From various sources:
Surely, on the friends of Allah, there is no fear, nor do they grieve. Those who believed and guarded (against evil). For them are glad tidings in this world’s life and in the Hereafter; there is no changing the words of Allah; that is the Supreme Triumph. (10:62-64)
Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani was a noted Muslim Sufi shaikh and the eponymous founder of the Qadiri Sufi order (silsila). He was born in Ramadan AH 470 (about AD 1077) in the Persian province of Gilan (Iran) south of the Caspian sea. His lineage came through the grandsons of the Holy Prophet (s) Hasan and Hussein: He was a Hasani from father's side, and a "Husseini" from mother's side.
His contribution and renown in the sciences of Sufism and Sharia was so immense that he became known as the spiritual pole of his time, al-Gauth al Azam (the "Supreme Helper" or the "Mightiest Succour"). He busied himself for forty years in the service of Islam from 521 to 561 AH. During this period hundreds of people reverted to Islam because of him and organized several teams to go abroad for missionary purposes.
Sayyidina Abdul Qadir relates, "Initially, only a few people would come to attend my association. As more people heard about me the school became crowded. I then used to sit in the mosque at Bab al-Hilba which became too small to hold the large numbers of people who would come to hear me. They would even come at nighttime, carrying lamps and candles to see. When finally it would no longer accomodate the crowds, and my chair of teaching was moved to the main thoroughfare and later to the outskirts of the city, becoming the new place of gathering. People would come to attend by foot, by horse, by mule, by ass and by camel. You could see seventy-thousand listeners standing in the circle in these meetings."
In his gatherings, he would enjoin the people to do the good and to abjure for committing wrong. His advice addressed rulers, ministers, governors, judges, his disciples and the common people. According to Ibn Kathir, the great historian, "Standing in the mosques, he reprimanded publicly the rulers who committed wrong, in the presence of all as witnesses and in his public speeches. He avoided any sort of political appointments, never feared anyone in his speech except God Almighty and was unaffected by the reproach of anyone." Once when the caliph of the Islamic world at that time appointed an unjust person to be chief judge, Sayyidina Abdul Qadir Jilani stood up in the largest mosque in Baghdad to give the Friday sermon. He spoke in his sermon to the caliph directly. He said, "You have apointed the worst of the unjust ones to judge the affairs of Muslims! What will be your answer tomorrow in front of the Lord of the worlds, the Most Merciful of the merciful?" Upon hearing this, the caliph shook with fear. Shedding many tears, he quickly went after the prayers to dismiss that judge.
Sayyidina Abdul Qadir called on the people to correct themselves, to purify their hearts and to dispel excessive love of the worldly life from their hearts. He urged them to fill their hearts with the love of God and of his Messenger and his saints. He exhorted them to follow the Prophet in every deed and thought, behavior and manner, to avoid hyprocisy and pretence, to dispel pride, self-praise, hatred and enmity, jealousy, tyranny, deceitfulness and rancour from their hearts. He called on the people to break their attachments to this world and dependence on those who are enslaved by it, and to turn themselves with their whole hearts to the Sustainer of the worlds, God Almighty, seeking His good-pleasure, His guidance and His mercy and forgiveness. Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani said among other things: You should not worry about that which is bound to come your way, because He guarantees that it will come to you. Allotted shares [aqsam] arrive at their appointed times, whether they be sweet or bitter,whether you like them or dislike them.
His writings were similar to those of al-Ghazali in that they dealt with both the fundamentals of Islam and the mystical experience of Sufism. The most famous of Shaikh `Abd al- Qadir's works are:
* Ghunyat al- talibin (Sufficient provision for seekers of the path of truth); it is one of the most concise presentations of the madhhab of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal ever written, including the sound teaching of Ahl al- Sunna on `aqida and tasawwuf and to inspire men and women to be good practising Muslims;
* al-Fath al-rabbani (The Lord's opening), a collection of sermons for the student and the teacher in the Sufi path and all those attracted to perfection; true to its title, this book brings its reader immense profit and spiritual increase;
* Futuh al-ghayb (Openings to the unseen), another late collection of sermons and mystical topics, more advanced than the previous one, and just as priceless. Both have been translated into English.
*Sirr al-Asrar (Secret of Secrets) forms a bridge between al-Jilani’s two famous works, Ghunyat al-talibin, and Futuh al-ghayb (see above). This book, appearing in English for the first time, contains the very essence of Sufism, giving a Sufi explanation of how the outward practices of Islam - prayer, fasting, almsgiving and pilgrimage - contain a wealth of inner dimensions which must be discovered and enjoyed if external actions are to be performed in a manner pleasing to God. When this is achieved the soul finds true peace and the spiritual life becomes complete. The dervish must not or should not expect anything from people or desire what belongs to them.
