ʿAbd al‑Qādir al‑Jīlānī

Born near the Caspian Sea (Gīlān) in the late 11th century (ca. 1077/1078) and later active in Baghdad, ʿAbd al‑Qādir underwent intensive intellectual and mystical training in hagiographical and scholarly accounts; after receiving the khirqa (robe of initiation) he established the tariqa that bears his name (the Qādiriyya). His persona functions historically as both a jurist and mystical master whose recorded discourses and attributed works became the core of a living spiritual lineage and shrine-centered devotional practice.

The supplied sources do not provide a consistent textual physical description. He is sometimes represented in later visual art (e.g., a late Mughal depiction in the Victoria & Albert collection), but no reliable contemporaneous physical traits are given in the provided excerpts.

Described primarily as a preacher, teacher, Hanbali jurist, and Sufi spiritual authority whose majalis (discourses) delivered in the ribat and madrasa of Baghdad attracted very large crowds and many scribes. His works are treated as revelatory spiritual guidance for seekers; hagiography records transmission practices such as receiving the khirqa, and his name functions as the source of institutional baraka and authorization for the Qādiriyya order. The provided materials do not foreground explicit miracle narratives or supernatural powers beyond the saintly authority and efficacy of his teachings and transmitted robe.