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Ghawthul A'zam (rali) is one of the most celebrated Sufis in Islam. He was born in the region of Jilan in Persia but lived in Baghdad, where his tomb stands today. A legend relates that when Ghawthul A'zam (rali)'s mother sent him to Baghdad, she enjoined him to be always truthful. She sewed gold pieces into his coat as a provision for his religious studies. When his band of fellow travelers were stopped by robbers along the way he was asked - his poor appearance offering no promise of gain - if he had any money. To the astonishment of the robbers he told them the truth about the hidden gold. Later Ghawthul A'zam (rali) told the robber chief that he despaired of attaining truth himself if, at the beginning of the search, he had lied. And this brought the robber chief to repent. Another story, or allegory, tells that a sick man called upon Ghawthul A'zam (rali) to help him to sit upright. When the Saint helped him, the sick man miraculously grew to a great size, and explained that he was Islam itself, who had grown weak with the times but was now restored to health by Muhyiddin Abd al-Qadir Jilani (rali). Ghawthul A'zam (rali) did not begin public preaching until after the fiftieth year of his life. He went on to found the tariqah which bears his name. Muhyiddin Abd al-Qadir Jilani (rali) was called the Qutb ("spiritual axis") of his age, and even the Ghawthul al-A'zam (the "greatest succor"), no doubt because he promised to come out from the Unseen to the spiritual aid of any disciple who called upon him. His most famous written work is a collection of exhortations called the Futuh al-Ghayb ("Revelations of the Unseen"). Of the three recognised schools of Tasawwuf i.e. Wahdatul Wujud, Wahdatush Shuhud and Mutakallimun, Ghawthul A'zam (rali) belonged to the Wujudi school of thought. With Ghawthul A'zam (rali) the tradition begins of a group of Sufis holding a particular great man or Saint to be the founder of their way. Thus the Qadiriyyah is the first tariqah to take on a distinct character, or, simply, the first tariqah as such.
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