Abdul Qadir Gilani

Abdul Qadir Gilani

Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077 – 21 February 1166, Baghdad; Arabic: عبد القادر الجيلانى, Persian: عبد القادر گیلانی) was a scholar and Sufi, the founder of the Qadiriyya order, born during the period of the Great Seljuk State in the Province of Gilan on the Caspian Sea coast of present-day Iran. His tomb is in Baghdad.

Identity

He was a Sunni Hanbali Sufi of Persian origin. He bore epithets such as "Muhyi al-Din, Ghawth al-A'zam, Qutb al-Rabbani, Sultan al-Awliya, Qutb al-A'zam, and al-Baz al-Ashhab." His father was Abu Salih Musa Zangidust. Although it is claimed that he descended from Abdullah al-Kamil, son of Hasan al-Muthanna, who was the son of the Prophet's grandson Hasan ibn Ali, it is noted that some—on grounds such as his being known in Baghdad as "'Ajami," that is, "non-Arab"—have suggested that the genealogy was constructed later.

Life

Abdul Qadir Gilani was born in 1077 in the village of Nayf in the Province of Gilan. Gilani, whose father died when he was young, went to Baghdad in 1095. Various sources note that from a very early age he had a distinctive nature. In Baghdad he developed his education in hadith, fiqh (jurisprudence), and Sufism by taking lessons from the renowned scholars of the age.

The lessons and sermons he gave three days a week—on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday night—at the madrasa of one of his teachers, Abu Said al-Makhzumi, drew intense interest. He presented Islamic Sufism in a way everyone could understand. He had previously belonged to the Shafi'i school. Because the Hanbali school was on the verge of being forgotten, he moved to the Hanbali school, and this choice had an active part in the spread of that school.

Family

Abdul Qadir Gilani had many daughters and sons. Through them the Qadiri order spread to Egypt, North Africa, al-Andalus (Spain), Iraq, Syria, and Anatolia. It is claimed that one of his sons, "Abu Abd al-Rahman Sharaf al-Din Isa," settled in Egypt and was the ancestor of the Qadiri Sharifs in Egypt, and that the descendants of Abdul Qadir Gilani are more often called "Sharif" in North Africa and "Sayyid" and "Gilani" in Iraq, Syria, and Anatolia.

Works

Al-Ghunya li-talibi tariq al-haqq. Among religious rulings, it treats faith, tawhid, and ethics. Its content resembles the Qut al-Qulub of Abu Talib al-Makki. Ample space is given to the merits of acts of worship and to the conduct and behavior of Muslims in daily life. Matters of creed are explained on the basis of the creed of the salaf (predecessors). Schools such as the Shi'a, the Mu'tazila, and the Jahmiyya are refuted in strong terms. Some explanations resembling anthropomorphism (tashbih) and corporealism (tajsim) regarding God are included. In the work, Sufi topics are treated at the level of asceticism and piety. Edition in the original language: (Cairo 1288). Persian translation and edition: Abd al-Hakim al-Siyalkuti (1282), al-Ghunya, Lahore 1282. Turkish translation and Old Turkish edition (1303): Umdetü's-sâlihîn fî tercemeti Gunyeti't-tâlibîn, Istanbul. Turkish translation and New Turkish edition: Meyan, A. Faruk (1971), İlim Esrar Hazinesi, Istanbul.

Al-Fath al-Rabbani wa'l-Fayd al-Rahmani. A 62-chapter work produced when his disciples wrote down as notes the sermons he gave—most in the madrasa and some in the ribat—during 1150–1152. At the end there is an appendix recounting his death. It is his most important work on Sufism. Edition in the original language: (Cairo 1281, 1303). Turkish translation and new Turkish edition: Akçiçek, Abdülkadir (1961) El-Fethu'r-rabbânî ve'l-feyzü'r-rahmânî, Istanbul. Turkish translation and new Turkish edition: Arıkan, Yaman (1986) El-Fethu'r-rabbânî ve'l-feyzü'r-rahmânî, Istanbul.

Futuh al-Ghayb. It consists of 78 sermons that his son Abd al-Razzaq compiled from his father's gatherings. At the end of the work there is a genealogy derived from the testament he made while dying. Edition in the original language: Istanbul 1281; Cairo 1304. Edition with Arabic commentary: Ibn Taymiyya, (1984) "Sharh kalimat min Futuh al-Ghayb," Jami' al-Rasa'il, pp. 71–189, Jeddah. German translation and edition: Braune, Walter (1933) Die Futûh al-Gaib das Abdal-Qadir, Leipzig 1933. Turkish translation and new Turkish edition: Akçiçek, Abdülkadir (1962) İlâhî Armağan, Ankara.

Death and funeral

Abdul Qadir Gilani died on 21 February 1166 at the age of 87. His body was buried in a tomb in the Bab al-Shaykh madrasa in Rusafa, on the eastern bank of the Tigris in the city of Baghdad, Iraq. During the reign of the Safavid Shah Ismail I, Gilani's grave was destroyed. However, in 1535 the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had a dome built over the still-standing tomb.

Celebration of his birthday and commemoration on the anniversary of his death

The 1st of Ramadan is celebrated as Gilani's birthday; the anniversary of his death is the 11th of Rabi' al-Thani, though some scholars place it on the 29th of Sha'ban and the 17th of Rabi' al-Thani. In the Indian subcontinent, his "urs" or death anniversary is called Giyarwee Shareef, or the Honored Day.

Place in popular culture

He was portrayed by Mehmet Özgür in the series Hay Sultan, broadcast on Tabii in 2023.

Sources

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