The Grey Falcon: The Life and Teaching of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī.

• Superior document: Islamic history and civilization ; Volume 155
• Author: Hamza Malik
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden,, Boston: : Brill,, 2019.
• Year of Publication: 2019
• Language: English
• Series: Islamic History and Civilization 155.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (261 pages).

In The Grey Falcon , Hamza Malik offers an account of the life and teaching of the twelfth century scholar and Sufi of Baghdad, and eponym of the Qadiri order, Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī (1077-1166). The question of whether Jīlānī was a Sufi, or simply a scholar appropriated by later Sufis as has been sometimes suggested, is tackled through an analysis of his three most popular works, the Ghunya li Ṭālibī Ṭarīq al-Ḥaqq , the Futūḥ al-Ghayb , and the Fatḥ al-Rabbānī . Malik identifies and presents Jīlānī’s Sufi thought and theological stance, and furthermore attempts to paint a picture of the character and personality of Jīlānī, as might be ascertained solely from the works analysed.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Copyright Page -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Time, Place and Person -- Setting the Scene: Baghdad Around The Time of Jīlānī -- The Life of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī -- Thought, Practice and Experience -- Theology I: The Ḥanbalī Foundation -- Theology II: Names and Nomenclature -- Sufism I: Reading the Ghunya -- Sufism II: the Path to the Truth -- The Figure of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī -- Concluding Remarks -- Back Matter -- Select Bibliography -- Index.