The Science of Tasawwuf and Shari`ah
from Shaykh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani al-Hanbali
(må Gud vara nöjd med honom)
Some facts about Shaykh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani
He was born in 470 AH / 1077-8 CE, in Gilan, in present-day Iran.
He left this life in 561 AH / 1166 CE, in Baghdad, in present-day Iraq.
He was of the family of the Prophet (s.a.w.), having been descended from the Prophet (s.a.w.) on both his father’s side and his mother’s side.
He was a scholar who taught the Hanbali madhhab.
Shaykh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani said:
Anyone who does not follow the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), taking his Law [shari`a] in one hand and the Book that was revealed to him in the other hand, and who does not attain to by his path [tariq] to Allah (Almighty and Glorious is He), will perish and perish, will go astray and go astray. They are two guides to the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He). The Qur’an is your guide to the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He), and the Sunna is your guide to the Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace).
O Allah, cause a separation between us and our lower selves [nufus], and:
Give us in this world good, and good in the hereafter, and guard us against the torment of the fire. [Qur’an 2:201]
From Shaykh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, ”The Sublime Revelation” [Al-Fath ar-Rabbani], translated by Muhtar Holland (Published by Al-Baz Publishing, Houston, Texas, 1992). The quote is from the end of the twenty-fifth discourse, p. 182.