GHAUS-AL-AZAM
HAZRAT SHEIKH MUHYIDDIN
(Radi Allahu Anh)
The most universally
acclaimed Saint of all times and the most celebrated, in the world, among the
Jinn and men as well as among the souls and the Angels, the beloved of Allah Ta'ala
who fought throughout the history, has been showered with the titles of
Muhyiddein (reviver of the faith), Qutb Rabbani and Ghaus-a-Azam (the greatest
helper).
Sayyidi wa Imami
Shaikh-ul-Akbar Abu Muhammad Abdul Qadir Jilani (radi Allahu anh) was born on
lst of Ramadan 470 A.H. in Jilan, Persia.
His father's name was Hazrat Abu Saleh (radi A1lahu anh), a man of piety
and a direct descendant of Hazrat Imam Hasan ibn Ali (radi Allahu anh). His
mother Ummu- Khair Hazrat Fatima (radi Allahu anha) was a saintly daughter of a
saintly father Sheikh Abdullah Sami who was a direct descendant of Hazrat Imam
Husain ibn Ali (radi Allahu anh). Thus
Muhyiddin Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani was both Hasani and Husaini, a descendant
of the Holy Prophet (Sallalaho alaihi wasallam).
The Holy Prophet sallalaho
alaihi wasallam is the last Prophet there is no Prophet after him. But people
can aspire to spiritual progress, acquire piety and saintliness and become
Awliya Allah. And the highest spiritual state after Anbiya (Prophets) belongs
to the Siddiqeen (the truthful). That is why, the Holy Prophet taught us to
make the dua:
“Allahummaj ‘alna
minas-siddiqeen.” (O Allah make us
among the truthful).
Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani
(radi Allahu anh) manifested to the world that he ranked among the siddiqeen at
the ripe age of 18. At that age, thirst for knowledge and eagerness for the
company of Awliya Allah took him to the city of Baghdad. It is related that as
he was about to leave home on the momentous journey his widowed mother sewed 40
gold coins inside his coat as part of his, inheritance, and as parting advice
told him to be forever truthful. The caravan with which he was travelling had
gone so far as Hamdan when it was attacked by a gang of robbers. In the course
of the loot, one of the robbers asked him whether he had anything with him and
he truthfully replied that he had forty gold coins sewn in his coat.
The robber obviously thought
he was joking and narrated the incident to his chief who decided to come and
see this young man. When his coat was torn open, surely there were forty gold
coins. The gang leader was astounded. He asked young Abdul Qadir why he
revealed this when he could very well have kept it secret. His answer was that
his mother had advised him not to lie and he was duty bound to obey his mother.
Hearing this, the gang leader was overpowered with remorse, repented, accepted
Abdul Qadir Jilani as his Sheikh and so did all his followers and they went on
to acquire wilaya (sainthood) themselves. This is how Sheikh Abdul Qadir came
to be ranked among the Siddiqeen.
The period of
preaching by Ghous-al-Azam Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (rahmat-Allah alaihi) is
of considerable importance. It is spread over more than forty years and more of
his precious life. It started in 521 A.H. and continued till 561 AH (1127 to
1166 AD).
After his return to Baghdad
in 511 AH, he devoted himself wholly as a teacher. There were good reasons for it.
In the first instance he was an educationist, a keen lover of knowledge and a
staunch supporter of mass literacy. This is evident from his sermons. Secondly,
being very modest by nature, he always refrained from projecting himself in the
limelight. Thirdly, Baghdad in those days was highly developed in the art of
oratory (speech-making) and there were many recognized and celebrated Arab
orators who by their command of language and the gift of making stirring
speeches had become very popular amongst all selections of people. Fourthly,
with him being a native of non-Arabic speaking land, he was at a disadvantage
when compared to the Arabs, in the field of oratory for which eloquence and
fluency of speech were of profound value and importance.
In spite of these disadvantages, he was able to acquire, due to his
courage, aptitude and proficiency in the art of oratory. Ultimately he became a
great orator and preacher of his time. He earned fame in this field in the same
way as he had won recognition of his talents as a scholar and a teacher. It is
narrated that on the l6th Shawwal. 521 AH, he was blessed with the Ziarat
(vision) of the Holy Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam); who questioned him,
"Why do you not preach?" He humbly submitted: "I am a Ajami, and
I do not have enough command of the Arabic language to enable me to deliver
public speeches."
