The Grand Gnostic 
Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir

Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir s/o Abū Ṣāliḥ Mūsā Jangī Dost s/o Abū ʿAbd-Allāh s/o Yaḥyā al-Zāhidī s/o Muḥammad s/o Dāwūd s/o Mūsā s/o ʿAbd-Allāh s/o Mūsā al-Jawn s/o ʿAbd-Allāh al-Maḥḍ s/o Ḥasan al-Muthanna s/o Imām Ḥasan s/o Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib

Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir is referred to by the saints and scholars as, inter alia, The Sulṭān of the Awliya, The Mighty Succour and The Reviver of the Religion. He was born in the year 470 H. (circa 1077 CE) in Jilān (or Gilan), and spent his entire life preaching the religion and inspiring others. He is considered to be the chief saint, and the saints of Allāh have bowed their heads before him in acknowledgement of and surrender to his lofty rank bestowed upon him by Allāh. He was a great Ṣūfī who was firm upon the Sharīʿah and followed the Ḥanbalī Madhhab. He delivered discourses from his madrasa, which were attended by not only the general public but also the leading scholars of the time. The Shaykh left this mundane world in the year 562 H. (1166 CE) at the age of 90 and he was laid to rest in his madrasa in Baghdad. He left behind a number of books, which include some of his awe-inspiring discourses that have inspired many around the world for centuries.
 
His name is ʿAbd al-Qādir (Servant of the Omnipotent), his Appellation is Muḥyi’d-Dīn (Reviver of the Religion) and his agnomen is Abū Muḥammad (Father of Muḥammad).

He is of Ḥasanī descent from his father’s side and Ḥusaynī descent from his mother’s side. His respectable father’s name is Abū Sāliḥ Jangī Dost and his honourable mother’s name is Umm al-Khayr Fāṭimah, daughter of ʿAbd-Allāh al-Sawmā’ī.

He was extremely pious even during his childhood, to the extent that he would not play with the other young children. He left for Baghdad in pursuit of knowledge at the age of 18 but was not permitted to enter Baghdad by Sayyidunā Khiḍr, who said to him that he cannot enter the city for seven years. Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir therefore stayed on the outskirts of the city and ate only leaves, until seven years had passed. He was then permitted to enter the city. He faced many hardships and troubles while in the pursuit of knowledge, which he endured for the sake of Allāh. He studied the religion under reputable scholars and stayed in the company of Abū al-Khayr Ḥammād al-Dabbās and he pledged allegiance on the hands of Shaykh Abū Saʿīd al-Makhzūmī. 

Shaykh Abū Saʿīd al-Makhzūmī gifted his madrasa (Bāb al-Azj) to Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir, which became the centre from where he would preach the religion. He delivered lectures on various subjects and also taught students in this madrasa. He would deliver a lecture three days a week: twice on Friday mornings in his madrasa, once on Tuesday evenings and once on Wednesday mornings in his guest house. These lectures were not only attended by laymen but also the leading scholars of the time. He was famous for his awe-inspiring and spiritually-uplifting lectures, which mesmerised even the eminent scholars. 

He continued this service of delivering lectures frequently and providing guidance for over 40 years, which he started in the year 521 H. and ending in the year 561 H. He also served the religion by teaching students, issuing verdicts and writing books, which lasted 33 years, starting in the year 528 H. and ending in the year 561 H.

He was an embodiment of marvellous traits and characteristics. Thousands of people accepted Islam on his hands and countless sinful Muslims repented. He proclaimed, as ordered to, that his feet are on the necks of every Walī of Allah to which all in attendance, all the saints alive at the time and other saints not present bowed their heads.

