“He was the original Sufi”. In the memory of Naqeeb Ul Ashraf Syed Abdul Rehman Gilani

He was the original Sufi.

It was 2007, I planned a historic trip to Jordan, Palestine and Syria with some of my friends. Before departure, my sincere friend late Yunus Owaisi gave me a telephone number to call upon reaching Jordan. And that this is the number of a very perfect Sufi saint.

One evening while chatting with my friend Dr. Ansar Yaqoob at my hotel in Amman, I suddenly remembered why not call this number. The lady at the reception dialed the number and handed over the phone to me. A very soft and kind voice was heard from the other side. Who spoke beautiful English. After Alik Salik, I submitted that I am living in Oman and I wish to visit. After asking the details of the hotel, he said that there will be a meeting today at seven o’clock in the evening.
I informed my friends about the time of arrival. At half past seven, I had reached the lobby of the hotel with the doctor and other friends.
At exactly seven o’clock, a car stopped outside the entrance of the hotel and a person came from the back seat. No jab, no dastar, no scepter, no cloak, no army of followers.
Clean shaven, smartly dressed in a three-piece suit and tie, with a very dignified personality, at first glance he looked like a senior diplomat.
He was Syed Abdul Rahman Al Gilani Naqeeb Al Ashraf Sajjada Nashin Darbar Sultan Al Awaliya Syedna Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani may Allah have mercy on him.
In a low tone, such a sophisticated conversation that each word passed through the ears of the listener and was lost in the recesses of the soul. The friendliness and love in the tone is so much that the addressee feels in the first meeting that they are the one who was looking for the one who would heal the sorrows and share the sorrows for a lifetime.
Even stone hearts used to melt and become water.
In spite of obtaining perfect knowledge in modern and ancient sciences with high distinction from the world’s leading universities, he had a very high skill and reach in Sufism and Islamic sciences.
Darbar Ghousia a holy shrine of Baghdad is the walking image of Faqr Prophet Muhammad Peace be Upon Him. Devotees would offer millions of dollars for Darbar Sharif. But Syed Abdul Rehman Gilani never touched money all his life. After finding out the consumption of the offered offering, calling the finance manager of the office, issuing a receipt at the same time and making sure that the amount reaches the actual consumption. Those amounts he had received as the gift would immediately be distributed among the poor. He often used to say that my grandfather First Prime Minister of Iraq and Naqeeb Ul Ashraf said that there was a hole in his palm that wealth does not stop. This is our situation as well.
He never asked for hand kissing or foot kissing like traditional feet, but he disliked it for himself.
He was a man of simplicity who used to travel in an almost twenty year old car which did not have any facilities like AC etc.
When hevtold me to visit his residence for the first time, the fakir was surprised to find that the furniture in the house was very short and very old. Comfort was not a special commodity. The paint on the walls was also old, while there were books everywhere in the house. Seeing my surprise look, he said, “Can there be any legacy better than knowledge?”
He donated thousands of books from his personal library to Maktaba Al-Qadriya (Qadriya Library) during his lifetime. In his conversation, he always advised to stick strictly to the belief of Tawheed, to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet as the only way of life and to strictly follow the true teachings of Sayyiduna Ghus-ul-Azam (RA), to study his books and to give charity without shame. He used to exhort.
Last year, on the occasion of the 11th Sharif, I used to attend his service as usual in Baghdad almost every day and would enjoy his company for hours. On the last day before the journey, he extended his best wishes and invited me to his residence. After sitting for a long time, he hugged me and said with his charming smile that this may be our last meeting in this world. Madly clinging to him. I felt the touch of his hand of compassion on my head and it seemed that I had come out of the hot desert sun into a cold oasis and I don’t know how long his hand of compassion remained on my head as a reflection of God’s mercy. .
You bid farewell with beautiful gifts of prayers and some books and your warm smile.

Last night I did not know why sleep was far away from my eyes and the whole night was spent in unknown anxiety. In the morning, my friend Khalid informed me on the phone that the news has just arrived that Syed Abdul Rahman Al Gilani has gone to his real creator. I was lost and wanted to scream but my voice was muffled. Suffocating, I ran into the yard of my house. The weather was cold but I didn’t know why. I felt like I was in a burning desert where there was no shade tree far away. I felt that Syed Abdul Rahman Algilani was the last shade tree in the desert for millions of sufferers like me.

These few words of mine can never be a proper tribute to this great person. This market is a kind of attempt to write the name of Hasan Yusuf in the list of buyers in Egypt.

May God have mercy on the lovers

(Written by Mubeen Qadri Darwish)

Contributed by: Doctor Colonel (R) Sohail Qadri, Khalifa Syed Hashim Al-Gailani and Incharge Medical Clinic Auqaf E Qadriya Baghdad Iraq