Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani - The Great Patron Saint of Allah

Islamic history is replete with innumerable personages who achieved the highest status of converse with the beloved Creator of Existence. This is in and of itself the greatest testimony to the truth, practicality, viability and supremacy of Islam as a religion which leads one to God. Any religion which cannot display miracles in every age and must rely on stories of the past, no doubt, exaggerated beyond any rational limit, is a dead religion.

One of the greatest patron saints of Islam is the highly venerable Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, one of the greatest of the Auliya and quite possibly the greatest mujaddid besides Hazrat Ahmad (as), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi.

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani like other mujaddideen and muhadditheen is almost universally revered in the Islamic Ummah for his extreme devotion to the cause of Allah and propagating the pure deen with his personal example of superb piety, taqwa, and righteousness. His parents were both very pious; his father, Hadhrat Abu Saleh Zangi Dost was a descendant of Imam Hassan (ra) and his mother, Hadhrat Bibi Ummul Khair Fatima was a descendant of Imam Hussein (ra). This earned him the honorable name, “al-Hasani wal Husseini.”

It is rather unfortunate that many such beautiful lights of Allah in the Ummah have been persecuted and charged with heresy, blasphemy, and apostasy by the ignorant, egotistical clerics of their age. Their true value wasn’t acknowledged until decades, sometimes centuries after their death. Man never learns does he? The saints of Allah are never of this world and thus it no great surprise that the world never recognizes their value, however, they are revered and cherished in heaven.

In the 6th century of the Hijra, its greatest saint and mujaddid, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, who later became known as the Sultan of Sufis, was denounced as a heretic and an apostate by more than 200 ulema.

There is a long history of this persecution of the Godly personages in Islamic History.

In the very first century of the hijra, Hazrat Uthman (ra), Hazrat Ali (ra) and his pious sons, Hazrat Hasan (ra) and Hazrat Husain (ra) were all called heretics and apostates and every single one of them were martyred for upholding the Truth and the Sunnah of The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw).

Then in the 3rd century of the hijra, Imam Bukhari, who is now recognized as the greatest collector of hadith, whose Sahih Bukhari is considered the most important in Islam after the Quran, was denounced as an apostate: “3,000 ulema and mullahs gave evidence of apostasy against the Imam. He was exiled from Bukhara to Khartang. Even there he did not have peace from his persecutors.”

The 5th century of the hijra produced Hazrat Imam Ghazali, now known as one the greatest scholars and saints Islam ever produced who was a regional reformer of the 5th century whose Socratic methods of argumentation are still widely emulated. An esteemed mystic, psychologist, physician and cosmologist, Al Ghazali was unable to escape the fiery rhetoric of the mullah. “They branded him as an atheist, a free thinker and an apostate whose books were declared unorthodox and un-Islamic. His books were ordered to be burnt and Muslims were forbidden to speak to him. His followers, if any, were ordered to be beheaded.”

This information comes neatly packaged in the excellent elucidation by the 4th Khalifa of the Promised Messiah in his treatise, With Love for the Muslims (pg 23 in the pdf) to explain the historical significance of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community as the renaissance of Islam following the sunnah of other reformers of the faith.

Back to Sheikh Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jilani.

One of the most impressive stories about this great saint of Allah is the story about his pilgrimage from his home and his great act of honesty and the trust in Allah he exhibited:

A famous incident which illustrates his obedience to his mother occurred shortly after him leaving for Baghdad when his caravan (Qafila) was attacked by a sixty man band of highwaymen. They demanded each member of the Qafila to hand over any valuables they had on their person. Unknown to them Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra) was carrying the forty gold coins which his mother had sown to the inside of the garment he was wearing for safekeeping. Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra) refused to disobey his mother’s noble instruction not to lie and when one of the bandits asked him if he had any valuables he volunteered the whereabouts of the coins but the bandit did not believe him.

A second bandit then asked Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra) the same question and he again said that forty gold coins were in his jacket but the second bandit also didn’t believe him. When the leader of the robbers heard of what Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra) had said he ordered that the stitching be undone and to his utter astonishment the coins were there. This great act of honesty reduced the leader of the robbers to a great state of humility and he asked Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra), ‘When your money was safe, what compelled you to insist that you had it and say where it was hidden’, to which the great Sheikh replied, ‘I must tell the truth under any circumstances, as I promised to my mother’

The leader was reduced to tears and in the spirit of repentance he said, ‘I reneged on my promise to the One Who created me. I stole and killed. What will happen to me?’. Before the great Sheikh could reply the other highwaymen, filled with the fear of Allah (swt), interjected and uttered the most unpredictable words, ‘You have been our leader all these years in sinning. Now also be our leader in repenting’. The highwaymen then took the hand of Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani (ra) and offered their bay’ah (pledge of allegiance) and sought the repentance of Almighty Allah (swt). It is here necessary to pause for a moment and reflect upon a beautiful observation. Towards the end of the life of Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra) saints and great friends of Allah (swt) would flock towards him in hoards so as to offer their bay’ah at his hand yet the first people to offer their bay’ah at his blessed hand were sixty thieves and killers. Indeed almighty Allah’s (swt) Mercy knows no limit.

An interesting gem from the writings of the Great Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani is about the temptation of Satan which shows no one is immune from the Satan’s attempts at trickery:

‘’Not every saint or sufi can repel and expose the filth of satanic suggestion as Jesus (as) did with the whip of his light. Sayyid Abdul Qadir Jilani says, ”I too received a satanic inspiration once. Satan said: ‘O Abdul Qadir! all your prayers are accepted. From now on whatsoever is forbidden to others is lawful to you. You are even exempt from obligatory prayers. Do whatever you please.’ At this, I said, ‘Be off O Satan! how can something that was not permissible for the Holy Prophet (saw) be permissible for me!’ After this, Satan disappeared from my sight along with his golden throne.”

Baghdad, Iraq was a great center for learning and spiritual knowledge where the scholars flocked to be around other intellectual giants and exchange ideas. Like all contemporaries of great men in history, many failed to recognize the transcendental spiritual status of Abdul Qadir Jilani and tried to influence him to leave. Here’s an anecdote about this unsuccessful attempt at coercion:

On returning to Baghdad from his spiritual journey Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra) faced a tribulation which Allah (swt) permitted him to overcome with majestic wisdom. Many of the Islamic elite of Baghdad were perturbed by the return of Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra) who, due to his great reputation and spiritual status, had amassed a large following of disciples.

The scholars gathered and devised a way by which they could send a clear message to Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra) indicating their displeasure at his presence in Baghdad. They ordered a large vessel be filled to the brim and sent it to the quarters of Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra). Upon seeing the container the students of Sheikh Abdul Qadir (ra) were baffled as to the meaning behind the gesture, however, the wise Sheikh instantly realised the message. The container represented Baghdad and the water represented the scholars (people of knowledge) in Baghdad meaning that Baghdad was full and did
not require a new Sheikh such as Abdul Qadir (ra).

With an ingenious stroke of wisdom the Sheikh plucked a rose which he then floated on top of the water. He then ordered the vessel be taken back to the senders who, on seeing it, immediately acknowledged the great spiritual wisdom of the Sheikh and assigned him the title ‘The Rose of Baghdad’.

Islam is the only religion which can produce men of such mighty spiritual eminence and exceptional nearness to Allah. It is said that Allah told the great Sheikh which clothes he should wear and when he should eat and that Sayyedna Abdul Qadir Jilani refused to make such a decision on his own. May Allah continue to bless Islam with such venerable personalities from the community of the 2nd Messiah, Hazrat Ahmad (as).