The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order ( Tariqa) founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated Jilani), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan Province, Iran.[Omer Tarin, Hazrat Ghaus e Azam Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani sahib, RA: Aqeedat o Salam, Urdu monograph, Lahore, 1996]
The order, with its many sub-orders, is widespread. Its members are present in India, Bangladesh, China, Turkey, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Balkans, Russia, Palestine, as well as East Africa, West Africa and North Africa.[Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. "The Special Sufi Paths (Tariqas)". Muslim Communities of Grace: The Sufi Brotherhoods in Islamic Religious Life. New York: Columbia UP, 2007. 86–96.][Gladney, Dru. "Muslim Tombs and Ethnic Folklore: Charters for Hui Identity" Journal of Asian Studies, August 1987, Vol. 46 (3): 495-532; pp. 48–49 in the PDF file.]
History
Abdul Qadir Gilani, a Hanbali scholar and preacher, having been a pupil at the
madrasa of Abu Saeed Mubarak, became the leader of the madrasa after Mubarak's death in 1119. Being the new
Sheikh, he and his large family lived in the madrasa until his death in 1166, when his son, Abdul Razzaq, succeeded his father as Sheikh. Abdul Razzaq published a
hagiography of his father, adding to his already established reputation as founder of a prestigious Sufi order.
[Bahjat al-Asrar by Nur al-Din 'Ali al-Shattanufi]
The Qadiriyya flourished, surviving the Mongolian conquest of Baghdad in 1258, and remained an influential Sunni Islam Sufi order. After the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate, the legend of Abdul Qadir Gilani was again found in many texts such as The Joy of the Secrets in Abdul Qadir's Mysterious Deeds ( Bahjat al-Asrar fi ba'd manaqib 'Abd al-Qadir) attributed to Nur al-Din 'Ali al-Shattanufi, who taught that Abdul Qadir Gilani was the greatest Wali within Islam, helped the Qadiri order flourish far beyond Baghdad.
By the end of the fifteenth century, the Qadiriyya had distinct sub-orders and had spread to Morocco, Spain, Turkey, India, Ethiopia, Somalia, and present-day Mali.
Khawaja Abdullah, a Sheikh of the Qadiriyya and a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, is reported to have entered China in 1674 and traveled the country preaching until his death in 1689.
Sultan Bahu contributed to the spread of Qadiriyya in India. His method of spreading the teachings of the Sufi doctrine of Faqr was through his Punjabi couplets and other writings, which numbered more than 140.
Sheikh Sidi Ahmad al-Bakka'i of the Kunta family was born in the region of the Noun river, Akka) established a Qadiri Zawiya or Sufi lodge in Walata. In the sixteenth century his family spread across the Sahara to Timbuktu, Agades, Bornu Empire, Nigeria, and in the eighteenth century large numbers of Kunta family members moved to the region of the middle of Niger where they established the village of Mabruk. Sidi al-Mukhtar al-Kunti (1728–1811) united the Kunta family's factions by successful negotiation, and established an extensive confederation. Under his influence the Maliki school of Sharia was reinvigorated and the Qadiriyya order spread throughout Mauritania, the middle Niger region, Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Futa Toro, and Futa Jallon. Kunta settlements in the Senegambia became centers of Muslim teaching.[Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, Cambridge University Press, p. 409]
Sheikh Usman dan Fodio (1754-1817) from Gobir popularized the Qadiri teachings in Nigeria. He was well educated in classical Islamic science, philosophy, and theology. He also became a revered religious thinker. In 1789 a vision led him to believe he had the power to work miracles, and to teach his own mystical wird, or litany. His litanies are still widely practiced and distributed in the Islamic world.[Lapidus, Ira M. A History of Islamic Societies. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2014. pg 469]
Features
Symbolism
The members of the Qadiri order wear a rose in their cap embroidered to which they attach the following legendary history: "Know ye that that every
Tariqa or Path has its particular sign and that of the noble Qadiri order is the
rose symbolism, the names and
of which have been explained by the great
of our order."
[Brown, John P. (1868). The Dervishes: or, Oriental Spiritualism. Page 89. London: Trübner and Co.] In the center of the
rose symbolism is a star.
[Brown, John P. (1868). The Dervishes: or, Oriental Spiritualism. Page 102. London: Trübner and Co.]