Some of his most notable works include:

• Tuḥfat al-Muttaqīn wa Sabīl al-ʿĀrifīn
• Futūḥ al-Ghayb
• Al-Fuyūḍāt al-Rabbānīyyah fī al-Awrād al-Qadirīyyah
• Marātib al-Wujūd
• Yawāqīt al-Ḥukm 
• Sirr al-Asrār
• Al-Fatḥ al-Rabbānī
• Al-Gunyah li Ṭālibī Ṭarīq al-Ḥaqq

Many biographies and words have been written about Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir, from which the following two are the most notable:

• Qalāid al-Jawāhir by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Yahyā al-Tādifī al-Ḥanbalī
• Bahjat al-Asrār by Imām Abū al-Ḥasan Shantūfī al-Shafi’ī.

By Muhammad Kalim (Preston, UK)

Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam RadiyAllāhu ʿAnhu and Salāh Al-Dīn Al-Ayyūbī RadiyAllāhu ʿAnhu

Shaykh Ahmad Al-Rifāʿī writes in his book that Sayyidunā Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam went to the region of Dasnāfī with some of his Murīds to spread Islām. The archbishop there, who had spent some time in Baghdād and Egypt and had heard some Ahādīth from Muslim scholars, approached Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam and said, “There is a Hadīth of your Prophet ﷺ in which he ﷺ said, ‘The lordly scholars of my Ummah will be like the Prophets of Banū Isrā’īl.’”

Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam asked, “What doubt do you have in this?” The bishop replied, “Sayyidunā ʿĪsā ʿAlayhi Al-Salām was a Prophet of the Banū Isrā’īl, and Allāh ﷻ gave him the Muʿjizah of resurrecting the dead with one strike. You are from the ʿUlamā’ of your Prophet’s Ummah so show us something like that of the Prophets of the Banū Isrā’īl.” Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam said, “Without doubt this is the dignity of the lordly scholars of our Prophet ﷺ, meaning the Awliyā’-Allāh.”

Thus, Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam went with him to a graveyard nearby. The bishop pointed at a very old grave and said, “I want to see this deceased person exactly like that.” Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam came closer to the grave and while striking the grave, he said, “Rise, with the will of Allāh, and show this person what he wants.” The grave opened that very moment. The deceased rose, greeted Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam and then asked, “Has Qiyāmah come?” Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam replied, “No, this was done upon the request of this priest. Inform him from which era you are.” He said, “I am from the time of Sayyidunā Dānyāl ʿAlayhi Al-Salām and I was his follower.” Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam then said, “Return back to your grave. You will stay there until Qiyāmah.” The deceased returned back to his grave and it closed, with the will of Allāh ﷻ.

Witnessing this Karāmah, the bishop and all of his people entered into the folds of Islām, which later on made great successful and victorious efforts for Islām. The conquerer of Bayt Al-Maqdis, Sultān Salāh Al-Dīn Al-Ayyūbī was an individual from these people. His father accepted Islām in that time and became a Murīd of Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam, and he went on to serve as a very senior army officer for the Abyssinian Sultāns of Al-Shām. He once went to Baghdād and presented his ten year old son, Salāh Al-Dīn Al-Ayyūbī, in the august court of Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam. He asked Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam to place his hand on his son’s head and pray that he would become a great fighter and conqueror. Thus, Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam placed his blessed hand upon the head of Salāh Al-Dīn Al-Ayyūbī, made Duʿā’ and said, “In shā’ Allāh, he will be a famous personality in history and Allāh will give a great victory through him.”

And so history has seen how great a conqueror Salāh Al-Dīn Al-Ayyūbī, who was instated as Sultān after Sultān Nūr Al-Dīn Zangī, was. Bayt Al-Maqdis was won through him, and the armies of the greatest Christian rulers of Europe could not stand in front of his military grandeur. Sultān Salāh Al-Dīn Al-Ayyūbī defeated all of Europe in the Battle of the Cross. This was all the grace of the glorious Karāmah of Al-Ghawth Al-Aʿzam and his prayers that that clear victory changed the course of history and gave the Muslim nation great glory.

From volume one of Sharh Hadā’iq e Bakhshish by Muftī Fayz Ahmad Uwaysī ʿAlayh Al-Rahmah

Translated by Neesarahmed Amjadi