The Birth of Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir (RA)

Sayyiduna 'Shaikh Muhyi'd-din 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, al-Hasani, al-Husaini, may Allah be well pleased with him!

Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir's father was Abu Salih 'Abdu'llah, the son of Jangi Dost. Allah knows best! The name Jangi Dost is a Persian expression, meaning "he who loves fighting." Anyway, Allah (Glory be to Him and Exalted is He) is indeed the One who knows best! His mother was Umm al-Khair [Mother of Goodness] Amat al-Jabbar [Maidservant of the All-Compelling One] Fatima, the daughter of Shaikh 'Abdu'llah as-Sawma'i al-Husaini az-Zahid. She had an abundant share of goodness and righteousness. It is related of her that she used to say: "When I gave birth to my son, 'Abd al-Qadir, he would not suck my breast during the daytime of Ramadan. The new moon of Ramadan was hidden by clouds, so people came and asked me about him, and I told them: 'He has not sipped a breast today.' It thus became obvious that the day was the first of Ramadan." The word then spread throughout the towns of Jilan, that a son had been born to the nobles, and that this was a child who refused to be suckled during the daytime in Ramadan. It was also said that his mother had become pregnant with him when she was sixty years of age. It is said that no woman of sixty carries a child, unless she be a woman of Quraish, and no woman of fifty carries a child, unless she be an Arab woman. When she gave birth to him (may Allah be well pleased with him), he was received by the hand of gracious favor, and he was surrounded by enabling guidance, behind him and in front of him. He never ceased to be nurtured (may Allah be well pleased with him) in the lap of noble kindness, nourished with the milk of blessings, guarded in safekeeping, watched over with providential care.