The origin myth of the rose symbolism of the members of the Qadiri order is as follows:
The form of the rose symbolism of Baghdad is as follows: It has two outside and two inside rings, and three circles, and is made of green cloth. The first circle signifies Sharia, or God's law as revealed by his Prophet, the second signifies Tariqa, or the order, the third signifies Ma'rifa, or knowledge of God. The three together are a sign that their acquisition has bestowed the Hal, or condition, known as the Haqiqa, or truth.[Brown, John P. (1868). The Dervishes: or, Oriental Spiritualism. page 90-91. London: Trübner and Co.]
Chain of succession
The following are two commonly cited spiritual chains (silsilas) tracing back to Prophet Muhammad:
-
• Muhammad
-
• Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib
-
• Imam Hasan Basri
-
• Hazrat Sheikh Habib Ajmi
-
• Hazrat Sheikh Dawud Al Tai
-
• Ma'ruf Karkhi
-
• Sari al-Saqati
-
• Junayd al-Baghdadi
-
• Sheikh Abu Bakr Shibli
-
• Sheikh Abdul Aziz Tamimi
-
• Abu al-Fadl al-Tamimi
-
• Abu al-Farah Tartusi
-
• Abu al-Hasan Hankari
-
• Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi
-
• Abdul Qadir Gilani
Moulana Fakhruddin Dehlvi R.A, the spiritual predecessor of both Pir Mehr Ali Shah R.A and Shah Sulaiman Taunsvi R.A—appearing two steps above the latter and four steps above the former in their respective lineages—states in his book
Fakhrul Hasan that narrations suggesting a meeting between Imam Ali al-Rida and Ma'ruf Karkhi are historically false. He asserts that the actual Qadiriyya silsila continues through
Imam Hasan al-Basri.
This clarification is provided due to the repeated removal of the lineage tracing through Imam Hasan al-Basri by some editors. While efforts are generally made to avoid highlighting intra-traditional disputes, the omission of one widely accepted chain necessitated the inclusion of both versions for balance and accuracy.
Another version of the spiritual lineage, cited by some Qadiriyya traditions, is as follows:[Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. "The Special Sufi Paths (Taqiras)." Muslim Communities of Grace: The Sufi Brotherhoods in Islamic Religious Life. New York: Columbia UP, 2007. 86-96.][Westerlund, David; Svanberg, Ingvar (2012). Islam Outside the Arab World. Routledge. p. 199. Retrieved 24 April 2014.][Sult̤ān Mohammad Najib-ur-Rehman (11 March 2015). Sultan Bahoo: The Life and Teachings. Sultan-ul-Faqr Publications. ]
-
• Muhammad
-
• Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib
-
• Imam Husayn
-
• Imam Ali al-Sajjad
-
• Imam Muhammad Baqir
-
• Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq
-
• Imam Musa al-Kazim
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• Imam Ali al-Rida
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• Ma'ruf Karkhi
-
• Sari al-Saqati
-
• Junayd al-Baghdadi
-
• Sheikh Abu Bakr Shibli
-
• Sheikh Abdul Aziz Tamimi
-
• Abu al-Fadl al-Tamimi
-
• Abu al-Farah Tartusi
-
• Abu al-Hasan Hankari
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• Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi
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• Abdul Qadir Gilani
Sub-orders
Qadiri Naushahi
The Qadiri Naushahi sub-order of the Qadiriyya was established by
Muhammad Qadiri, famously known as Hazrat Naushah Pak in
Gujrat City, Pakistan, in the late sixteenth century.
Qadiri Sarwari
This sub-order was started by
Sultan Bahu in the seventeenth century and spread in the western part of Indian subcontinent. It follows most of the Qadiriyya's approach, although, it does not follow a specific dress code nor require
seclusion or other lengthy exercises. Its main purpose is the contemplation of God.
[=]
Qadiri Mukhtari
This sub-order of the Qadiriyya came into being in the eighteenth century, led by al-Mukhtar al-Kunti of the western
Sahara who wished to establish Qadiri Sufism as the dominant Sufi order in the region. In contrast to other sub-orders of the Qadiriyya that do not have a centralized authority, the Mukhtari sub-order is highly centralized. Its leaders focus on economic prosperity as well as spiritual well-being, sending their disciples on trade caravans as far away as Europe. The main focus of this sub-order is
.
[Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. "The Centralized Sufi Brotherhoods." Muslim Communities of Grace: The Sufi Brotherhoods in Islamic Religious Life. New York: Columbia UP, 2007. 163–170.]
