before migrating to Baghdad at the age of eighteen to continue his learning and start what turned out to be a unique and amazing spiritual journey.

In Baghdad, he first accompanied the Sufi Shaikh Ḥammād al-Dabbās and later Shaikh Abū Saʿīd al-Mukharramī (al-Makhzūmī). When Shaikh Abū Saʿīd saw how his student was developing, he asked him in AH 521 (1127 CE) to teach in his school. Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir used to lecture three days a week. His audience grew quickly until a lecture would attract tens of thousands. Many students used to write down his lectures, preserving the words of the Shaikh. He continued to preach in his school until he died in AH 561 (1165 CE).

The influence of Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir on Muslims and his role in the spread of Islam are impossible to exaggerate. There are far more Sufi Tarīqas (Ways) whose chains of masters trace themselves back to him than any other Shaikh. Shaikh ʿAbd al-Qādir left a large number of sermons and writings. These include “Al-Ghunya li-Ṭālibī Ṭarīq al-Ḥaqq”, “Al-Fatḥ al-Rabbānī wal-Faiḍ al-Raḥmānī”, “Futūḥ al-Ghayb”, “Jilāʾ al-Khāṭir”, and many more.