'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (born A.D. 1077, died 1166 in Baghdad) is probably the best known saint of Islam and certainly the most widely venerated. A visit to his tomb in Baghdad, over which Sultan Suleyman built a fine monument in 1535, is still the goal of many pilgrims. His works (mainly prayers attributed to him) are still being printed in Cairo; he is well known in Pakistan and Muslim India, as well. He is so much at home in West Africa that the Algerians claim he was a native of their country, even though it is known that he was born in the province of Jilan in northern Persia, along the Caspian coast.
'Abd al-Qadir is frequently mentioned in Hausa literature in Nigeria. He is venerated in Kenya and even in Zaire. In Swahili there is a booklet of tales of his miracles, and in Javanese there is a larger volume on his life and works. He has thus become the most universal of the Islamic saints. It is often difficult to assess where history ends and legend begins in the numerous tales told about him, but the believers are not worried by such details.
The legends presented here have been taken from collections of tales told about 'Abd al-Qadir in Africa, Indonesia, and the Middle East. Most of these tales are extremely popular and are retold in many languages; some are of pre-Islamic origin. Essentially the tales are not episodes from the saint's life but are fables or legends, that is, stories with a moral.
For instance, in the tale of the chicken bones, a young disciple has to begin by eating dry bread. Then, when he has achieved complete power over all his physical desires by continuous asceticism he will have the power to bring dead animal back to life. The tale of the sandals becoming lethal missiles emphasizes God's power to use anyone and anything he wishes to punish the wicked and to destroy even a gang of criminals. A saint is a man who understands this and so is able to help God's plans along by working for him. The birds symbolize vulgar, stupid, barbaric people who interrupt scholarly discourse and sully the purity of divine service.
Legends of 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani
THE BEGINNING. Before he was born, 'Abd al-Qadir received a hundred visions from God. And as a baby, 'Abd al-Qadir refused his mother's breast during the daylight hours of Ramadan, so his mother had to feed him at night.
One day 'Abd al-Qadir was playing with other boys in the fields when an ox passed, pulling a heavy plough. The ox turned to 'Abd al-Qadir and said in good Arabic: "You boy, have you nothing better to do than play? Why don't you go study the Koran?" Deeply impressed, young 'Abd al-Qadir went to his mother and said, "I want to go to Baghdad to study the Koran." His mother gave him eighty golden dinars. 'Abd al-Qadir gave his brother forty dinars, half his stipend, and departed, joining a caravan of pilgrims.
In the hills, the travelers were attacked and captured by robbers. One robber asked 'Abd al-Qadir if he had any money on him. "Yes," said the latter, "forty dinars." The robber would not believe him and took him to the chief, to whom 'Abd al-Qadir gave the same reply. The robber chief was so impressed when he discovered that the boy had spoken the truth that he let him and all his companions go. At the
...
Read Full Article
|