The Holy Prophet blessed him
by reciting on him seven times the following verse:
"Cal1 unto the way of
thy Lord with wisdom and fair exhortation, and reason with them in the better
way.”
Ghous-al -Azam, thus blessed
and directed by the Holy Prophet (sallallaho alaihi wasallam), finished his
prayers, and mounted the mimber (pulpit) of the mosque. He delivered his maiden
speech before the congregation on one of the religious injunctions. There were
not many people in the audience because up to that time he was known only as a
teacher and nobody knew him as an orator or a reformer. Small audiences and
lack of interest shown by the people in his early speeches did not bring about
any discouragement to him. He was a man of great courage and determination. He
knew that he was obeying the directions of the Holy Prophet of Allah
(sallallaho alaihi wasallam) and his blessings were with him. The learned
authors of Qalaidul Jawahir and Safinatul Aulia have mentioned that he was also
directed and blessed by his great-grand father, Hazrat Ali Ibn Abu Talib to
deliver sermons. He never suffered from lack of confidence. His lack of fluency
in Arabic, or in the art of oratory, was no longer problems to deter him. He
used to deliver sermons with the confidence that whatever words would come out
of his mouth, would be inspirations from Almighty Allah.
It was the result of his
complete dedication to duty and unshakable belief in Allah that within a short
span of time, his fame as an orator spread throughout the length and breadth of
the Muslim world. His sermons became so popular that people would come in
droves from far places to listen to his sermons. The mosques where he delivered
his sermons fell short of accommodation. Therefore, on request of the public,
he shifted the venue to Jami-Masjid, which was the biggest mosque of Baghdad in
those days. Later on, this mosque also could not also accommodate the people;
therefore they carried his Mimber (pulpit) to Eid Gaah (an open space where Eid
prayers are held). Later, the increasing swell of his audience obliged him to
set apart three days of the week to deliver Khutbas; the Fridays and Mondays in
his Jamia (University) and Sundays in his Khanqah (monastery), which was being
maintained and run under his direct supervision.
Amongst his audience there
were people from every walk of life; people of different faiths, of divergent
views and status. There used to be Asfia, Fuqaha (Jurists), Ulama
(scholars) of high repute, Mashaikh, Muslims and non-Muslims, commoners,
ministers, and even his rivals. It was a miracle of his words, of his way of
speaking and of his manner of expressing ideas that at the end of each Khutba,
there used to be a long line of people coming forward for Bayt at his hands,
and thereby giving up their past ways of sinful living. Many non-Muslims,
notably the Jews and Christians, came forward to embrace Islam at his hand.
Ghous-al-Azam was not
heavily built but slim. The resolute hard life, long hours of meditation and
ceaseless struggle against Nafs (self), had made him wiry. He was of medium
height, neither short nor tall. He had a full-grown beard, and his countenance
sparkled with Noor (spiritual glow) the natural effect of his night-long
prayers. His voice was louder and greater penetrating than could be imagined
from a man of his constitution. At about the time of delivering sermons, he was
audible to thousands of people sitting around him. There were approximately
seventy thousand people attending his sermons and some of them had to come days
before the sermon from places as far as Syria, Yemen and Egypt. There used to
be several hundred people, ready with their pens to write each and every word
spoken by him.
With the passage of time, he
gained increasing popularity as an orator, a preacher and a reformer. He had no
personal motives or worldly ambitions. He was only discharging the duties
entrusted to him by Allah. His mission was to revive the true Islamic spirit
and to serve mankind. He was above sectional and class feelings. He was neither
a statesman nor a politician, but still he was fully aware of the evil trends
that were spoiling the society. Old groups and conspiracies in the struggle of
power and the never-ending clashes and confrontations infested the Muslim
world, particularly amongst the Seljuks, so much so that Khalifa Mustarshid
Billah had to intervene. His reforms in the administration and induction of
Islamic laws had lost much of their force a long time ago. Loyalties of the
people were divided between the Khalifa and the Kings so much so that during a
confrontation between the Seljuk King Masood, and Mustarshid Billah, the
latter's army revolted against him and the Khalifa was deported as a prisoner
to a fort near Hamdan.
The Ghous al Azam kept
himself aloof from the power-seekers and the unprincipled nobles of the
society, and instead kept himself busy in his mission of preaching. He
presented and explained the message of Allah in the same way as had been done
by the Imam of Prophets (sallallaho alaihi wasallam). He was treading into the
footsteps of the Holy Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, the Imams and the Saints
of Allah. He never hesitated in the pronouncement of Truth and Righteousness.
