Geneology

H e is our Master, the Shaikh of Islam, the exemplar of the splendid saints [awliya’], the signpost to right guidance. Those who trace their spiritual affiliation to him are among the blissfully fortunate. He is the Lordly Cardinal Pole [al-Qutb ar-Rabbani], the incomparable, the universal, the everlasting, the pure foundation, Muhyi ‘d-Din Abu Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qadir, the son of Abu Salih Jangi Dost (some say Janga Dost) Musa, the son of Abu ‘Abdi’llah, the son of Yahya az-Zahid, the son of Muhammad, the son of Dawud, the son of Musa, the son of ‘Abdu’llah, the son of Musa al-Jawn, the son of ‘Abdu’llah al’Mahd (also known by the epithet al-Mujall [the Venerable], derived from the term ijlal [veneration]), the son of al-Hasan al-Muthanna, the son of the Commander of the Believers [Amir al-Mu’minin], Abu Muhammad al-Hasan, the son of the Commander of the Believers, ‘Ali (may Allah be well pleased with him), the son of Abu Talib, the son of ‘Abd al-Muttalib, the son of Hashim, the son of ‘Abd Manaf, the son of Qusayy, the son of Kilab, the son of Murra, the son of Ka’b, the son of Lu’ayy, the son of Ghalib, the son of Qahr, the son of Malik, the son of an-Nadr, the son of Kinana, the son of Khuzaima, the son of Mudrika, the son of Ilyas, the son of Mudar, the son of Nadhdhar, the son of Ma’d, the son of ‘Adnan. [His surnames are] al-Qurashi al-Hashimi al-‘Alawi al-Hasani al-Jili al-Hanbali.

His mother was Umm al-Khair [Mother of Goodness] Amat al-Jabbar [Maidservant of the All-Compelling One] Fatima, the daughter of Shaikh ‘Abdu’llah as-Sawma’i al-Husaini az-Zahid.

He is the grandson [on his mother’s side] of our master, the famous ‘Abdu’llah as-Sawma’i az-Zahid [the Ascetic Hermit], who was one of the Shaikhs of Jilan and one of their leading ascetics. Shaikh ‘Abdu’llah was endowed with lofty spiritual states [ahwall and conspicuous charismatic talents [karamat]. He met with a group of the outstanding Shaikhs of the Persians [al-‘Ajam] (may Allah be well pleased with them).

–Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Yahya at-Tadifi, Necklaces of Gems [Qala’id al-Jawahir], trans. Muhtar Holland (Ft. Lauderdale: Al-Baz Publishing, Inc., 1998), 8-10.