Qadiri Harari
The founder of the Qadiriyya Harari sub-order was Abu Bakr bin 'Abd Allah 'Aydarus and his
Dargah is located in
Harar, Ethiopia. Other notable Sheikhs have shrines scattered around the environs of Harar. The current leader of the sub-order is a Somali man named Mohamed Nasrudin bin Shaykh Ibrahim Kulmiye.
The sub-order is widespread in Djibouti, Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Notable leaders of the sub-order include
Uways Al-Barawi,
Sheikh Madar, al-Zaylaʽi and Abadir Umar ar-Rida.
Qadiri Barkati
Founded by Shah Barkatullah Marehrawi, an Islamic scholar, jurist, and
Sufi living at the time of
Mughal emperors Aurangzeb, who died on the tenth of
Muharram 1142
Islamic calendar or October 1729
Common Era. He is buried in the Dargah-e Barkatiyya in
Marehra, India. Muhammad Ameen Mian Qadiri is the present custodian of the sub-order.
Qadiri Tekkesi
It was founded in 1738 by the Indian Sunni Muslim Sheikh Seyfullah Effendi Hintli in Selamsız, and became popular among the Romani people in Turkey.
The sub-order is present in the Balkans and Turkey.
Qadiri Arusi
Founded by Muhammad ibn Ahmad Lebbai, reverentially known as Imam al-Arus, from which the sub-order gets its name. Muhammad ibn Ahmad Lebbai is a well-known Qadiri Sheikh in
Sri Lanka, who is seen as a
Mujaddid and an advocate of communal harmony by the people of the island nation. His sub-order spread from Sri Lanka to
Southern India, the
Middle East, and even the
Far East parts of Russia and China.
Qadiri Halisi
Founded by Abdurrahman Halis. This sub-order is one of the most popular of them all, and is present in Turkey, as well as where the Qadiriyya was founded-
Iraq.
Amalgamations
Qadiriyya wa Naqshbandiyya
Qadiriyya wa Naqshbandiyya is a
Tariqa which is a synthesis of the
Qadiri and
Naqshbandi orders of
Sufism.
The Qadiriyya wa Naqshbandiyya Sufi order traces back through its
Silsila to
Muhammad, through the
Hanbali school Ulama Abdul Qadir Gilani and the
Hanafi school Islamic scholar Shah Baha al-Din Naqshband, combining both of their Sufi orders.
[Tazkare Khwanadane Hazrat Eshan(Stammesverzeichnis der Hazrat Ishaan Kaste)(verfasst und geschriben von: Yasin Qasvari Naqshbandi Verlag: Talimat Naqshbandiyya in Lahore), p. 281] The order has a major presence in three countries, namely
Pakistan,
India, and
Indonesia.
Barelvi movement
The
Barelvi movement was founded by Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, a
Murid of Shah Aale Rasool Marehrawi, who was a descendant of Shah Barkatullah Marehrawi. When Ahmed Raza Khan became a student of Shah Aale Rasool, he was initiated into the Qadiri Sufi order and was given
Ijazah to spread the teachings of the Qadiri, Chishti, Naqshbandi, and Suhrawardi Sufi orders. Ahmed Raza Khan fused teachings from the aforementioned Sufi orders, along with his own teachings into his Barelvi movement, which sought to defend Sunni Islam from what Ahmed Raza Khan perceived as
Zandaqa, such as Deobandism,
Wahhabism,
Shia Islam and
Ahmadiyya. Contemporary Barelvis generally follow the teachings of the
Hanafi school and Shafi'i schools of jurisprudence, and
Maturidism and Ash'ari schools of theology and multiple
Sufi orders, including the
Qadiri,
Chisti,
Naqshbandi, and
Suhrawardiyya orders.
[Imam, Muhammad Hassan. (2005). The Role of the Khulafa-e-Imam Ahmed Raza Khan in the Pakistan Movement 1920–1947. Diss. Karachi: University of Karachi.]
See also
Further reading
-
Abun-Nasr, Jamil M. "The Special Sufi Paths (Taqiras)", in Muslim Communities of Grace: The Sufi Brotherhoods in Islamic Religious Life. New York: Columbia UP, 2007. 86–96.
-
Chopra, R. M., Sufism, 2016, Anuradha Prakashan, New Delhi
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"Halisa and the Distinguished Ones", Mehmet Albayrak, Ankara, 1993, Turkey
External links
