the period, this antagonism soon dissipated. It is reported that Abdul-Qadir
was initiated into the mystic discipline by his teacher of jurisprudence,
Qadi Abu Said Mubarak al-Mukharrimi (d. 1129), head of a school of
Hambalite law in Baghdad, who bestowed upon him the Sufi robe.
Once the Shaykh’s academic and spiritual training in Baghdad was over,
he withdrew from the world. It is said that he spent the next twenty-five
years as a wandering dervish, the last eleven years in total seclusion in
ruins located some distance from Baghdad. Interestingly, Henri Bergson
has likened the seclusion of a mystic to “the repose of a locomotive standing
in a station under steam pressure.” Not surprisingly, when in 1127 Abdul
Qadir re-emerged from his retreat, he was filled with a feeling of purpose
and began to address the public with great energy and keenness. He did so
on the advice — which reinforced his own spiritual leanings — of Khwajah
Yusuf Hamadani (d.1140). This renewed commitment coincided with his
succeeding his mentor, Mukharrimi, as the head of a seminary, or
madrasa,
in Baghdad, where he began to impart his knowledge to others.
Shaykh Abdul Qadir figures in the works of all of his contemporaries as
well as later writers as an extremely powerful preacher. Many mystics made
an impact upon the people by giving them their undivided attention and
personal care, but the Shaykh chose a different route altogether. He took to
addressing vast crowds, thereby bringing about a revolution in their lives.
Indeed, his feats had no parallel in Islamic history.
With this recourse to mass appeal, Islamic mysticism entered a new stage,
where the mystic teachers of
da’irahs
(small mystic centres of like-minded
persons) and
zawiyahs
(centres for mystics to live and pray in) emerged
from their retreats and began to address huge gatherings, communicating
their message of spiritual and moral enlightenment. Shattanawfi (d. 1314)
