Abdul Razzaq Gilani

ʿAbd al-Razzāq b. ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (c. Dhu al-Qi'dah 528 AH – 6 Shawwal 603 AH/9 September 1134 – 7 May 1207),[3] also known as Abū Bakr al-Jīlī or ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Jīlānī (often simplified as Abdul-Razzaq Gilani) for short, or reverentially as Shaykh ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Jīlānī by Sunni Muslims, was a Persian Sunni Muslim Hanbali theologian, jurist, traditionist, and Sufi mystic based in Baghdad. [4] He received his initial training in the traditional Islamic sciences from his father, Abdul-Qadir Gilani (d. 1166), the founder of the Qadiriyya order of Sunni mysticism, prior to setting out "on his own to attend the lectures of other prominent Hanbali scholars" in his region. [5] He is sometimes given the Arabic honorary epithet Tāj al-Dīn (Crown of the Religion) in Sunni tradition, due to his reputation as a mystic of the Hanbali school.[5]

Abdul Razzaq Gilani
Full name	Abdul Razzaq Gilani
Born	18 Zil Qa’dah 528 AH/ 9 September 1134
Fiqh	Hanbali[1][2]
Birthplace	Baghdad, Iraq
Died	6 Shawwal 603 AH 7 May 1207
Place of Burial	Tomb of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Baghdad, Iraq
Father	Abdul-Qadir Gilani
Son(s)	• Abu Saleh Gilani • Abu'l-Qasim Abdul Rahim Gilani • Abu Muhammad Isma'il Gilani • Abu Mohasin Fazal-e Allah Gilani • Jamal Allah Gilani
Khalifa	Abdul Jabbar Gilani
Other Titles	• Sheikh ("Leader") • Abdur Razzaq ("Servant of the All-Provider") • Al-Jilani ("One Who Is from Gilan") • Taj-ud-Din ("Crown of the Religion") • Abu Bakr ("Father of Bakr") • Sultan ul Faqr IV• ("The Fourth of the Seven Sacred Souls")

Family

Abdul Razzaq Gilani was born on 9 September 1134 (18 Dhu al-Qadah 528 AH) in Baghdad.[6] His father Abdul Qadir Gilani[7] was accorded as a Hasani and Husayni Sayyid, i.e. his maternal and paternal ancestry included Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, the sons of Ali, cousin of Muhammad, and Fatimah, Muhammad's daughter.[8][9][10]

Name

His full name is, Sultan-ul-Faqr IV Abu Bakr Taj-ud-Din Shaikh Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani, the word Syed denotes his descent from Muhammad.[11] The name Taj-ud-Din describes him as a "crown of religion" as he was the Mufti of Iraq during his time.[12] The phrase, al-Jilani refers to Gilan, the place of his father's birth and he carried the family name.[13][14] However, Abdul Razzaq also carried the epithet, Sultan ul Faqr IV, referring to his spiritual status.[15] His patronymic is Abu Bakr although rarely taken as part of his name.[16]

Life

He got religious and spiritual education directly from his father benefitting other scholars of his time. He got knowledge of hadith and Fiqh from his father, muhaddiths and learned group of scholars of that time. Being a Mufti of Iraq and due to his excellence as a jurist and scholar, he got the title of ‘Taj-ud-Din’ which literally means ‘the crown of religion’.[17] He was known for his abstinence and renunciation sending most of his time in prayers and dhikr. He only met people to preach turning many devotees into notable scholars and mystics.

Hafiz Imad-ud-Din Ibn-e-Kathir writes, "Hazrat Abdul Razzaq was perfectly accomplished mystic, ascetic and pious person. No one among the children of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jillani was more learned and accomplished than him. He rejected worldly riches, status and high posts. He was least interested in worldly pleasures and always looked forward to the hereafter. He listened and learnt Hadith from many scholars and many people learnt Hadith from him".[18]

