Islamic leaders, their biographies and accomplishments. Saul Silas Fathi

but also reasserted Umayyad authority across that country. He then dispatched a large army to Mecca under the command of the notorious Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in order to bring Abdullah to heel. Following Abdullah’s defeat at the hands of the Umayyad forces in 692, Abd al-Malik reunited the Muslim world under his leadership and restored peace and security throughout his dominion. It is true that two of the most notorious military generals, Ubaydullah ibn Ziyad and Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, thrived during his reign.

      After restoring the political unity of the Muslim world, Abd al-Malik authorized fresh military campaigns in different parts of the world. He dispatched a large army under the command of Hassan ibn al-Nu’man which, despite an initial setback, went on to capture Carthage from the Byzantines and establish Islamic rule across North Africa. In addition to this, he instigated a series of campaigns against the Hindu rulers of Kabul.

      Abd al-Malik’s influence extended far beyond the political and military spheres. He became a champion of the Arabic language and actively promoted it throughout his dominion. This forced all his foreign officials and civil servants to learn Arabic. Then, between 696 and 698, he abolished and phased out regional coinage, thereby removing the distinction between the Sasanian dirham (silver) and Syriac, Egyptian and Palestinian dinars (gold) and replacing them with a standard Arabic coinage for the first time.

      Abd al-Malik planned and constructed the magnificent Qubbat al-Sakhra (or the ‘Dome of the Rock’). Constructed in 692 on the site of the rock (Sakhra) from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven (Miraj), this breathtaking Islamic edifice is today considered to be one of the world’s most famous mosques along with the Masjid al-Haram (the Sacred Mosque) in Mecca and the Masjid al-Nabi (the Prophet’s Mosque) in Medina. The Dome of the Rock is one of the Muslim world’s most spectacular and breathtaking works of architecture.

      Caliph Abd al-Malik’s highly productive reign of two decades came to an end at the age of fifty-nine; he was buried in Damascus. He must be considered one of the Muslim world’s most successful rulers. Historians often refer to him as the ‘father of Kings’ because he was succeeded by his four sons, al-Walid, Sulaiman, Yazid II and Hisham.

      Abd al-Malik, c.646-705, 5^th Umayyad caliph (685-705); son of Marwan I. At his accession, Islam was torn by dissension and threatened by the Byzantine Empire. With the help of his able general al-Hajjaj, Abd al-Malik overthrew the rival caliphs and united Islam. His battles with Byzantine forces were without final result. A caliph; came to power in 685 ACE and ruled for 20 years (Iraq). Promoted the Arabic language; caused great expansion of the Islamic Empire. Umayyad caliph (685-705) who restored Umayyad power after a period of civil war; the Dome of the Rock was completed under his auspices in 691.

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Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (1077-1166): The great spiritual leaders were eager to understand the true nature of reality, which would enable them to move closer to Divine proximity – the origin of all that exists. One of the Muslim world’s most influential, and arguably the most revered, Sufi (or spiritual teacher and guide) was Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani.

      Sayyid Muhyi al-Din Abu Muhammad Abd al-Qadir Hasani al-Jilani was born in Nif, a district town of Jilan in the province of Tabaristan, located on the coast of the Caspian Sea. His family traced their lineage back to Hasan, the eldest son of Caliph Ali and a grandson of the Prophet. Abd al-Qadir received his early education in Arabic, committed the whole Qur’an to memory and studied aspects of Hadith (Prophetic traditions) at home under the supervision of his mother and maternal grandfather.

      In 1095, Abd al-Qadir left his native Jilan and journeyed to Baghdad, which was the capital of the Muslim world at the time. After a long and eventful journey, he finally reached Baghdad. At the time Baghdad was a thriving center of Islamic learning and commercial activity.

      Under Shaykh al-Dabbas’s instruction, Abd al-Qadir not only learned the theories and methods of Sufism, but also became exposed to a new universe of meaning, purpose and spiritual fulfillment. Being a Sufi himself, the Hanbali jurist Abu Sa’id also played a decisive role in Abd al-Qadir’s early quest for spirituality and fulfillment.

