Abd al-Salam ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani

عبد السلام ابن عبد القادر الجيلي

c. March 1154 CE · 8 Dhu al-Hijja 548 AH – c. November 1214 CE · 8 Rajab 611 AH

Al-Rukn Abd al-Salam b. Abd al-Wahhab b. Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani — b. the night of 8 Dhu al-Hijja 548, grandson and student of Abd al-Qadir, holder of several offices; clever, well-bred, versed in logic, philosophy, astrology and 'those bad sciences' until he was charged with the creed of the ancients — his father, seeing a Bukharan gown on him, joked 'we hear Bukhari and Muslim, but a Bukhari who's a kafir we never heard of'. Under wazir Ibn Yunus his house yielded philosophy books, the Ikhwan al-Safa epistles, sorcery and star-worship texts with an address to Saturn in his own hand; his books were publicly burned, he was ruled fasiq, and his grandfather's madrasa was taken from his father and given to Ibn al-Jawzi — the same man he later informed on until the shaykh was arrested and shipped to Wasit, where Abd al-Salam sued him before the qadis. He died Friday 8 Rajab 611, buried east of Baghdad; Ibn al-Najjar reviled him bitterly and says he never transmitted a word 1.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
Scholar
Era
The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks
Region
Levant & Iraq
Review
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Life in time

112511501175120012251250 c. c. c. c. c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era · The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era Contemporaries: Abd al-Qadir al-Rahawi · Abdallah al-Yunini · al-Hasan ibn al-Amir Ali al-Murtada al-Alawi · Muzaffar al-Din al-Iylani, the blind prosodist · al-Jaghmini Mahmud ibn Muhammad

Overview

Al-Rukn 'Abd al-Salam ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab ibn 'Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani; born on the night of 8 Dhu'l-Hijja 548, he heard from his grandfather, taught at his school, studied fiqh there and held several offices — a clever, gifted litterateur versed in logic, philosophy and astrology, until he was accused of the doctrine of the ancients, and loose of tongue. 2

His ordeal

In the days of vizier Ibn Yunus he suffered an inquisition: books of philosophy, the Epistles of the Brethren of Purity, works of magic and star-worship including a letter to Saturn in his hand were taken from his house and burned publicly; the qadi ruled him a sinner and his grandfather's school was taken from his father and given to Ibn al-Jawzi — whom he had himself pursued until the man was arrested and carried with him by boat to Wasit. He died on Friday, 8 Rajab 611, and was buried east of Baghdad; Ibn al-Najjar mentions him with harsh censure, noting that he transmitted no hadith. 2

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Child of
Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani

People and things also explored

Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani· Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani

Sources

  1. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p. 16, 53-54
  2. Shadharat al-Dhahab — Ibn al-Imad al-Hanbali , p.16,53-54
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Abd al-Salam ibn Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/abd-al-salam-ibn-abd-al-qadir/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-23.

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Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani

One of the major masters of Sunni Sufism, named after Gilan. He had a large influence on preaching and spiritual guidance.