Proclaiming Ya Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani

Few amongst the masses use to object that to utter "Ya Shaykh Abd al Qadir Jilani" is Shirk because one is making partnership with Allah Ta’ala (committing Shirk) by asking for assistance from the creation of Allah Ta'ala. They say that one can only ask directly from Allah Ta’ala. The Ahle Sunnah Wal Jama'at believes that it is absolutely permissible to say "Ya Sheikh Abd al Qaadir Jilani" when asking for assistance from those servants of Allah Ta'ala whom He has appointed as helpers of the Ummah.

We understand from the verseاِیَّاکَ نَعْبُدُ وَ اِیَّاکَ نَسْتَعِیۡنُ

You alone we worship and from You alone we seek help (and may we always).

which is found in Surah Fateha, that the True Helper is Allah Ta'ala. But it is Allah Ta’ala who has appointed helpers from within His servants to assist the creation with His permission.

Sayyiduna Shah Abdul Azeez Muhaddith Delhwi (Alaihir raHmah) explains the Tafseer of the verse "Iy'ya ka Na'budu Wa Iy'ya Ka Nastaeen" by writing:

"Here, it should be understood that to ask for assistance from anyone other than Allah, by putting full trust and not thinking of it as a marvel of Almighty Allah, is prohibited. But, if the attention is towards Allah and then to think of a person as the splendour of Almighty Allah and by keeping the means and wisdom of Almighty Allah before you, if one asks from anyone other than Allah, then this is not far from the Wisdom of Almighty Allah. This action is permissible and allowed in Shari’ah. To ask for help in this way is not really asking from someone but Allah, but in reality it is to ask from Allah." [Tafseer-e-Azeezi]

As long as a person bears this fact in mind that the True and Real Helper is Allah Ta'ala and no matter whom he asks from, it will be through the Mercy of Allah Ta'ala, then it is permissible to ask from such a person. This can never be termed as Shirk.

Sayyiduna Ghawth al-A’zam Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qādir Jilāni Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho (d.561/1164), states:

من استغاث بي في كر بة كشفت عنه و من نادى باسمي في شدة فرجت عنه و من توسل بي الى الله عز و جل في حاجته قضيت له و من صلى ركعتين يقرء في كل ركعة بعد الفاتحة سورة الاخلاص احدى عشرة مرة ثم يصلى على رسول الله صلى الله تعالى عليه و سلم بعد السلام و يسلم عليه ثم يخطوا الى جهة العراق احدى عشرة خطوة يذكر فيها اسمي و يذكر حاجتي فانها تقضي
If a person in distress or hardships calls out to me, his hardship will be eradicated. If a person uses my name as a Wasila (medium) when he pleads to Allāh SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala, his need will be fulfilled. One should perform two Rakats of Salāh and in every Rakat one should recite the Sura Fateha eleven times, and thereafter, Sura Ikhlās eleven times. After completing the Salāh, one must recite the Durood and Salām (Salawāt or Darood Sharif) upon Sayyiduna Rasoolullah SallAllahu 'Alaihi wa Sallam. Then remembering me one should take eleven steps towards the direction of Baghdad invoking my name in every step and also one’s need and wish. In this manner, (Allāh SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala willing), his need and wish will be granted. [Bahjat al Asrar, Mustafa al-Babi (Egypt), Page 102 - Zubdat al Asraar, Page 101]

The above method has been mentioned and prescribed by eminent scholars such as,

Imām Abul Hasan Ali bin Jarir Lakh'mi Shat’noofi Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho (d.713/1314),
Imām ‘Abdullah bin Asad Yafa’i Makki Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho (d.750/1349),
Shaykh Mulla Ali Qāri Makki Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho (d.1014/1606) author of Mirqāt Shar’h Mishkāt,
Mawlana Abul-Maāli Muhammad Salmi al-Qadiri Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho and Shaykh-e-Muhaqqiq Mawlana ‘Abd al-Haqq Muhaddith Dehlawi Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho (d.1052/1642).

Some of their thesis are,

Bahjah al-Asrār,
Khulāsa al Mafākhir,
Nuzhat al-Khā’tir,
Toh’fa-e-Qadiri yyah and
Zubdat al-’thār, etc.

