Abdul Qadir Gilani


ʿAbd al-Qādir Gīlānī,, known by admirers as Muḥyī l-Dīn Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Sāliḥ ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gīlānī al-Ḥasanī wa'l-Ḥusaynī, was a Hanbali Sunni Muslim preacher, ascetic, mystic, jurist, and theologian, who was known for being the eponymous founder of the Qadiriyya tariqa of Sufism.
He was born on 29 Sha'ban 470 AH in the town of Na'if, district of Gilan-e Gharb, Gilan, Iran, and died on Monday, February 21, 1166, in Baghdad. He was a Persian Hanbali Sunni jurist and Sufi based in Baghdad. The Qadiriyya tariqa is named after him.

Name

The honorific Muhiyudin denotes his status with many Sufis as a "reviver of religion". Gilani refers to his place of birth, Gilan. However, Gilani also carried the epithet Baghdadi, referring to his residence and burial in Baghdad.

Family background

Gilani's father, Abu Saleh, was from a Sayyid lineage, tracing his descent from Hasan ibn Ali, a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Abu Saleh was respected as a saint by the people of his day, and was known as Jangi Dost "who loves God", thus "Jangidost" was his sobriquet. Gilani's mother, Ummul Khair Fatima, was also a Sayyid, having been a descendant of Muhammad al-Jawad, himself descended from Husayn ibn Ali, the younger brother of Hasan.

Education

Gilani spent his early life in Gilan, the province of his birth. In 1095, at the age of eighteen, 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.

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 own teacher, al-Mazkhzoomi, and was popular with students. In the morning he taught hadith and tafsir, and in the afternoon he held discourse on the science of the heart and the virtues of the Quran. He was said to have been a convincing preacher and converted numerous Jews and Christians. He was able to reconcile the mystical nature of Sufism with the sober demands of Islamic Law.

Death and burial

Gilani died on 21 February 1166 at the age of 91. His body was entombed in a shrine within his madrasa in Babul-Sheikh, Rusafa on the east bank of the Tigris in Baghdad, Iraq.
During the reign of the Safavid Shah Ismail I, Gilani's shrine was destroyed. However, in 1535, the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had a dome built over the shrine, which still exists.

Birthday and death anniversary celebration

1 Ramadan is celebrated as Gilani’s birthday while his death anniversary is on 11 Rabi' al-Thani, although some scholars give 29 Sha'ban and 17 Rabi' al-Thani as his birth and death days. In the Indian subcontinent, his ‘urs, or death anniversary, is called Giyarwee Shareef, or Honoured Day.

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