TOPQadiri hagiographers [biography of saints] go further in affirming Shaikh Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani’s (may Allah be well pleased with him) claims, and add that Ghaus-ul-Azam receives more inner light from Hazrat Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah ennoble his face) than anyone else. So on this basis the great Sufis of almost all the lineages are based on Abdul Qadir’s "blessed being".
Since the Naqshbandiya-Mujaddidiya silsila prides itself on lineage from Hazrat Imam Abu Baqr Siddiq (may Allah always exalt his soul in Truth) the author demonstrates how this lineage also is dependant upon Abdul Qadir Jilani. When Shaikh Sayyiduna Abdul Qadir Jilani’s (may Allah be well pleased with him) was facing Bukhara one day he exclaimed, "I smell a sweet fragrance; 157 years after my death one perfect man will be born whose name is Baha al-Din Naqshband. He will partake of my special flavor…. Later when Hazrat Baha al-Din (may Allah be pleased with him) was with [his Shaikh] Hazrat Amir Khulal (may Allah be pleased with him), the latter could not imprint his heart with the word of Allah. There was a blockage of inner radiance from following the way of outward practice [suluk] so Baha al-Din went out into the wilds and saw Hazrat Khidr who said, ‘I got [my heart] imprinted with the Great Name of Allah by Ghawth al-Azam, so from his blessings if you to him you will soon acquire the divine effulgence [fayd] and achieve the goal.’
The next evening Ghawth al-Azam came in a dream, pointing to [Baha al-Din’s] chest and the Divine Name was imprinted on Hazrat Shah Baha al-Din’s (may Allah be pleased with him) heart."
In Imam Ahmad Raza Khan’s (may Allah be pleased with him) Malfuzat, a question was asked that if a person is a murid [disciple] of a certain murshid who passed away a long time ago. Now, can this murid of the demised Pir become the disciple of another Pir? His answer was:
It is forbidden to change the Bay'at for no specific valid Islamic reasons. Yes, it is permissible to renew one's Bay'at [Tajdeed]. In fact, it is recommended to take Bay'at with another Murshid-e-Kaamil in the exalted Silsila of Qadiriyah without breaking ties with your Shaikh. Such Bay'at will not be regarded as a new one but a renewal of the old one. This is so because all Silsilas [Spiritual orders] leads to the main stream being the Silsila of Qadiriyah.
[Source: Muhammad Din Sahib Kalim Qadiri, Tadhkira-yi mashaikh-i qadiriyya (Lahore: Combine Press 1985), pp. 7-9. The author cites the story of Baha al-Din Naqshband, Khidr, and Abdul Qadir from Abd Allah al-Balkhi’s Kawariq al-ahbab fi marifat al-aqtab, also cited by Malik Muhammad Iqbal in his introduction to Muhammad Parsa’s Risala-yi Qushayriyya (Lahore: Maktaba-yi Jadid Press, 1985), pp 83-84. Fakir Allah Shikarpuri [d.1781] mentions this story in his Maktubat-i Faqir Allah, ed., Maulwi Karam Bakhsh (Lahore: Islamiyya Stream Press) page 211. See also Shah Wali Allah, Al-Tafhimat al-Ilahiyya, vol2, p. 108. Bilqis Chamia, Mard-i-khuda (Lahore: R.M.S. printers, 1990), p. 226, Khidr telling Baha al-Din to go to Baghdad and ask assistance at Abdul Qadir’s tomb, after which God’s name is imprinted on his heart.