Numerous other ‘Ulama and Awliya also promote it. One should also remember that the great ‘Ulama and Saints attribute extreme authenticity to the above.

Imām ‘Allama Khayr al-Din Ramli Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho, the illustrious teacher of the scholar who has written the authentic book on Islāmic Jurisprudence, “Durre Mukhtār”, states in his Fatāwa Khayriyyah:

قَولَهُم يَا شَيخ عَبدَالقَادِر نِدَاءٌ فَمَا المُوجِبُ الحُرمَةَ؟
People who proclaim, “Ya Shaykh ‘Abd al Qādir”, are merely emulating a call. What, therefore, is the reason for it not to be permissible? [Fatawa Khairiyah, Dar al-Ma'arifah (Berut - Lebanon), Vol 2, Page 182]

Sayyidi Jamāl bin ‘Abdullah bin Umar Makki Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho, in his Fatāwa states:

سالت عمّن يقول في حال الشدائد يا رسول الله او يا شيخ عبدالقادر مثلا هل هو جائز شرعاً ام لا؟ اُجِبْتُ نعم! الاستغاثة بالاولياء و نداؤهم و التوسّل بهم امر مشروعٌ و شيئ مرغوبٌ الا ينكرهٌ الا مكابر و معاند و قد حرّم بركة الاولياء الكرام
I was questioned about those people who in times of difficulty proclaim “Ya Rasūlallah, Ya Ali, Ya Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qādir,” and whether these proclamations were permissible in Islām. The great scholar replied: “Yes, these proclamations are permissible. To call to them is permissible including using their names as Wasila. This is allowed in the light of the Shari’ah. Such an act is desirable and approved. Only the stubborn and arrogant would oppose or question this reality. These individuals are certainly unfortunate and deprived of the Barkāt (blessing) of the Awliya Allāh”. [Fatawa Jamāl bin ‘Abdullah bin Umar Makki]


Shah Wali-Allāh Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho, records a method for achieving and fulfilling one’s wishes in his book, Al-Intibah fi al salāsil al-Awliya. He states:

بعد ازاں یک صدو یازدہ بار درود و بعدازاں یک صدو یازدہ بار کلمہ تمجید ویک صدو یازدہ بارشیئاً ﷲ یا شیخ عبدالقادر جیلانی
“One should first perform two Rakats of Nafil Salāh. After completion, he should recite the following - 111 times Darood Sharif (Salawāt), 111 times Kalima Tamjid and 111 times ‘Shay’an-Lillāh, Ya Shaykh Abd al-Qādir Jilāni’.” [Al-Intibah fi al salāsil al-Awliya Allah]

From this book, it has been proven that all the afore-mentioned great luminaries believed in the proclamation of “Shay’an Lillāh” and “Ya” as being valid and a great solution to many unsolved problems. The Shariah does not forbid to call on Ambiyā and Awliya for assistance with the Harf of Nidā (“Ya”). They also gave permission to their students and disciples to practice it without any hesitation. Sha Wali-Allāh Muhaddith Dehlawi Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho spent numerous years in the company of his Shaykh and Ustāz of Hadith Sharif, Shaykh Mawlana Shaykh Abu-Tāhir al-Madani Radi ALLAHu Ta'ala Anho.

