History

Hazrat Syed Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani was born around 1077 in Persia. Al-Gilani's father, Abu Salih Musa al-Hasani, was a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali, (Imam Hasan). Hasan was the eldest son of Ali and Fatimah. Ali was Muhammad's son-in-law and also cousin and Fatima was Muhammad's daughter. Al-Gilani's mother was the daughter of Abdullah Sawmai, a descendant of Husayn ibn Ali, the younger son of Ali and Fatima. Thus, Al-Gilani was both a Hasani and Hussaini Sayyid.

Within Al-Gilani's full name, al-Sayyid Muhiyudin Abu Muhammad Abdal Qadir al-Jilani al-Hasani wal-Hussaini, the word Sayyid denotes his descent from Muhammad.The name Muhiyudin describes him as a "reviver of religion".The phrase, al-Jilani refers to Al Gilani's place of birth.However, Al-Gilani also carried the epithet, al-Baghdadi referring to his residence and burial in Baghdad. The phrase al-Hasani wal-Hussaini affirms his lineal descent from both Hasan ibn Ali and Hussein ibn Ali, the grandsons of Muhammad.Describing Al Gilani with the phrase 'Najib al-tarafayn Sayyid' indicates that both his mother and father were of apostolic lineage.

Al Gilani spent his early life in Na'if, the town of his birth. In 1095, at the age of eighteen years, he went to Baghdad. There, he pursued the study of Hanbali law.After completing his education, Gilani left Baghdad. He spent twenty-five years as a reclusive wanderer in the desert regions of Iraq. In 1127, Al Gilani returned to Baghdad and began to preach to the public.He joined the teaching staff of the school belonging to his own teacher, al-Mukharrimii, and was popular with students. In the morning he taught hadith and tafsir, and in the afternoon he held discourse on the science of the heart and the virtues of the Qur'an. He was said to have been a convincing preacher and converted numerous Jews and Christians. His strength came in the reconciling of the mystical nature of the Sufi and strict nature of the Qur'an.

Al Gilani died in the evening of Monday 14 February 1166 C.E ( 11th Rabi Al-Akhar 561 AH) at the age of eighty nine years (by the Islamic calendar). His body was entombed in a shrine within his madrassa in Babul-Sheikh, Resafa (East bank of the Tigris) in Baghdad, Iraq.

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