He was fearless like an unsheathed sword but never antagonizing. He never
uttered anything to injure the religious feelings of any sect or faction. He
was of the firm view that the evils of society were curable only through putting
the tenets and injunctions of Islam into practice. The society had drifted away
to such an extent that even the people posted on elevated and exalted positions
were not above suspicion. The inconsistencies of their character were only too
obvious. Flatterers and opportunists were rewarded for their treacheries.
Kings, though only vicegerents to Khalifa, had greater authority and power than
the Khalifa himself. The situation could be imagined from the instance, that
when Mustarshid Billah was brutally murdered by the Batini gangsters and his
son Rashid Billah succeeded him. Further, King Masood was able to oppose the
new Khalifa. He mustered support of the Ulama one-way or other and obtained a Fatwah
against him to the effect that he being a drunkard and therefore immoral, was
unfit for the high office, and the King as his vicegerent was justified in
removing him from Khilafat. The Qazi of Baghdad, Ibne Karrakhi, was also
amongst the signatories.
The Saint of Jilan patiently
observed all such incidents, however during his sermons he would not spare any
such personality, or pseudo scholars. Once in his address he referred to such
personalities:
"Ye! Scholar and pious people, how
long will you remain hypocrites only to please the kings for their wealth, or
due to their lust for power. You and most of the kings are cruel. O' Allah!
Destroy these hypocrites and condemn them."
He made no distinction
between a prince and a commoner, or between the wealthy and the poor. If he
found any thing in their conduct contrary to teachings of the Qur'an and
Sunnah, he spoke fearlessly and continued to oppose their anti-Islamic conduct
until the mistake was corrected. There were no democratic institutions, no
public representatives and no freedom of expression for presenting their grievances
of the helpless and the poor. The destiny of the State and the well-being of
the people depended on the sweet will of the Caliph, or his favorites. They
enjoined unlimited powers to appoint or dismiss from public service any person,
irrespective of merits and capability. The appointment of undeserving persons
of ill repute to important posts through flattery or similar means was common. The
Saint of Jilan through his preaching emerged as a fearless spokesman of the
masses.
Thus he not only helped the
people to mould their lives in accordance with the Qur'an and Sunnah, but he
also safeguarded their civil rights.
Once, a man Abul Wafa Yahya
was appointed as a Qazi (Judge) by the Caliph. He was a man of disreputable
character and was notorious for his cruelty and dishonesty. People were
generally unhappy over his appointment but no one had the courage to raise a
dissent voice. Ghous-al-Azam, having come to know of it, openly said during one
of his sermons:
"Caliph Muktafi A1 Amar-Allah has made a
wrong appointment to the post of Qazi, the man who does not deserve this post.
He is notorious for his cruelty and evil acts. The Caliph will be responsible
for his evil acts and answerable to Allah, Who is Beneficent and Merciful, and
He does not approve the imposition of such cruel men over His creatures."
He continued his public
criticism till the man was removed from his post.
The revered Ghous-al-Azam
disinterested in worldly gains and a fearless soldier of Allah, could never
compromise with the injustices caused to the people. On the contrary his
sincerity of purpose attracted the Caliph Muktafi AL Amar-Allah and he became
his devotee. He used to come to listen to his sermons, and to seek blessings of
the revered Ghous. It was the miracle of his expression, which left deep
impression on the Caliph who realised the
after-effects of his ill-advised policies. The blessings and counsels of the
Great Ghaus brought about reforms in his Government and re-organised his
administration in such a way that the tenets of Islam were not violated in any
way. Thus the Caliph not only won the heart of the masses but was also blessed
by the revered Ghous al-Azam.
Caliph Muktafi A1 Amar-Allah
occupied the throne at a time when his own brother Nurtarshid, and nephew
Rashid had been humiliated and deposed by the Seljuk King Masood who at the
time of Bayt (oath of allegiance) on the hands of Khalifa, had imposed his own
terms by which he had appropriated all the horses from the stable of Khalifa,
and other miscellaneous means of transportation that contributed to the
mobility of the army. After a year, the Khalifa was further deprived of all of
his property with the exception of a few orchards. Such demands and usurpations
of Masood were not only creating trouble for the Khalifa, but also an
unbearable burden on the poor masses.
It was the result of
preachings of the Saint of Jilan that one day when King Masood demanded one
hundred thousand dinars from the Khalifa. He refused to impose any further
burden on the poor masses and expressed his inability to concede to the
incredible demand of the King. The Khalifa, instead, offered to go into exile
rather than be harsh on his exile. The King had to withdraw his unjust demand.
