The women of the household of Hadhrat Shaykh 'Abdul Qadir Jeelani (May Allah be well pleased with him)

The Shaykh’s full name is Shaykh ‘Abdul Qadir Jeelani (May Allah shower His Mercy on him).  He has been given many honorifics, Ghouse Azam, Mohiyuddin, Mahboob Subhani, etc.

 

The house in which the Shaykh was born was a pious one.  It was peerless in piety and spirituality.  The mother of the Shaykh was an epitome of piety.

 

The father of the Shaykh, Hadhrat Syed Abu Saleh Moosa Jangi Dost (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) once became very weak and emaciated due to starvation.  He was sitting on the bank of a river.  An apple came floating by.  Out of hunger, he took and ate it.  Then he got the thought as to who was the owner of that apple and whether eating it was permissible for him or not.  To expiate for it and to seek the owner’s permission, he walked along the bank of the river for any days.  At last, he could see a big beautiful orchard.  Some of the trees’ branches were hanging over water.  He met the owner of the orchard, admitted his mistake and asked his forgiveness.  The owner of the orchard, Hadhrat ‘Abdullah Soma’ee (May Allah shower His Mercy on him), saw with his spiritual insight that this person seemed to be a great saint.  He replied to him:  There are 2 conditions for your forgiveness.  First, that you stay with me for 12 years and second that you marry my daughter, who is blind, deaf, dumb and cannot walk or hold anything with her hands.  Hadhrat Abu Saleh (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) wanted to get his mistake forgiven, the profit or loss of the hereafter was his objective, he assented to this. 

 

After the marriage, when he saw his wife, he saw that she was sound in every way.  He spent that whole night away from her.  The next morning when he talked to Hadhrat ‘Abdullah about this, he said:  My daughter is free of any kind of shortcoming and sins.  She has never done anything that goes against the will of Almighty Allah.  That’s why I described her in those words.

 

The life of Hadhrat Ummul Khair (May Allah shower His Mercy on her), the mother of the Shaykh is a lesson for all Muslim women in chastity, dignity and piety.  Today, the lives of most Muslim women are being spent in heedlessness.  Women should read and reread the above anecdote.  A lot of lessons can be learnt from the incident.  Some of the most important are:

 

·         It is necessary to bear with hunger and thirst and turning away from the world for the sake of seeking the pleasure of Almighty Allah.

 

·         It is important to be careful of one what consumes even in unusual circumstances.

 

·         One should avoid those things which are doubtful.

 

·         If one commits a mistake, especially in the rights of the fellow creatures, it is necessary to get it forgiven by the concerned person – even if one has to spend a lifetime for it.

 

The paternal aunt of the Shaykh

 

Each and every member of the household of the Shaykh was an epitome of piety and spirituality.  His paternal aunt, ‘Aisha bint ‘Abdullah (May Allah shower His Mercy on her) was one of the most pious women of her age.  Whatever she would pray for, Almighty Allah would grant it.  Classes and masses would come to her for acceptance of their supplications.  Thus, once, there was a famine in Jeelan.  The earth dried up and there was simply nothing to eat.  They came to Hadhrat ‘Aisha (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) and requested her to pray for them.  She picked up a broom, swept her courtyard and supplicated: O Lord Almighty!  I have swept the courtyard.  I request of You that You order that water e sprinkled on it.

 

These words were not yet articulated that clouds gathered and it rained so hard as if the gateways of the skies had been opened.  People went back home wet from the rain.  (Bahjatul Asrar, Pg. No. 89)

 

One should think what Hadhrat ‘Aisha (May Allah shower His Mercy on him) did to enjoy such a stature before Almighty Allah.  She had had to sacrifice her days and nights for the pleasure of Almighty Allah.  Her life is a beacon of guidance for all our sisters.