Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani, also known as Ghous-e-Azam, is one of the most important Sufis of the Hanbali Silsila and the founder of the Qadriyya sect. He was born on March 17, 1078, in the western city of Gilan, Kermanshah Province, Iran. Also called Kylan. That is why your other name is Sheikh Abdul Qadir Kalani. Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani is related to the spiritual lineage of Hazrat Junaid Baghdadi. He received his allegiance and caliphate from the famous caliph of Sheikh Abul Hassan Ali Hankari, Sheikh Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzumi. Scholars unanimously consider him to be a born saint. His lineage goes back to Imam Hassan from your father and from your mother to Imam Hussain, and so your lineage goes back to Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH). At the age of eighteen, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani traveled to Baghdad to study, where he was taught by jurists such as Shaykh Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzumi in jurisprudence, Shaykh Abu Bakr ibn Muzaffar in hadith, and Shaykh Abu Muhammad Ja'far and Shaykh Ibn Aqeel in commentary. After acquiring knowledge, Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani left Baghdad and practiced strict worship in the deserts of Iraq for 25 years. In 1127, he resettled in Baghdad and began teaching. Soon, his fame spread to Baghdad and then too far and wide. For forty years he took an active part in the preaching activities of Sufism. As a result, thousands became associated with Sufism. He also started sending distant delegations to further expand the message of God. Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani himself traveled far and wide to spread Sufism and reached the subcontinent. It is said that he also resided in Multan (present day Pakistan). Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani wrote valuable books for the students of truth. The names of some of them are as follows: 1. Al-Ghaib 2. Al-Rabani wa Al-Faiz-al-Rahman 3. Al-Hazi 4. Al-Asrar Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani wrote under the pen-name Muhi. A river of truth and cognition seems to flow in his writings. Apart from his prose works, he was also interested in poetry. Most of the Persian writings are proofs of his poetic greatness. In some Qadri monasteries there is also an ancient Diwan of the Sheikh in which dozens of poems are found which are now rare.