Sufi Path Of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani (r)'s And His Way of Purifying Souls

One of the speeches in the famous book by Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani(r), Al- Fath ar-Rabbani (the collection of speeches by Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani(r)) begins as “Like a camel gets weakened by the load carried upon it, you have to weaken sheithan/satan in your nafs/self by loads of dhikr, “La ilaha illallah Muhammed Rasoolullah”.

Here Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani(r) highlights the significance of the Sacred Kalma as dhikr, for purifying one’s self. Kalima is handed over from Sufis and Auliyas, and receivers are always contemplating this Kalima and it is the best dhikr. It is the one and only way to weaken & conquer shaithan/Satan. We know there is lot of dhikrs other than this kalima, but none of the dhikrs has the power to tame and defeat Shaithan thoroughly. Here we are not discussing Kalima as an ilmu (knowledge) or shahada, but only as a dhikr or Tariqa (path) given by Sufi or Auliya to refine and purify the people.

The importance of Kalima as a dhikr is depicted here. Many Thariqas and Sufis give dhikr to those who come in front of them. Most of them are giving only first part of kalima as a dhikr. Here Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani(r) throws light on the importance of Kalima as dhikr through the above mentioned example. To weaken the Self with the dhikr “La ilaha illallahu Muhammadu Rasoolullah” means; the nafs which is 70 times stronger than Shaithan should be weakened by the continuous practice and loads of dhikr like the camel gets weakened by continuous & tedious loads on its back.

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani(r) has emphasized the importance of secret Kalima in his famous book Sirul Asrar (The secret of secrets). In this book he highlighted a Hadith regarding this zikr (Kalima) which is received by Ali(r) from the beloved messenger(s). And it was the occasion that Nabi(s) granted Khilafath to Ali(r) to continue the noble mission through the spiritual successors.

This practice of Khilafath will continue till the end (Qiyamath). In the book, Sirul Asrar (Secret of Secrets) Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani(r) explains about the significance and necessity of receiving Kalima from the hands of a spiritual guide. To accept the Kalima, one has to pledge their oath (bai’ath) upon the hands of a trusted spiritual guide whose spiritual order (silsila) must be linked to the beloved messenger(s) via the chain of masha’ikhs without a break in link or sequence. Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani(r) has received such a dhikr ie. Kalima, traditionally from the Rasool(s) and is entrusted to preach and propagate the Kalima across the world. And this Spiritual path (Thariqa) is still here before us. This Thariqa is known by his name Qadiriya Thariqa, which is linked to Rasool(s) through the spiritual chain of mashaa’ikhs who are still living in this world. To conclude, La ilaha illallah Muhammed Rasoolullah” is the perfect dhikr and the complete divine path to follow.