Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Jilani

For decades he taught fiqh, hadith and tafsir and preached to huge gatherings, calling people to sincerity and the Quran and Sunnah; his works include al-Ghunyah and Futuh al-Ghayb.

Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qadir ibn Abi Salih al-Jilani was born around 470 AH (some say 471) in Gilan, south of the Caspian Sea. At eighteen he travelled to Baghdad, the great centre of learning, and studied Hanbali fiqh with Abu Saʿd al-Mukharrimi and others, as well as hadith, Arabic and adab. Alongside his studies he took spiritual training from Shaykh Hammad al-Dabbas. His early years in Baghdad were marked by poverty and hardship, which he bore with patience.

From 521 AH he began preaching in public. His gatherings grew so large that they overflowed the building, and many people — Muslims and non-Muslims — are reported to have repented or accepted Islam at his hands. He later headed the madrasa that had belonged to his teacher al-Mukharrimi, near Bab al-Azaj in Baghdad, where he taught tafsir, hadith and fiqh and gave fatwas for many years.

His teaching stressed sincerity, following the Quran and Sunnah, sound creed, renunciation of the world in the heart, reliance on Allah and good character. His works include al-Ghunyah li-Talibi Tariq al-Haqq, a guide to belief, worship and conduct; Futuh al-Ghayb; and the sermons collected as al-Fath al-Rabbani. The Qadiri spiritual path is named after him.

He died in Rabiʿ al-Akhir 561 AH at about ninety (lunar) years of age and was buried in his madrasa in Baghdad. Scholars of different schools, including Ibn Qudamah, who studied with him, and al-Dhahabi, praised his knowledge and piety.