region and a
khanqah
( the Persian name for Sufi hospice), known as
Qadri-
khanqah
or ‘The Hospice of the Qadris’
.
In Arabia
zawiyahs
(the Arabic name
for Sufi centre) were set up at Jedda, Madinah, and Makkah. In Africa,
there were numerous Qadri
zawyiahs
a
t
Khartum, Sokoto, andTripoli. Qadri
missionary activity was greatly in evidence among the Berbers. The Qadri
tariqa
in India was established by Sayyid Muhammad Makhdum Gilani
(d.1517), known also as Muhammad Ghawth, who founded a khanqah in
Uch, which flourished under Shaykh Dawud Kirmani (d.1574), Miyan Mir
(d.1635) and Mulla Shah Badakshani (d.1661). There were Qadriyya
establishments in Sindh, Punjab, Gujarat, Deccan, and Kashmir as well.
The Life of the Founder
Shaykh Abdul Qadir (1078-1166) was born in the village of Nif, in the
district of Jilan in northern Iran, south of the Caspian Sea. He was descended
from Imam Hasan, the Prophet’s grandson. Orphaned early, he was looked
after by his maternal grandfather, Sayyid ‘Abdullah Suma‘i, who was a
pious and saintly person. In 1095, when he was eighteen, he left Jilan for
Baghdad, which was then the hub of unparalleled intellectual activity and
where the reputed Nizamiyyah College, a seminary founded in 1065, was
at its zenith. However, he chose not to study in this institution and pursued
his studies with other teachers of Baghdad.
Right from his early childhood, his truthful character had a great impact
upon anyone who chanced to meet him. There is a story about his journey
from his native place to Baghdad which illustrates this special virtue.When
he was about to leave, his mother gave him forty gold coins —his share in
the patrimony, which she concealed by stitching them into his cloak. As
parting advice to her son, she told him always to be truthful and honest;
Abdul Qadir promised never to tell a lie.
