Abdul Qader al-Keilani - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Abdul Qader Husni al-Keilani al-Hasani (1874–1948) was a Syrian nationalist, statesman and religious authority.

Sayed Abdul Qader was born in Hama

Hama

Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria north of Damascus. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria—behind Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs—with a population of 696,863...

in 1874 to the well-known notable Keilani family. The family descends from a famous religious figure and greatest saint of his time, Sayyid Abdul Qader al-Jilani al-Hasani (1078-1166 AD), the father and founder of the Keilani Sufi order (also called Qaderiya) which still has thousands of followers all over the Islamic world today. The family first appeared in Hama

Hama

more than 800 years ago when a certain ancestor, Sayed Sayf al-Deen Yehya al-Keilani (d. 1334 AD), a direct descendent of Sayyid Abdul Qadir al-Jilani, decided to reside in the city in 1285 AD, permanently moving from his original birth place of Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

. Sayed Sayf al-Deen built homes for his family, a lodge and a bridge over the Orontes river, this section of the city later became known as "al-Keilaniah district", attesting to the influence and rich historical depth of this family in the city of Hama

Hama

. Soon after, the Keilanis became the leading family of the town, owing not only to the historical and religious significance of their ancestor, but also to the fact that they belonged to the Ashraf class, the recognized descendents of the Islamic prophet Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

. As such, they held the post of "Naqib al-Ashraf" (the head of the Ashraf group), a prestigious Islamic post that had been officially reorganized by the central government of the Islamic Empire. This position was handed down through the generations within the Keilani family in Hama

Hama

. Members of the family also succeeded in gaining access to other important offices, such as that of the Mufti

Mufti

A mufti is a Sunni Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law . In religious administrative terms, a mufti is roughly equivalent to a deacon to a Sunni population...

(the highest jurisconsult), the Qadi

Qadi

Qadi is a judge ruling in accordance with Islamic religious law appointed by the ruler of a Muslim country. Because Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular domains, qadis traditionally have jurisdiction over all legal matters involving Muslims...

(the supreme Islamic Judge), and off course, they held on to their traditional leadership of the Sufi Qaderiyah sect, which prospered to a great extent during the Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

era. These offices were the highest in any Ottoman city, and in fact, there were instances when several Keilanis were appointed to all these positions at the same time. Many scholars who identified with the Hanafi

Hanafi

The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...

school of Fiqh

Fiqh

Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....

were produced by the family. The family glory had reached a remarkable stage in the 17th and 19th century.

Abdul Qader's father had died while he was a young child, and so he was raised by his maternal grandfather, Sayed Mohammad Ali al-Keilani, the Mufti of the city. He was educated locally studying under the scholars of his time, and like most of his relatives and ancestors, he followed the path of religious scholarship. In the early 20th century he was elected to the local government council, and shortly after he was appointed as Mayor of Hama

Hama

. Keilani immediately worked on projects that served the city well, including widening roads and building bridges. In 1908 he was elected to the Parliament of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

(Majles al-Maboothan) representing the two sister cities of Homs

Homs

Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...

and Hama

Hama

, with Sayed Abdul Hameed al-Ziharawi, a counterpart form Homs

Homs

Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...

. The parliament convened in Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, the capital of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. There, Keilani had the chance to befriend famous Arab leaders and thinkers, who later led the Arab independence movements. Important figures such as prince Shakeeb Arsalan and prince Prince Faisal al-Hashemi

Faisal I of Iraq

Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi, was for a short time King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of the Kingdom of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933...

were among these personalities.

At the time of his return to his home town, Syria was undergoing major changes. In 1917 the Turks withdrew from the Arab land in face of the advancing Arabian troops of Prince Faisal al-Hashemi

Faisal I of Iraq

Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi, was for a short time King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of the Kingdom of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933...

. Shortly after, in 1919 Keilani was elected to the Syrian National Congress

Syrian National Congress

The Syrian National Congress was convened in July 1919 in Damascus, Syria to prepare for the King-Crane Commission of inquiry on the future of Greater Syria after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The congress was attended by representative from all parts of Syria. The participants showed...

, the first Syrian parliament, as a deputy from Hama

Hama

. On March 10, 1920 this constitutional assembly drafted the first Syrian/Arab constitution.

Upon dissolving the congress by the French, Keilani returned to his hometown, and worked to weaken the French mandate. In 1925 he was one of the leaders of the Hama

Hama

revolution in which many of his cousins and their retainers had taken part. In October 1927, Keilani was among of the 15 top Syrian/Lebanese figures who convened in Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

to discuss the situation of the country. The famous National Block was born out of that convention, and was headed by one of Keilani's dearest friends, Hashem al-Atassi. This political group was committed to a free democratic and independent Syria, and quickly became the only negotiator for the Syrian side in the struggle for independence. Keilani was elected for the second time to the national assembly in April,1928 as a deputy from Hama, winning on the ticket of the newly formed National Block.

In February, 1928, Keilani was chosen by Sheikh Taj al-Deen al-Hasani to head the ministry of agriculture and trade in his newly formed government. Keilani accepted the post as the only National Block member in that cabinet. Some speculated that this was a ploy to distance Keilani from Hama

Hama

where he had a growing base of popularity and influence, and bring him closer to Damascus under the eyes of the French. In December, 1931 he resigned in face of increasing difficulties his department was facing. He returned to Hama. That same year he was invited to Jerusalem to participate in the Islamic conference that was led by Shareef Hussein. In this conference agreement was established on issues of Islamic and Arabic unity, independence from French and British influence, and the support for the Palestinian cause.

In addition to his political roles, he was an Islamic scholar who never ceased to teach and lead prayers in the local mosque (Ibrahim al-Keilani) in which his ancestors traditionally had preached and lead the local community. He briefly headed the Qaderiyah sect after the death of its leader Sayed Abdul-Jabbar Keilani, and was also elected to lead the committee that organized the well-known Hama Spring Celebrations. Keilani died in Hama in 1948 and was survived by his children and grandchildren.

Sources

Family accounts, especially Miss Razan Keilani.
Khoury, Philip Syria And The French Mandate . Princeton University Press, 1987
Rida, Ali Qissat al-Kifah al-Watani fi Sourya (The Story of the National Struggle in Syria) 1979
Jumaa, Suaa Asaad and Zaza, Hasan al-Hukoomat al-Sooriyah fi al-Qarn al-Isheen (The Syrian Governments in the Twenith Century) Dar Ikrima, 2001.
Reilly, James. A Small Town in Syria Peter Lang, 2002.
Al-Keilani, Abdul Razzaq al-Sheikh Abdul Qader al-Jeilani Dar al-Qalam, Damascus, 1994

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