Golden Words of Wisdom Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani

•     Though I be in the west and my disciple in the East, if a world goes to attack him, I know. I will save him.
•     Look towards that person who looks towards you. Love that person that loves you, listen to that person that listens to you and give your hands in his hands that are prepared to grasp it.
•     A mans position in life is such that though he is mortal he is reborn with pleasure in the winds of afflictions. It is that very same life whose consequence is not death. It is that very same comfort which has no extreme anguish.
•     That person who has enmity against a well to do companion, he totally rejects the wisdom and foresight of the sustainers.
•     Many wealthy people because of greed are poor and needy, in reality the brave person is he who wrestles and defeats the devil of greed and thereafter becomes independent and without want of need from this material World.
•     The person who backbites and speaks ill of us are actually our success because they pay homage to us by writing their good deeds into our deed books.
•     Look carefully at the previous graves lying in ruin. How the sands of beautiful people are turning bad.
•     If you do not find the sweetness of doing a good deed then be aware that you have not done that deed.
•     Disrespect earns the displeasure of the creator and the creation.
•     To please the enemies of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala is beyond comprehension and wisdom.
•     O! Gifts do not imprison me so that I become unmindful to the benefactor.
•     O! Doers of good deeds giving birth to sincerity in your deeds can never be a wasted effort.
•     Among the creation, silence is not bravery but rather impatience.
•     The person who cannot educate his own soul, then how is he going to educate others.
•     The love of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala and the Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam is intertwined in poverty and starvation.
•     The love of the World generally blinded the eyes, those eyes which should have been used to identify the specialties of the Almighty Creator.
•     The person who becomes aware of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala then he becomes hospitable towards the creation.
•     Preach only in accordance to religion otherwise remaining dumb is better.
•     To adopt anonymity and unwholesomeness relative to it is peaceful.
•     As long as there remains on this earth one person in your heart whom you fear or have high expectations of, then until then your Faith is not complete.
•     Until you still possess arrogance and anger you cannot classify yourself amongst the learned.
•     That sustenance whose extent is expansive but no thanks is given for it and that means of livelihood which is difficult but no patience is shown for it become a source of revolt and mischief.
•     Always hold the best opinions about others and think ill of yourself.
•     O! ‘Alim do not soil your knowledge by sitting in the company of Worldly people.
•     Your speech will tell what is in your heart.
•     An oppressor destroys the World of the oppressed, and his own in the hereafter.
•     To start something good is your job and to see it completed is the work of your creator.
•     A wise person first question his heart thereafter speaks with his mouth.
•     To remain alone is protection and safety and to every sin there is a period of execution.
•     Except for the needs of your children and family do not leave the house unnecessarily.
•     Endeavor not to start a conversation and your speaking becomes necessary only to answer a question.
•     Keep your mouth closed from answering unnecessary questions so that you can remain safe from unnecessary talk.
•     That person who is never distressed, has no virtue.
•     Material people chase the World while the World chases the friends of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala .
•     This World is a World of exertion for a Mo’min while the hereafter is a World of relaxation.
•     Suspicion closes all the benefits to be accrued.
•     An understanding person finds no joy in anything, for it has accountability, for being lawful or a punishment for it being unlawful.
•     To make the soul receive the truth is its existence while making it receive failures, errors, falsehood and wrongdoings is its annihilation.
•     Those who belong to Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala carry out his commands and even their hearts are reinforced by it. You carry on committing sin then to you have no fear. This is obvious evidence of betrayal. Beware; safeguard yourself for you may be caught out unawares when your allotted time is up.
•     A disrespectful becomes the object of displeasure and wrath of both the creator and the creation.
•     Iman (Faith) is the root while deeds and actions are its branches. Therefore stay away from associating with your Iman and sin with your actions.
•     First there is ignorance, thereafter knowledge, then follows practice upon your knowledge, thereafter sincerity upon that action and finally comes understanding and wisdom in the heart.
•     If you do not have patience then poverty and sicknesses become a misfortune and if you adopt patience then it becomes nobility and graciousness.
•     To gain the happiness of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala is impossible if you cannot make a poor person happy. The treatment for afflictions upon oneself is to gain the happiness and pleasure of the poor.
•     Whosoever asks of the creation is blind to the doors of the creator.
•     You are busy in fulfilling the desires and wishes of the soul (nafs) while the nafs is busy in destroying you.
•     That person is close to Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala who is kind and affectionate towards the creation.
•     Rejection (kufr) of the divine blessings and providence is contrary to achieving closeness to the truth.
•     Hundreds of thousands of people just like you have been fattened and then swallowed by this World.
