Abdul Qadir Gilani

ʿAbd al-Qādir Gīlānī,(Persian: عبدالقادر گیلانی, formally Muḥyī l-Dīn Abū Muḥammad b. Abū Sāliḥ ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gīlānī al-Ḥasanī wa'l-Ḥusaynī (Arabic: عبدالقادر الجيلاني, Turkish: Abdülkâdir Geylânî, Kurdish: Evdilqadirê Geylanî عه‌بدوالقادری گه‌یلانی), who was known for being the eponymous founder of the Qadiriyya tariqa (Sufi order) of Sufism. was a Hanbali Sunni Muslim preacher, orator, ascetic, mystic, sayyid, faqīh, and theologian. He was born on 11 Rabi' al-Thani 470 AH (March 23, 1078) in the town of Na'if in Gilan, Iran, and died on Monday, February 21, 1166 (11 Rabi' al-Thani 561 AH), in Baghdad.

Quotes

The Law refines the behavior at the door, whereas Knowledge refines the behavior inside.
- ʿAbd Al-Qadir al-Jilani, Purification of the Mind Jila' Al-Khatir
"Be constant in fear of Allah and his worship. Do not fear anyone else nor expect anything from any one. Save yourself - Fear Allah, fear Allah and fear Allah."
"Tasawwuf is based on eight qualities: Generosity like that of Prophet Abraham (as), Cheerful submission like that of Prophet Ishaque (as), Patience like that of Yaqoob (as), Prayer like that of Prophet Zachariah (as), Poverty like that of Prophet Yahya (as), Wearing of woollen dress like that of Prophet Musa (as), Travelling about like that of Prophet Issa and (as), Religious poverty like that of Prophet Muhammad."
"Do not will anything which is not the will of Allah."

Each time I felt a desire to go and play with other children, I would hear a voice saying, "Come to me instead, O blessed one, come to me." In terror I would go and seek the comfort of my mother's arms. Now even in my most intense devotions and long devotions, I cannot hear that voice as clearly.
- The Secret of Secrets

He has been glorified by all glorious qualities; he was granted all words. By his noble nature the props of the tent of the whole of existence stay firmly placed; he is the secret of the word of the book of the angel, the meaning of the letters "creation of the world and the heavens"; he is the pen of the Writer Who has written the growing of created things; he is the pupil in the eye of the world, the master who has smithed the seal of existence. He is the one that suckles at the teats of revelation, and carries the eternal mystery; he is the translator of the tongue of eternity. He carries the banner of honor and keeps the reins of praise; he is the central pearl in the necklace of prophethood and the gem in the diadem of messengers. He is the first according to the cause, and the last in existence. He was sent with the Greatest namus to tear the veil of sorrow, to make the difficult easy, to push away the temptation of the hearts, to console the sadness of the spirit, to polish the mirror of the souls, to illuminate the darkness of the hearts, to make rich those who are poor in heart and to loosen the fetters of the souls.
- About Muhammad, as quoted in And Muhammad is his Messenger - The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety, Annemarie Schimmel (1985), The University of North Carolina Press, p. 135, ISBN 0-8078-1639-6
My foot is on the neck of every saint

External links

Encyclopedic article on Abdul Qadir Gilani on Wikipedia