The Grey Falcon: The Life and Teaching of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Jilani

Hamza Malik

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9789004383685

In The Grey Falcon, Hamza Malik offers an account of the life and teaching of the twelfth century scholar and Sufi of Baghdad, and eponym of the Qadiri order, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qadir al-Jilani (1077-1166). The question of whether al-Jilani was a Sufi, or simply a scholar appropriated by later Sufis as has been sometimes suggested, is tackled through an analysis of his three most popular works, the Ghunya li Ṭālibī Ṭarīq al-Ḥaqq, the Futūḥ al-Ghayb, and the Fatḥ al-Rabbānī. Malik identifies and presents al-Jilani's Sufi thought and theological stance, and furthermore attempts to paint a picture of the character and personality of al-Jilani, as might be ascertained solely from the works analysed.