Islam at the beginning was primarily a legalistic religion and placed before its adherents little more than a code of ethics combined with a set of rituals. The faithful observance of these was deemed sufficient to satisfy every man's religious quest and ensure him a place in heaven (John, 2000). There was no demand for spiritual regeneration through a rebirth experience and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as in the Christian faith, nor for a highly spiritual form of devotion through which the worshipper could draw near to God in a personal way and discover the knowledge of his grace and favor.
Sufi brotherhoods evolved throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the nineteenth century, the Qadiriyya brotherhood affiliation became the identity of the northern Sokoto Caliphate, due to its association with its founder, Usman Dan Fodio, who had launched a jihad in 1804 aimed at unifying Muslims, establishing Shari’a, and “purifying” Islam from innovation and pagan rituals.
The venerable Muhyiddin Abu Muhammad Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, may his soul be sanctified, is al-ghawth al-azam [the manifestaion of Allah's attribute 'the All-Powerful'], who hears the cry for help and saves the ones in need, and al-qutb al-azam - the pole, the center, the summit of spiritual evolution, the spiritual ruler of the world, the source of wisdom, container of all knowledge, the example of faith in Islam; a true inheritor of the perfection of the Prophet Mustafa; a perfect man; and the founder of the Qadiriya/Qadiriyya, the mystical order that has spread far and wide and preserved the true meaning of Islamic Sufism throughout these centuries until our time.
Shah Wali Allah further comments that the Qadiriya is near the Uwaisiyya and other paths involving disembodied spirits. There is nothing to compare to the Qadiriya when one learns from an....