The Incident of Celestial Beings

One day Shaikh Abdul Razzaq was present in the assembly of his father. Some mysterious and invisible beings were flying in sky, he saw them with fear but Ghaus-ul-Azam told him not to worry as he was one of them. Hazrat Abu Zura'a Zahir Bin Al-Muqqadas Al-Dari is reported to have said, “Today, a few such people are also present here who live across the mountain of Qa'f Qudas, their foot steps are in the air, their cloaks and the crowns of love of Allah on their heads are burning due to the extreme fire of Divine passion." Shaikh Abdul Razzaq was sitting close to the chair of Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani, listening to his words, he rose his head and gazed at the sky, in a moment his cloak and turban started burning and he fainted. Abdul Qadir Jilani rose up and put the fire out with his hands saying "Oh Abdul Razzaq you are also one of them". Abu Zura'a says that "after the sermon I asked Shaikh Abdul Razzaq about the incident. He explained that when he gazed at the sky he saw some celestial spiritual people in the air whose cloaks and turbans were blazing with the extreme fire of Divine passion and they were circling and dancing in the air, they were thundering like clouds with the ache of Divine love. Seeing them he also felt the same". [19]

Descendants

According to the author of Tuhfat-ul-Qaderia, He was father of five sons. Syed Imaaduddeen Abu Saleh Abdullāh Nasr Jilani, Syed Abul Qasim Abdul Raheem Jilani, Syed Abu Muhammad Ismāeel Jilani, Syed Abu Mohsin Fazlullāh Jilani and Syed Jamalullāh Jilani (famous as Hayat Al Meer).

Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani is the forefather of Jilanis of Sindh, Kashmir, Afghanistan, North Western Frontier Province (Pakistan) and some other parts of India.[20]

Spiritual Sufi Order

The founder of the Qadiriyya, Abdul Qadir Jilani, was a respected scholar and preacher.[21] Having been a pupil at the school (madrasa) of Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi he became the leader of this school after his death in 1119 CE. Being the new shaykh, he and his large family lived comfortably in the madrasa until his death in 1166, when his son, Abdul Razzaq, succeeded his father as the sheikh. The Qadiriyya flourished gradually and remained an influential Sunni institution. By the end of the fifteenth century the Qadiriyya had distinct branches and had spread to Morocco, Spain, Turkey, India, Ethiopia, Somalia, and present-day Mali.

In the Indian subcontinent, Sultan Bahoo is held responsible for spreading Qadiriyya order. His method of spreading the teachings of the Sufi doctrine of Faqr through his Punjabi couplets and through his writings which exceeded to more than 140. He granted the method of Dhikr and stressed that the way to reach Divinity is not through asceticism or excessive or lengthy prayers but it is selfless love carved out of annihilation in Allah called Divine Love.

Spiritual Lineage

The saintly lineage of Faqr reaches Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani in the following order:[22]

1. Muhammad
2. 'Alī bin Abī Ṭālib
3. al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī
4. Habib al Ajami
5. Dawud Tai
6. Maruf Karkhi
7. Sirri Saqti
8. Junaid Baghdadi
9. Abu Bakr Shibli
10. Abdul Aziz bin Hars bin Asad Yemeni Tamimi
11. Abu Al Fazal Abdul Wahid Yemeni Tamimi
12. Mohammad Yousuf Abu al-Farah Tartusi
13. Abu-al-Hassan Ali Bin Mohammad Qureshi Hankari
14. Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi
15. Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani
16. Shaikh Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani

Shaikh Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani lead the Qadiriyya order after his father and Murshid Shaikh Abdul Razzaq Jillani granted khilafat of Faqr to his grandson Abdul Jabbar Jillani.[15]

Death and Shrine

Baghdad

His death date is mostly noted to be 6 Shawwal 603 AH. His shrine is besides the shrine of Imam Ahmad Bin Hanbal near Baab-e-Harm in Baghdad. Few visitors and devotees are able to pay their regards due to the flow of river Tigris. He died on a Saturday, the 7 Shawwal 613 AH (some books mentioned 595 H, 1198 A.D) in Baghdad. A large crowd attended his funeral prayers, which were held also in many other places in Baghdad.[23] [24]

Works

The following book is found to be Shaikh Abdul Razzaq’s work:

• Jala-ul-Khawatir : "(The Removal of Cares)" [25]

