SUFI STORIES #4 THE VISIT BY SHAYKH ABDUL QADIR JILANI – THE SULTAN OF SUFI SAINTS

I continued in that state of frequent fasting, incessant recitation of Al-Fatihah and yearning for the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) for many months.

Soon I realized that I was getting answers whenever someone asked important questions, including about the future. When some people found out about this ability of mine, they would ask me for advice. Some asked me about the pending major examination results of their children. When the answers came (instantaneously), I realized I had a dilemma. If the results were good, then everyone was happy to hear. But if the results were bad, then I was only causing them extra months of sadness. If they had waited for the results to be officially released, at least they would have not been miserable for several months earlier.

But the cruncher came when a lady friend asked me to confirm if her husband was having an affair with another woman. The answer came immediately, and it was affirmative. I was in a fix. If I told her that, she would certainly confront her husband, and if asked who told her so, she would certainly say I did! So I told her that I did not get involved in marital matters. It turned out that the husband was indeed having an affair.

This incident made me realize that this gift was not meant to be used for trivial matters. Since I could not stop people from asking me such questions, and they would be upset if I refused to help, I then asked God to remove that ability. So now if I need to find answers for an important issue, I have to do it the same way as other Muslims do – we do the Istikharah prayer (a special prayer seeking Divine Guidance) and supplicate. We then wait for the answer from God, which may come in many different ways. And since the Qur’an is God’s Words (verbatim), sometimes I get the answers directly from the Qur’an.

On the eve of the Prophet’s birthday that year (October 1989), while in the company of my future mother-in-law and another of my (future) wife’s relatives, I had a sudden urge to give Salam (Muslim greeting) to Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (May Allah be pleased with him).

Then he appeared before me (in spirit), but the others could not see him. He did not ask me to identify him to them. He gave us some advice which I conveyed to them. Then he asked us to recite the Salawat (salutation for the Prophet, Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) repeatedly. What happened after that I dare not share here yet, because if I do, the religious authorities may come scrambling after me.

For now let us get to know more about Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (May Allah be pleased with him).

Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani was born in Jilan (in Persia) in 1077 AD. He was a descendant of the Prophet (PBUH) through both his parents.

According to Sufi sources (see https://www.sufiwiki.com/Abdul_Qadir_Jilani) his birth was predicted by many saints from two hundred years before his time.

His father (Abu Saleh Musa, may Allah be pleased with him) had a dream in which he saw the Prophet (PBUH) who said to him:

“O my son Abu Saleh, Allah, Most High has given you a child who is my beloved son and also the beloved of Allah. His ranking among the Awliya (Saints) is akin to my rank among the Prophets”.

There were many miraculous events that heralded his birth. When he was a baby, he would not suckle milk during the fasting times of Ramadhan. As a child, he was always contemplating on God instead of playing. And he could see and hear the Angels talking about him.

He was a most obedient son and was very pious and studious. After undergoing extreme spiritual training and tests, he rose in spiritual station to become the greatest Sufi of all time. He is uniquely called “Al-Ghawth Al-A’zam” (The Supreme Helper, The Spiritual Pole), “Qutb-e-Zaman” (Leader of the Saints of the time) as well as “Sultan Al-Awliya” (King of The Saints). While the last title has been given to many other great saints before and after him, nobody among the Saints matches him in ranking, as foretold by the Prophet (PBUH) to his father in the dream.

According to records, he performed many miracles. Among his miracles was that thousands of people could hear his speeches clearly even though there were no microphones then. And many people embraced Islam at his hand.

He even brought a dead man to life (with Allah’s permission). So it was not only Jesus (Prophet Isa to the Muslims, Peace be upon him) who was granted this miracle. I also know of another Sufi Saint in India who performed this miracle.

Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani was 19 years younger than Imam Ghazali, and he studied in the foremost Islamic religious institution of that period (Nizamiyya Madrasa in Baghdad, which was headed by Imam Ghazali for many years).

However, although they were contemporaries when he was a young student and Imam Ghazali was a famous scholar, surprisingly, there is no record of him being a student of Imam Ghazali. But I am certain that these spiritual luminaries knew each other.

He authored several books and his discourses have also been compiled for the benefit of all.

Peace to all. See you at my next SUFI STORIES post!