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The Qadiriyya (Arabic: القادريه, Persian:قادریه, also transliterated Qadri, Qadriya, Kadri, Elkadri, Elkadry, Aladray, Adray, Kadray, Qadiri or Qadri), are members of the Qadiri Sufi order (tariqa). This derives its name from Abdul Qader Jeelani Al Amoli (1077–1166 CE, also transliterated as "Jilani" etc.) who was a native of the Iranian province of Mazandaran. The order relies strongly upon adherence to the fundamentals of Islam. Common names for descendants of this order include Balochi Qadri and Ahmed Qadri. The Qadri are all Sufis.
The order, with its many offshoots, is widespread, particularly in the Arabic-speaking world, and can also be found in Turkey, Indonesia, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Balkans, China,[1] East and West Africa.[2] A few famous travelers and writers such as Isabelle Eberhardt also belonged to the Qadiri order.
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The founder of the Qadiriyya, Abdul-Qadir Gilani, was a respected scholar and preacher. Having been a pupil at the school (madrasa) of Abu Sa'id al-Mubarak Mukharrami he became leader of this school after Mukharrami's death in 1119 CE. Being the new shaykh, he and his large family lived comfortably in the madrasa until his death in 1166, when his son, Abdul-Wahhab, succeeded his father as sheikh. At the time the Sufi tradition of Abu Hafs Umar al-Suhrawardi was gaining prominence after the caliph al-Nasir came to power in 1180 and patronised al-Suhrawardi. Gilani's son, Abdul al-Razzaq, published a hagiography of his father, emphasising his reputation as founder of a distinct and prestigious Sufi order.
The Qadiriyya flourished, surviving the Mongolian conquest of Baghdad in 1258, and remained an influential Sunni institution. After the fall of the 'Abbasid caliphate the legend of Gilani was further spread by a text entitled The Joy of the Secrets in Abdul-Qadir's Mysterious Deeds (Bahjat al-asrar fi ba'd manaqib 'Abd al-Qadir) attributed to Nur al-Din 'Ali al-Shattanufi, who depicted Gilani is the ultimate channel of divine grace and helped the Qadiri order to spread far beyond the region of Baghdad.
By the end of the fifteenth century the Qadiriyya had distinct branches and had spread to Morocco, Spain, Turkey, India, Ethiopia, Somalia, and present-day Mali. Established Sufi sheikhs often adopted the Qadiriyya tradition without abandoning leadership of their local communities. During the Safavid rule of Baghdad, from 1508 to 1534, the shaykh of the Qadiriyya was appointed chief Sufi of Baghdad and the surrounding lands. Shortly after the Ottoman Turks conquered Baghdad in 1534, Suleiman the Magnificent commissioned a dome to be built on the tomb of Gilani, establishing the Qadiriyya as his main allies in Iraq.
Khwaja Abdul Alla, a sheikh of the Qadiriyya and a descendant of Muhammed, is reported to have entered China in 1674 and traveled the country preaching until his death in 1689. One of Abdul Alla's students, Qi Jingyi Hilal al-Din, is said to have permanently rooted Qadiri Sufism in China. He was buried in Linxia City, which became the center of the Qadiriyya in China.[1] By the seventeenth century, the Qadiriyya had reached Ottoman-occupied areas of Europe.
There were also many Qadiri sheikhs in Kerala, including Moula al-Bokhari (Kannur), Syed Abd al-Rahman Aidrusi (Ponnani), Syed Qutb Alavi Manburami, Sheikh Abu-Bakr Madavuri, Sheikh Abu-Bakr Aluva and Sheikh Zain-ud-din Makhdum Ponnani.
There are several texts important to the Qadiriyya;
The chain of spiritual masters (silsila) of the Qadiriyya is given thus;
Another version, extending beyond Gilani's time, is as follows;
See Arusiyyah-Qadiriyyah
The Tariqa Budshishiyya is a branch of the Qadiriyya that originated in North-east Morocco in the 18th century.
This branch of the Qadiriyya came into being in the eighteenth century resulting from a revivalist movement led by Sidi Al-Mukhtar al-Kunti, a Sufi of the western Sahara who wished to establish Qadiri Sufism as the dominant religion in the region. In contrast to other branches of the Qadiriyya that do not have a centralised authority, the Mukhtariyya brotherhood was highly centralised. Its leaders focused on economic prosperity as well as spiritual well-being, sending their disciples on trade caravans as far as Europe.[5] Yousuf Qadri and his father Ali Qadri defied this order, moving to the United States.
An amalgamated order of Qadiriyya and Naqshbandiyya formed in south-east Asia and the middle-east.