References

1. John Renard, The A to Z of Sufism. p 142. ISBN 081086343X
2. Juan Eduardo Campo, Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 288. ISBN 1438126964
3. The works of Shaykh Umar Eli of Somalia of al-Tariqat al-Qadiriyyah.
4. W. Braune, Abd al-Kadir al-Djilani, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. I, ed. H.A.R Gibb, J.H.Kramers, E. Levi-Provencal, J. Schacht, (Brill, 1986), 69.
5. Ohlander, Erik S., “ʿAbd al-Razzāq b. ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson.
6. Ohlander, Erik S. (2010). "ʿAbd al-Razzāq b. ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī". In Kate Fleet; Gudrun Krämer; Denis Matringe; John Nawas; Everett Rowson (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Brill. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
7. "'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani". Encyclopædia Britannica. I: A-Ak – Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2010. pp. 16. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
8. Biographical encyclopaedia of sufis: central asia and middle east, pg 123, Vol 2. Hanif N. Sarup and Sons. (2002) ISBN 81-7625-266-2, 9788176252669.
9. The Election of Caliph/Khalifah and World Peace pg 176. Mowla, Khondakar G. (1998).
10. R. F., Burton. ""Arabian Nights" Vol 5, Chapter 61-Footnote 466".
11. Muslim communities of grace: the Sufi brotherhoods in Islamic religious life pg 94, Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. Columbia University Press. (2007). ISBN 978-0-231-14330-1.
12. Taj-ud-Din, The Mufti of Iraq. "...title was Taj-ud-Deen. He was born on 18th of Zil Qaadah 528 A.H. He was a great Saint and appointed as Mufti of Iraq..." Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
13. Encyclopaedia of religion and ethics: volume 1. (A – Art). Part 1. (A – Algonquins) pg 10. Hastings, James and Selbie, John A. Adamant Media corporation. (2001), "and he was probably of Persian origin."
14. The Sufi orders in Islam, 2nd edition, pg 32. Triingham, J. Spencer and Voll, John O. Oxford University Press US, (1998), "The Hanafi Qadirriya is also included since 'Abd al-Qadir, of Persian origin was contemporary of the other two."
15. Abdul Razzaq Al-Kailani. Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. PT Mizan Publications. p. 119. ISBN 978-6-028-23638-6.
16. Prince, Darashikoh. Safina tul Auliya (1986 ed.). Pakistan: Nafees Academy Karachi.
17. Taj-ud-Din, The Mufti of Iraq. "...title was Taj-ud-Deen...He was a great Saint and appointed as Mufti of Iraq..." Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
18. "Book - bahjat ul asrar - Nafeislam.Com | Islam | Quran | Tafseer | Fatwa | Books | Audio | Video | Muslim | Sunni - Nafseislam.Com". books.nafseislam.com.
19. The Sultan of the Saints: Mystical Life and Teaching of Shaikh Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani, pg 244, Riyāz Qādrī, Muhammad. Abassi publications, University of Michigan (2000), “My sermon is for the hidden men in whose hearts fire of love is raging.”
20. Book, Tuhfat-ul-Qaderia. "Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani was the father of five sons". Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2019-03-02.
21. Omer Tarin, Hazrat Ghaus e Azam Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani sahib, RA: Aqeedat o Salam, Urdu monograph, Lahore, 1996
22. Sult̤ān Bāhū (1998). Death Before Dying: The Sufi Poems of Sultan Bahu. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-92046-0.
23. "Shrine of Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
24. Ilmi Encyclopedia of General Knowledge, pg 427. Zāhid Ḥusain Anjum, Ilmi Kitab Khana, original from the University of Virginia, " Abdur Razzaq Gilani Syed, Hazrat ( —978 A.H.). He was the son of Hazrat Abdul Qadir Jilani Sani, his Mazar is situated in Uch Sharif. Abdur Razzaq Qadiri Shah, ...."
25. Jilani, Shaikh Syed Abdul Razzaq (2000). Jala-ul-Khawatir. Maktaba Nabaviyya, Lahore.

Further reading

• Ajahn Brahm, Mindfulness Bliss and Beyond. ISBN 978-0-86171-275-5
• Alexander Berzin, What is meditation?