Muslims throughout the world will, on Monday evening (11 Rabi-ul-Aakhir – Oct 14), observe the physical passing of Islam’s greatest saint, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani, who is buried in Baghdad, Iraq, with the day commonly being referred to as Giyarwi Sharif. The saint, also known as Ghous Pak, was born on the 1st of Ramadaan, and the first sign that he was truly a friend of the Almighty, was when, in his infancy, he refused to be fed by his mother during the day and only accepted a feed at night, during the fasting month of Ramadaan. Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani, who is the ‘king of all saints’, gave ten main rules for his followers, which included: never to lie, to avoid cursing or harming all creatures, to always keep one’s promise, never to desire what belongs to others, and to always put one’s trust in the Almighty only. Ghous Pak’s parents were both from the lineage of the Holy Prophet Muhammed (SAW). The first major Sufi order, to be formalised, was the Qadri order that was established by Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani in the 12th century.