      Abd al-Qadir’s remarkable and unique ability to combine Islamic traditionalism with Islamic spirituality made him a hugely popular figure during his lifetime. Thanks to his intellectual brilliance and unique style of delivery, hundreds of non-Muslims (including Jews and Christians) embraced Islam and thousands of ordinary Muslims began to take their faith seriously. He became one of the first Sufi scholars in the annals of Islam to acquire such a mass following. More than seventy thousand people used to attend his lectures at any one time and around four hundred scribes used to write down his talks for the benefit of posterity. He was one of the most meticulous followers of the Prophetic sunnah.

      Thanks to his band of dedicated scribes, Abd al-Qadir’s lectures were preserved in the form of books and manuscripts for the benefit of posterity. In total, more than twenty-four books and manuscripts have been attributed to him. Abd al-Qadir argued that man was a creature of God Who created him only to serve Him. Abd al-Qadir did not consider God to be a theological construct or a logical abstract; rather, he believed, He is One Who resides in our hearts and continues to influence us in every sphere of our lives. Named after him, the Qadiriyyah Sufi Order is today followed by millions of people throughout the Muslim world.

      Abd al-Qadir himself once remarked, ‘My foot is on the head of every saint.’ He died at the venerable age of around eighty-nine and was buried in Abbasid Baghdad.

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Abd al-Rahman I (731-788): Or, his full name by patronymic record, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu’awiya ibn Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (731-788) was the founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Córdoba (755), a Muslim dynasty that ruled the greater part of Iberia for nearly three centuries (including the succeeding Caliphate of Córdoba). The Muslims called the regions of Iberia under their dominion al-Andalus. Abd al-Rahman’s establishment of a government in al-Andalus represented a branching from the rest of the Islamic Empire, which had been brought under the Abbasid following the overthrow of the Umayyads from Damascus in 750.

      He was also known by appellations al-Dakhil (“the Immigrant”), Saqr Quraish (“the Falcon of the Quraysh”) and the “Falcon of Andalus”. Variations of the spelling of his name include Abd ar-Rahman I, Abdul Rahman I and Abderraman I

       Flight from Damascus:

      Born near Damascus in Syria, Abd al-Rahman, grandson of Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, was the son of the Umayyad prince Mu’awiyah ibn Hisham and a Berber concubine. He was twenty when his family, the ruling Umayyads, were overthrown by a popular revolt known as the Abbasid Revolution, occurring in the year 750. Abd al-Rahman and a small selection of his family fled Damascus, where the center of Umayyad power had been; people moving with him include his brother Yahiya, his four-year old son Sulayman, and some of his sisters, as well as his former Greek slave (a freedman), Bedr. The family fled from Damascus to the River Euphrates. All along the way the path was filled with danger, as the Abbasids had dispatched horsemen across the region to try to find the Umayyad prince and kill him. The Abbasids were merciless with all Umayyads that they found. Abbasid agents closed in on Abd al-Rahman and his family while they were hiding in a small village. He left his young son with his sisters and fled with Yahiya.

      Abd al-Rahman, Yahiya and Bedr quit the village narrowly escaping the Abbasid assassins. Later, on the way south, Abbasid horsemen again caught up with the trio: Abd al-Rahman and his companions then threw themselves into the River Euphrates. While trying to swim across the dangerous Euphrates, Abd al-Rahman is said to have become separated from his brother Yahiya, who began swimming back towards the horsemen, possibly from fear of drowning. The horsemen beseeched the escapees to return, and that no harm would come to them. Yahiya returned to the near shore, and was quickly dispatched by the horsemen. They cut the head off their prize, leaving Yahiya’s body to rot. Al-Maqqari quotes prior Muslim historians as having recorded that Abd al-Rahman said he was so overcome with fear at that moment, that once he made the far shore he ran until exhaustion overcame him. Only he and Bedr were left to face the unknown.