According toSufiHagiography, Abdul Qadir held the highest position in the hierarchy ofAwliya (Sufi saints) having achieved the spiritual rank (Maqam) of the succour (Ghawth).[8][9][b]
Gilani was born in 1077 or 1078, though details of his early life and family background are uncertain,[2] sources indicate that his father (or grandfather) was known by the nickname Jangi Dust,[2][14] suggesting aPersian lineage.[14]
Hisnisba,al-Jilani, denotes origin fromGilan, a region on the southwestern coast of theCaspian Sea in present-dayIran.[2] During his stay inBaghdad, Gilani was calledajami (non-Arab), which according toBruce Lawrence may be because he spokePersian alongsideArabic.[14] According to theal-Nujūm al-ẓāhira by the 15th-century historianIbn Taghribirdi (d. 1470), Gilani was born in Jil inIraq, but this account is questioned by French historianJacqueline Chabbi.[2] Modern historians (including Lawrence) considerGilan to be his birth place.[14][15][16] The region was then politically semi-independent and divided between localchieftains from different clans.[17]
Gilani is claimed to be a descendant ofMuhammad through his grandsonHasan ibn Ali, this claim is generally accepted within the Muslim community, including followers of theQadiriyya order.[2] Some scholars, including Lawrence, consider this claim inconsistent with Gilani's apparent Persian background, and suggest that it may have been emphasized or constructed by the laterHagiographers.[14]
Gilani spent his early life inGilan, the province of his birth. In 1095, he moved to Baghdad where he studiedHanbalijurisprudence underAbu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi andIbn Aqil.[18][19] He also studiedhadith with Abu Muhammad Ja'far al-Sarraj.[19] His Sufi spiritual instructor was Abu'l-Khair Hammad al-Dabbas.[20] After completing his education, Gilani leftBaghdad and reportedly spent twenty-five years inascetic retreat and wandering in the deserts ofIraq.[21]
In 1127, Gilani returned to Baghdad and began to preach to the public.[4] He joined the teaching staff of the school established by his teacher, al-Makhzoomi, and became popular among students. In the mornings he taughtHadith andTafsir, while in the afternoons he delivered lectures on spiritual discipline (ilm al-Qulub) and the virtues of theQuran. He was reported to be an effective preacher who attracted followers from diverse backgrounds, includingJews andChristians, and integratedSufimysticism withIslamic law.[4]
According tohagiographical sources, Gilani is reported to have converted many people toIslam through his emphasis on inner purification, ethical conduct and devotion.[23] He established theMadrasa al-Qadiriyya inBaghdad, which became a center for Islamic learning and spirituality, offering instruction in theQuran,Hadith,Fiqh (jurisprudence), andTasawwuf (Sufism), attracting students from various regions.[24]
Al-Gilani died in 1166 and was buried inBaghdad. Hisurs (death anniversary) is traditionally observed annually on 11Rabi' al-Thani.[14]
During the reign of theSafavid ShahIsmail I, in 1508, Gilani's shrine was destroyed.[26][27] However, in 1535,Ottoman sultanSuleiman the Magnificent commissioned the constructed of a new shrine over his grave, which remains in existence today.[28]
The Vision of Muhyi al-Din ibn al-Gilani. Miniature from theOttoman (1595) manuscript of "Nafahat al-uns" (Breaths of Fellowship) ofJami.Chester Beatty Library
Kitab Sirr al-Asrar wa Mazhar al-Anwar (The Book of the Secret of Secrets and the Manifestation of Light)
^(Persian:عبدالقادر گیلانی,romanized: 'Abdul Qādir Gīlānī); (Arabic:عبد القادر الجيلاني,romanized: ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī).Full Name: Muhyid Din Abu Muhammad Abdul Qadir ibn Abi Salih Jangidost al Jilani al HasaniArabic:محيي الدين أبو محمد عبد القادر بن أبي صالح جنگي دوست الجيلاني الحسني,romanized: Muḥyī al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ Jangī Dōst al-Jīlānī al-Ḥasanī[1]
^According to theSufiHagiographies, he made statements, in which he reportedly said: "My foot is on the necks of everysaint", in reference to hisstation of Ghawth al-Azam.[10][11][12][13]
^Lawrence, Bruce B. (1983)."ʿAbd-al-Qāder Jilani".Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. I. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation. pp. 132–133. Retrieved27 September 2025.
^W. Braune,Abd al-Kadir al-Djilani, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, ed. H.A.R Gibb, J.H.Kramers, E. Levi-Provencal, J. Schacht, (Brill, 1986), 69; "authorities are unanimous in stating that he was a Persian from Nayf (Nif) in Djilan, south of the Caspian Sea."
^Encyclopaedia of religion and ethics: volume 1. (A – Art). Part 1. (A – Algonquins) pg 10. Hastings, James and Selbie, John A. Adamant Media corporation. (2001), "and he was probably of Persian origin."
^The Sufi orders in Islam, 2nd edition, pg 32. Triingham, J. Spencer and Voll, John O. Oxford University Press US, (1998), "The Hanafi Qadirriya is also included since 'Abd al-Qadir, of Persian origin was contemporary of the other two."
^Mihr-e-munīr: biography of Hadrat Syed Pīr Meher Alī Shāh pg 21, Muhammad Fādil Khān, Faid Ahmad. Sajjadah Nashinan of Golra Sharif, Islamabad (1998)
^Devotional Islam and politics in British India: [Ahmad Riza Khan] Barelwi and his movement, 1870–1920, pg 144, Sanyal, Usha Oxford University Press US, 19 August 1999.ISBN0-19-564862-5ISBN978-0-19-564862-1.
^Indo-iranica pg 7. The Iran Society, Calcutta, India. (1985).
^abGibb, H.A.R.; Kramers, J.H.; Levi-Provencal, E.; Schacht, J. (1986).Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. I (A-B) (New ed.). Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. p. 69.ISBN978-9004081147.
^Renard, John (2004).Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism: Foundations of Islamic Mystical Theology. Paulist Press (published July 1, 2004). pp. 202–205.ISBN978-0809140305.
^Algar, Hamid (1999).Sufism: Principles & Practice. Islamic Pubns Intl (published January 1, 1999). pp. 103–106.ISBN978-1889999029.
^W. Ernst, Carl (1997).The Shambhala Guide to Sufism. Shambhala (published September 23, 1997). pp. 124–126.ISBN978-1570621802.
^A.A. Duri,Baghdad, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, 903.
^W. Braune,Abd al-Kadir al-Djilani, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, 70.
^Al-Qahtani, Sheik Saeed bin Misfer (1997).Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani and his Belief and Sufi views (in Arabic). Library of Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah. p. 133.
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