Q. What is your belief regarding the status of Ghawth al-Adham Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (rad)? When you refer to Mawlana Shaykh Nazim al-Qubrusi as Qutb ul-Ghawth, do you deny the superior status of Ghawth al-Adham over all Awliya?
A. The correct position is to hold Ghawth al-Adham to be superior, regardless of everything, to all Awliyas of all of the other Orders. Mawlana Shaykh Nazim is a direct descendant of Ghawth al-Adham (rad). Although trained by the Naqshbandi elders, he obtained his status as Qutb ul-Ghawth, as did Mawlana Shaykh ‘Abd Allah ad-Daghestani (qad) by the spiritual grace of Ghawth al-Adham Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, as did Shaykh al-Akbar Muhiuddin Ibn Arabi, who is the Seal of Saints (Khatim ul-Awliya).
In Mercy Oceans book two, Mawlana described briefly the status of Ghawth al-Adham stating, “In the time of Abdul-Qadir Al-Jilani, a great Grandsheikh, there was another sheikh who heard about him and said to his pupils: “I have heard so much about this Sheikh Abdul-Qadir, but I have been waiting at the entrance of Allah Almightys Power Castle for thirty years, and up until now I haven’t seen him entering or leaving, so how is it that they are saying he is such a huge Sheikh?” When Abdul-Qadir heard this, he laughed and said: “How can a doorkeeper know who sits in the presence of the King, in the proximity of the Majestic Lord?”
Shaykh ul-Islam Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri quoted from Shāh Walī Allāh in his book The Ghadir Declaration:
“Now in the Ummah anyone who is blessed with spiritual leadership by Allāh’s Messenger is indebted either to ‘Alī al-Murtadā or to the Chief Helper Abdul Qadir Jīlānī. No one can reach the status of wilāyah without this (indebted-ness).”
In his book “The Naqshbandi Sufi Way” Shaykh Hisham Kabbani writes, “When he (Mawlana Shaykh Nazim) had only two children, one daughter and one son, he was called by our Grandshaikh, Shaykh Abdullah ad-Daghestani. He told him, “I have received an order from the Prophet for you to make seclusion in the mosque ofAbdul Qadir Jilani in Baghdad. Go there and make seclusion…”
…When Shaykh Nazim had finished his seclusion and was about to leave, he went to Sayyidina ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani’s grave to say goodbye. Sayyidina ‘Abdul Qadir Jilani appeared in the flesh to him and said, “O my son. I am very happy with the states you have reached in the Naqshbandi Order. I am renewing your initiation to me through the Qadiri Order…” (The Naqshbandi Sufi Way History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain, Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, KAZI Publications Inc., 1995)
The elders of the Naqshbandiyya have always had spiritual affiliation with Ghawth al-Adham, including Imam Rabbani and Mawlana Shah Ghulam ‘Ali Abdullah ad-Dahlawi (qad).
I (Sayyid Ahmed Amiruddin) am myself authorized with Ijazah in the Qadiri Nisbat, and in addition to the Ijazah’s in have in the Qadiriyya al-Musawwiyya al-Ja’fariyya Tariqat of my maternal ancestors who came to India from Baghdad, and I am authorized in writing with Ijazah (without seeking them out) by the H.E. the Naqib al-Ashraaf of Baghdad, Sayed Ahmad Dhafar al-Jilani, the elder brother of Qudwatul Awliya Pir Sayeda Tahir Alauddin Jilani, the Murshid of Shaykh ul-Islam Dr. Tahir ul Qadri.