•     Do not be fooled by your youthful appearance for very soon it would be taken away from you.
•     Poverty saves one from sin and wealth is a trap for sins regard poverty as your protector.
•     To make a poor person happy makes one the inheritor of and undisclosed amount of reward.
•     What are you going to do by taking the bounties? Take the merciful and compassionate one. Every pious person is from the progeny and following of Muhammad SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam.
•     He whose fate is ultimately death then what is the need for happiness.
•     People do not regard you with respect because you are proud and vain but rather they look up to you when you are polite and hospitable.
•     Keep your hearts open only for Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala and to busy yourself in earning a means of livelihood for your family is also following the commands.
•     To remember death is the best treatment for all ailments.
•     Worship and prayers breaks unwanted habits and should not be but a habit only.
•     The person who wishes to tame his soul should bridle it with silence and good etiquettes.
•     Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala asks a loan of his servants and the messengers of this are the beggars.
•     For the whole period I spent in the companionship of my sheikh (spiritual guide) I have never seen the whiteness of his teeth.
•     Whenever it is possible reform each morsel for the foundations of good deeds lies in it.
•     The creation are like children in relation to the saints of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala .
•     It is a lie if one says by sitting in the company of those women with whom relationships are lawful and young boys; one has absolutely no inclination towards them. Islamic principles (Shari‘ah) is neither definitely not in agreement nor does a sound mind allow for such conformities and this is total rejection of Shariat for Shari‘ah has never given anyone exemption from this.
•     When the angels do not enter a house in which there are images pictures then how do you expect Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala to enter your heart which is full of thousands of statues and idols. Anything else besides Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala presence in the heart is images and idols.
•     A visit to the pious person communicates the condition of the person.
•     The key to the closeness to the truth is in private consultations and journeys.
•     Do not become subservient to the gifts in such a manner that you forget the bestowal of the gifts.
•     The provisions and luggage undoubtedly is modesty, such that, because of it, the doors of sovereignty and reality seem closed.
•     It is not becoming of a mo’min to sleep until he has kept his will and testimony ready.
•     The obedience of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala is by asking and not by desiring.
•     You are busy in building mansions and palaces for others to stay in while; its accountability rests entirely on you.
•     O! Children of Adam Alaihis Salaam be modest towards Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala as you would be modest towards your religious neighbor.
•     When a person commits a sin, he closes the doors, draws the veils and hides from the creation and goes against the commands of the creator in private, and then the creator says, O! Son of Adam Alaihis Salaam you have regarded me the least amongst those that can see you because you found it necessary to hide yourself from the creation yet you have not shown modesty and shame even equivalent to that of the creation towards me.
•     It is not beneficial to be a master at speech when you are immature at heart.
•     Be obedient with a direction; don’t become obedient to the masses.
•     Do not become a polytheist by regarding your wealth as absolute and total power of assistance.
•     O! You who make fun of others very soon you will know the answer to your own fate.
•     O! Munafiqa (Hypocrites) very soon you will see the punishment of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala descending upon you in this World and the hereafter. The times are pregnant and very soon you will see what it gives birth to.
•     Your actions are proof of your belief and your exterior appearance is a sign of your interior condition.
•     To turn your face towards the creation is to turn your back towards Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala .
•     Empty desires are the jungle of stupidity and folly and only the foolish hustle and bustle aimlessly within it.
•     Make silence your habit, anonymity you clothing, escape from the creation your aim and if it is possible then dig the hole and sit down in it. This habit should stay with you until such time that you Iman (Faith) has reached an age of maturity and is unquestionable.
•     Those that wish the approval of the creation should show patience of the oppression of the created.
•     Do not turn away from the creator because of some misfortune, because he may be testing you with it.
•     Moderation is half of one’s sustenance (livelihood) and good manners is half of religion (Deen).
•     O Doers of good deeds! Adopt sincerity otherwise it is wasted effort.
•     If you are afraid of your destination then whichever way or wherever you look at, you will find that you are surrounded by ferocious beasts.
•     Good deeds are done in privacy and not in public except that which is Fard (compulsory) which is performed in exposure.
•     Everything that you rely on, every person you afraid of or you keep that trust in, becomes your God.
•     1. Special testimony 2. Making the commands of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala compulsory upon yourself 3. Not to fear or trust anyone 4. To make all your needs aware only to Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala and put your Faith in him, To ask of him alone and never put your trust in anyone except Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala .
•     A seeker is not truthful until he places the needs of sustenance of his companions over and above the sustenance of his soul and desires.
•     Remain honourable among the people, for by revealing your poverty you will fall in status in their eyes.
•     Meet the wealthy and rich with dignity ad prevalence and the poor with humility and humbleness.
•     Your keeping the company of careless and negligent people is a sigh of your carelessness and negligence.
•     To love of the creations is in its well wishing.
•     To give is better than to receive.
•     That person who is generous with the creation then he is close to Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala .
•     A residence that is fit to be called a house, clothes that cover the body, a stomach full of sustenance and a wife is not regarded as Worldly but to face towards the Worldly while showing your back to your creator is Worldly.
•     Even if you have said Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala aloud, then even then you would be interrogated whether it was said in sincerity or in show.
•     When the remembrance of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala finds a place in the heart then for servant to remember Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala continuously becomes continuous and everlasting even though the lips are closed.
•     Carry out the rights that the ruler has upon you and do not question that which is obligatory upon you.
•     There is greater dignity in the remembrance of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala than in death; at the time of cutting someone short by razing them to the ground and thereafter realising it was fruitless to sow the seeds of hate.
•     Hide your troubles and you will receive closeness to Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala .
•     A mo’min leaves his family in the care of the creator while a munaafiq leaves his family in the care of his dirham and dinaars (wealth).
•     There are 3 types of creation 1. Angels 2. The Devil 3. Man. The Angels are entirely good and the devil is entirely bad. Man is a mixture of good and bad. Whoever is overcome with good he can be likened to an Angel and whoever is overcome with evil he can be likened to the devil.
•     Do not laugh with those that are laughing but cry with those that are crying.
•     If your thoughts are with the creator then you are subservient to the creator. If your thoughts are with the creation then you are subservient to the creation.
•     Give priority to the hereafter over the World and you will benefit in both, but priority is given to the World over the hereafter then you would suffer losses in both.
•     Do not spend even one night in the hate and malice of anybody.
•     The sign of your sincerity is that you praise the creation and you do not turn your attention towards derogatory remarks nor do you show greed and avarice towards their wealth but you give your lord his right and your deeds are for your benefactor and not for the gifts, for the king and not for the kingdom and for the truth and not for falsehood.
•     As long as the doors of good health are open to you then regard it as a blessing for very soon it will be closed upon you. So as long as you have the strength and power to do good deeds regard it as a blessing.
•     It is wrong to claim respect towards your creator as long as you have no respect whatsoever for his creation.
•     When an ‘Alim is not an ascetic then, he is a punishment upon those that follow him.
•     A Mu’min, as he grows older Faith becomes stronger.
•     To search for good fortune is an unnecessary trouble and to search for that which is not your destiny is to anger Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala and disgraceful.
•     You do not concern yourself in making the creator angry by pleasing the creation. In exchange for Worldly mansions and building you destroy your hereafter. Very soon you will be caught. He will definitely catch you whose imprisonment is very, very fearful.
•     What, you do not become ashamed ordering him to change your fate? Are your more commanding, more just and merciful than him? You and the entire creation are his servants. It becomes compulsory upon you to adopt, peace, solitude and silence.
•     Saying without deeds and deeds without sincerity are not worthy of acceptance.
•     A person once came to the Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam and said that he loves him (SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam) very much. The Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said to him “lay down a cloth or spread a cloth for Poverty.” Another person said that he loves Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala , The Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam said “spread a cloth for misfortune, for the love of Allah SubHanuhu wa Ta'ala and the Prophet SallAllaho Alaihi wa Sallam is intertwined with poverty and misfortunes.”
•     You are busy accumulating that which you would not be able to eat. You desire for that which you cannot attain. Construct those buildings in which you will not stay. All this makes you blind to the status of your creator.
•     Be happy in the changes and choices that the creator made for you. If you stay in this manner with him then he will definitely change your fears and horrors.
•     Adopt patience for this World is an assembly of troubles and calamities.
•     When somebody approaches carrying tales or gossiping or informing you about what another has said to him about you then admonish him and tell him that he is worst than that person that was gossiping about you for that person spoke behind your back while he is telling it straight to your face. That person has not made you listen yet he made you listen to it.
•     What an unfortunate person is he who had not been given the habit of being merciful in his heart for all living things?
•     Your biggest enemies are those that are your biggest supporters.
•     The sum total of all the essence of good is to seek knowledge, practice upon it and teaching it to somebody.