It was through the blessings
of the Saint of Jilan that within a short time, Khalifa Muktafi al AmarAllah
regained the exalted position of his ancestors. He became a pious and kindhearted
ruler. He got a new door installed in Kabatullah. All the renowned Muslim
historians, Ibn-e-Jauzi, Abu Talib AbdurRahman and Zehbi, all unanimously
agreed that he succeeded in regaining temporal power over Iraq and other areas
where Sultan Sanjar of Khurasan and Sultan Nooruddin of Syria were vicegerents.
It was during this period that the power of militant Seljuk sovereigns began to
decline.
The manner of delivering
sermons adopted by the Saint of Jilan was so attractive that people in the
audience used to sit in complete silence like statues. There also used to be
such enthusiasm and emotional ardour at the climax of his sermons that hundreds
of people used to cry like children as an expression of repentance over their
sinful lives. It was also usual that at the end of his sermon, there used to be
a long line of people pledging at his hands to forsake their sinful living, and
to sincerely follow the commandments of Allah in future. Once, he himself said
that about a hundred thousand people of ill-repute and sinful living repented
before him.
“.... AND THE CAT ATE THE
FRIED EGGS"
Once, his illustrious son
Sheikh Saifuddin Syed Abdul Wahab who had graduated in all the branches of prevalent
learning sought his permission to address the people who had gathered to listen
to his usual sermon. He smilingly granted him permission. Syed Abdul Wahab
having found the opportunity spoke the best possible style of oratory he had
learnt. But he could not create a satisfactory expression on the audience who
remained restless and showed no sign of interest in his speech.
After the speech of his son,
Ghous al-Azam himself went to the Mimber and began to speak:
"Umme Yahya (mother of
Yahya - another son of his son) fried a few eggs and put them in a bowl for her
husband's meal. The bowl was kept in a hanger suspended from the roof.
Meanwhile a cat jumped at the hanger, the fried eggs dropped down and were
eaten by the cat.... "
He had hardly concluded the
story when the people were overwhelmed with emotion. They felt as their hunger
for his sermon had received their coveted morsel.
Later, Syed Abdul Wahab
asked his father, "Ya Aba (father)! I spoke to the best of my ability
but the people remained unenthusiastic and disinterested, but you spoke only a
few sentences of no significance, and there was great enthusiasm and visible
interest amongst the audience. "
The Great Saint smiled and
said:
"Son! When you spoke,
you relied on your acquired knowledge, but when I delivered the sermon, I
relied on Allah. I speak with absolute faith that whatever comes out o f my
mouth is from Him. "
It is impossible to cover briefly the various
aspects, experiences teachings or miracles of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. We
cannot even contemplate his status before Allah Ta'ala and those who are not
initiated or do not believe in Tasawwuf, it is very difficult for them to
accept the high regard accorded to him by all the pious people of the world His
miracles include making dead rise from the graves. Prophet Mohammad (sallallaho
alaihi wasallam) used to talk about Abdul Qadir coming to the world. But the
initiate wonders sometimes why he revealed so many spiritual secrets when most
other sheikhs were reticent. To answer the question, we will need to turn to
Sayyidi wa Imami, Maulana Abdul ibn Alawi al-Haddad (radi Allahu anh). In Gifts
for the Seeker, he explains that Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (radi Allahu anh)
had received permission to divulge 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." These spiritual secrets mentioned here are nothing new, but can
be only understood by some. No wonder Hazrat Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anh) had
stated, " I learned two sciences from Rasulullah (sallallaho alaihi
wasallam). I conveyed to you the first one. You cannot comprehend the second
one and you will kill me if I disclose to you the second one."
Al-Khatib
al-Baghdadi (radi Allahu anh) wrote in his book, Tarikh al Baghdad,
"If
none of the prayers of the Nuqaba (300 in number), the Nujaba (70 in number),
the Abdal (40), the Akhyar (7) or the A'mad (4) is granted, then the Ghaus (
the only one) whose prayer will certainly be granted, prays."
Sheikh
Abdul Qadir had stated,
"Pray
Salatul Ghausiyya, and make my wasila and if your prayers are not granted hold
me responsible on the Day of Judgement."
What
more could one ask from the one and only Ghaus-al-Azam, Hazrat Sheikh Muhyiddin
Abdul Qadir Jilani (radi Allaho anh)!