Shaykh 'Abd al-Qādir's mystic and religious ideas are contained in the following works: (1) al-Ghunyah li-ṭālibī tarīq al-haqq ( That Which Is Sufficient to the Seekers of the Path of Truth) ¹⁵ (generally known as Ghunyat alṭālibīn), a comprehensive work on the duties enjoined by Islam and the Islamic way of life; (2) al-Fatḥ al-rabbānī, ¹⁶ a record of sixty-two sermons delivered by him during the years 545/ 1150-546/ 1152; and (3) Futūḥ alghayb ( Victories of the Invisible), ¹⁷ a record of seventy-eight sermons compiled by his son 'Abd al-Razzāq. C. Brockelmann has listed twenty-four titles of manuscripts ascribed to Shaykh 'Abd al-Qādir. ¹⁸ A critical study of these manuscripts would, however, reveal the apocryphal nature of some of the treatises ascribed to him by later generations.

While the large number of legends and litanies attributed to him reveal the nature of popular and credulous appraisals of his personality, the treatises ascribed to him throw light on the interpretations put on his teachings by the succeeding generations. Both of these may be important in estimating the popular response to his teachings, but a real assessment of his thought and spiritual ideals can be made only in the light of his three main works listed above.

The Ghunyat al-ṭālibīn was written in response to the request of his followers and friends for a detailed exposition of his religious views. Unlike the two other works, the Futūḥ al-ghayb and al-Fatḥ al-rabbānī, this is a complete work on Islamic Law and mystical thought. The compilers of his sermons, however, had to work under certain limitations. They could not take down every word that he uttered. Gaps and lacunas were inevitable and a coherent exposition of ideas remained a pious wish of the recorders. Sometimes the scribes recorded powerful sentences that the Shaykh uttered to emphasize his point of view, leaving aside the argument that preceded those remarks. In the two collections of his sermons, the Shaykh appears as a totally otherworldly person, but in the Ghunyat his views have a greater balance between the spiritual and mundane obligations of life. His discussions pertaining to faith, charity (zakāt), fasts, and ḥajj (pilgrimage) are followed by details of etiquette and decorum to be followed in daily life. The last portion of the book contains an exposition of his mystic ideas. It was within this framework--faith, devotion to God, and dealings with human beings--that the Shaykh interpreted his approach to religion and morality. In a section of this work he deals with sects that he considered to have gone astray.

The sermons contained in Futūḥ al-ghayb have a somewhat thematic arrangement but contain no dates. It is possible that discussions on particular themes dispersed in different assemblies were arranged and put together by the compiler under one heading. The Fatḥ al-rabbānī contains an account of forty sermons of the Shaykh delivered either in the khānqāh or in the ribāṭ in 545/ 1150. It is thus an account of the Shaykh's assemblies held only in one year and that too with long gaps. The scribe has not been able, and in fact could not be expected, to reproduce verbatim the speeches of the Shaykh. Naturally therefore gaps have been filled by the translators and commentators of his works.

The need to popularize his views and the insistence of Shaykh 'Abd alWahhāb Qādirī Shādhilī of Mecca and Shāh Abu'l-Ma'ālī of Lahore led Shaykh 'Abd al-Ḥaqq Muḥaddith of Delhi to translate Futūḥ al-ghayb into Persian. The Ghunyat was translated into Persian by 'Abd al-Ḥakīm Sialkotī (d. 1068/ 1657). Many abridgments, recensions, and commentaries of his works have also appeared.

The biography of the saint was compiled more than a hundred years after his death by 'Alī ibn Yūsuf al-Shaṭṭanawfi (d. 713/ 1314) and named Bahjat al-asrār (Splendor of Secrets). Then followed the accounts prepared by Dhahabī (d. 748/ 1348), Taqī al-Dīn al-Wāsiṭ (d. 744/ 1343), al-Yāfi'ī (d. 768/ 1367) and others. Adulation and credulity have marred the historical value of many of the hagiological works written about the saint.

TOP