The Muslim Saints are known to work miracles both while alive and even after their passing away. There are so many, many miracles attributed to him, that this would a large volume by itself and the dear readers of www.Hamaraforums.com are encouraged to get the details from the wealth of the websites on this subject. All the biographers of Shaikh ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani marvel at his miracles. Dr. Muhammad Haroon of the Raza Academy in England has described the miracles of the Shaykh in detail in "The World Importance of Ghawth al Azam Hadrat Sheikh Muhyiddin Abdul Qadir Jilani". However, here I am citing only a couple or more:
One of these miracles which relates to fasting in the month of Ramadan even in infancy. As you know, the sighting of the new moon of Ramadan (Ramzan) signifies the commencement of the month of fasting for Muslims. It is related that as it was cloudy, the new moon had not been sighted and people were confused whether to fast or not to fast. They came to his mother and asked if the child had taken milk that day. As he had not, they surmised that they had to fast. His mother relates; "My son 'Abdul Qadir was born in the month of Ramadan. No matter how hard I tried he refused to suckle in the daytime. Throughout his infancy he would never take food during the month of fasting." (Sirr al-Asrar, Introduction by Shaykh Tosun al-Jerrahi al-Halveti, p. XIII)
To relate another miracle, it has been narrated in the biographies of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani that once he saw a dazzling light which filled the whole sky. Then a human frame appeared in it and told him he was his lord and that he had made everything that was prohibited in Islam lawful for him. ShaikhAbdul Qadir Jilani recognized him as the devil and told him to get lost. Then the sky turned dark and the human frame fizzled out into smoke. Following this, Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani heard someone say to him that he had misled seventy people in this way but that his knowledge and piety had saved him. To this the Shaykh responded that it was through the Grace of Allah that he had been saved! The machinations of shaytan could obviously never make Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani abandon the sharia (sacred Muslim law).
Professor Shetha al-Dargazelli and Dr. Louay Fatoohi explain in their Introduction to the translation of 'Jila al-Khatir" how Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani came to be called Muhyiddin. Once on a Friday in the year 511 A.H, Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani came across a frail old invalid who greeted him and asked him to help him to sit up. When he helped him to sit up, he became well again and his whole condition improved. He told Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani that he was the religion of Islam which had been forgotten but which he had helped to revive. Following this incident, Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani went to the congregational mosque where people greeted him as Muhyid Din (Reviver of Religion). He had never been called by that name before! Yet the people there had addressed him as such.
Another very famous miracle, to state it very briefly is: Once, when he was going on a journey, his mother gave him a few gold pieces, forty dinars or so. She stitched thedinars in the inner part of his sleeve so the dinars were well hidden and not visible to the eye. Along with other parting instructions she also advised him to speak the truth under all circumstances. The caravan in which he was travelling was overtaken by robbers who attacked and looted it. When they asked him about what valuables he had with him, he showed them the gold pieces. The Chief of the robbers were taken aback and asked him why he did not try to hide his money. He replied, "I hold the noble advice of my mother dearer than these few pieces of gold" The Chief was moved to tears and he confessed: "Here you are, who cannot disobey his mother, and here I am who has been disobeying the Lord all his life." The charismatic power and spiritual benediction of the young saint of Jilan was so overpowering that a hardened criminal changed his way of life in an instant.
Dear readers of Hamaraforums, it is to be remembered that the Karaamaat(miracles of the saints) are not allowed to be divulged by those who work them, i.e. a saint is not allowed to say that he will work a miracle. (Miracles of Prophets and Miracles of Saints are on a different footing) Therefore, the initiates sometimes wonders why Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani revealed so many spiritual secrets when most other shuyukh (spiritual masters) are reticent. To answer this question, we will need to turn to Sayyidi wa Imami Mawlana Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad, (r.d.). In It-haaf is-saail (Gifts for the Seeker), he explains that Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, (r.a) had received permission to divulge these spiritual secrets - "for the man who receives such permission is under an order which he can but obey - and the secret of the permission granted in such matters is itself one that cannot be divulged." (Gifts for the Seeker, translation by Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, p.11).
The daily life of Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani has been rendered by Shaykh Tosun al-Jerrahi al-Halveti thus: "He himself had given all of himself to Allah. His nights passed with little or no sleep in secluded prayer and meditation. He spent his days like a true follower of the Prophet in the service of humanity. Three times a week he would deliver public sermons to thousands of people. Every day in the morning and the afternoon he gave lessons in Qur'anic commentary, Prophetic traditions, theology, religious law and sufism. He spent the time after the midday prayer giving advice and consultation to people, whether beggars or kings, who would come from all parts of the world. Before sunset prayers, rain or shine, he took to the streets to distribute bread among the poor. As he spent all his days in fasting he would eat only once a day, after sunset prayer, and never alone. His servants would stand at his door asking passers-by if they were hungry, so that they could share his table." (Sirr al-Asrar, p. XLIV)
An Ottoman mystic, Shaikh Muzaffer Ozak Efendi, later wrote of him:
The venerable Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani passed on to the Realm of Divine Beauty in A.H. 561/ 1166 C.E., and his blessed mausoleum in Baghdaad is still a place of pious visitation. He is noted for his extraordinary spiritual experiences and exploits, as well as his memorable sayings and wise teachings. It is rightly said of him that "he was born in love, grew in perfection, and met his Lord in the perfection of love." May the All-Glorious Lord bring us in contact with his lofty spiritual influence!