The idea regarding the existence of such Walis and their approach towards some form of intercession for humanity is borne out by Verses 20-27 of Sura Yasin, a perusal of which will show that even among a nation doomed to destruction for its inequities, there live persons who testify to the truth of a Prophet appearing among them by their powers of reality, recognising the will of Allah. The event is begun with the following words, "And from the remote part of the country there came a man running who said, O' my people follow this messenger, "The story of the prophet Loot as given in Sura Hud, gives an indication to the effect that punishment for the sin of a nation is averted by the presence of an eminent man of spritually.

The defernment of such punishment is out of deference to a spiritual personality living in its midst.

The punishment of Quraish was deferred till the migration of the Holy prophet from Mecca. Al-Quran lay? down this principle in so many words "Nor is Allah going to chastise them while you are among them" (8:33). The well known hadith ascribing to Allah the Words "One who is hostile to my Walli receives an announcement of War from Me" presents only the counterpart of this idea. Because if hostility to a Wali excites the wrath of Allah it follows that the attention and prayers of the Wali can induce the mercy of Allah. Of course the Wali spoken of are Walis of the eminence like that of Hazrat Ghousul Azam Abdul Qadir Mohiyuddin.

Miracles are abnormal and extra-ordinary acts that can only be performed by the privileged few like the Prophets and Walis of Allah. Perhaps such acts may sound illogical to the rationalist. But they do occur and are beyond ordinary comprehensive. The parting of the Red Sea for the Prophet Moosa and such like events are examples. Even in the life of ordinary mortals, miracles occur, by the mercy of Allah, to save them from catastrophes or accidents.

The miracles of Hazrat Ghousul Azam recorded are innumerable, when compared to other Saints. Of these innumerable, miracles, a few are given below.

After Hazrat Ghousul Azam settled down in Baghdad remarkable stories about his power circulated in Baghdad. The day to day increase in the circulation of such stories made a large number of great scholars of the town to decide to visit him, altogether in other to test his knowledge by posing one, hundred difficult questions. On their arrival, the Hazrat foretold them of their purpose and gave each question the correct answer, even profounding to them explanations beyond the limits of their comprehension on their own special subjects. This" thought reading was daily manifested by him. It was not necessary for the visitors who came with petitions of desires to tell him, for he looked straight at them and gave them the answers.

On one occasion; two weary and hungry travellers from Arabia joined his audience unobtrusively. The Hazrat immediately stopped his discourse saying "Poor travellers; they have just come a long way and have had practically nothing to eat." He then described correctly their last meal to the astonishment of all concerned.

One of the most remarkable things we hear from this Saint's life is that even a man's destiny could be deflected from conscious life into the dream state. A merchant of Baghdad one day approached Sheikh Hammad Al-Dabbas for his blessings before taking a caravan to Syria. Sheikh Hammad forbade him to undertake the proposed journey because he foresay that the merchant was likely to be robbed and murdered by highway men. The merchant very much depressed, met Hazrat Ghousul Azam on the way and informed him what the Sheikh had told him. The Hazrat promised the merchant his personal responsibility for his safe journey and asked the merchant to proceed. He reached his destination safely with his goods.

On his journey the merchant forgot to take back his money kept in the place where he had performed his 'ablution. On going to bed he was murdered. On waking he saw blood round his neck and also felt the pain of the blow. However, he realised that what he had seen was a mere dream, but remembering his lost purse, he went back to the place and recovered it.

While he was returning to Baghdad he was confused in his mind to decide whether seeing Sheikh Hammad first would be proper, as he was the senior Sheikh or seeing Hazrat Ghous first was appropriate as it was his predictions had proved true. He suddenly saw Sheikh Hammad. He asked him instead to first go to Hazrat Ghousul Azam by whose prayers his predistened murder had been changed into a dream and the loss of property the purse changed into forgetfulness.

One of Hazrat's own servants, who visited his master complained that he had, in a dream slept with man women. Upon this, Hazrat said that it was the servant's destiny to sleep with all those women but this misdeed had been transformed into a dream. Before the servant began to describe the event, Hazrat gave him a list of the names of all the women including those he knew and those he did not.

Khalifa AImustanjid Billah once came to Hazrat and presented him some bags of gold. He refused, the gift but when the Khalifa begged and pleaded for their acceptance the Hazrat took two bags and pressed them. Blood seemed to ooze out of them, which was indicative of the fact that the wealth had been amassed by oppressing people, which was represented by the blood seen.

On one occasion a Christian Clergyman came from Yeman and accepted Islam from him in an assembly where he had delivered a sermon. After his conversion, he voluntarily stood up and related to the assembly that he was a man of Yeman and had decided to accept Islam from the hands of the most eminent Muslim in Yeman. He reported that had seen Prophet Eesa in a dream who directed him to proceed to Baghdad and accept Islam from Hazrat Abdul Qadir, who was the most eminent at the time in the whole world.

Once three Faqihs, who came to see him offered their prayers under his Imamath (leadership). They did not like his reading of the Quran and formed a low opinion of him. They slept that night and went to the spring for a bath late at night. A Tiger clung to their clothes and cought hold of them. The Faqihs became afraid of their lives. The Hazrat at that moment came out of his closet. The Tiger quietened and crawled (it his feet. Hazrat sternly looked at the Tiger as if to question why it had interfered with his guests though they had formed low opinion of himself. The Faqihs came to him and repented for their conduct and begged his pardon. Hazrat then addressed his guests remarking that while he had been improving his heart, they had only been improving their tongue to speak ill of him and slander people.

Sheikh Shihabuddin Umar Suharwardy in his youth used to read voraciously books on scholasticism, inspite of the advice of his uncle to the contrary. Once his uncle took him to Hazrat Ghousul Azam and informed him that the boy was devoting all his time to scholasticism. Upon this Hazrat asked Sheikh Shihabuddin what books he had read on the subject. On getting a reply, he placed his palm on the breast of Sheikh Shihabuddin. No sooner was the plam removed; he surprisingly forgot all he knew of scholasticism. But in lieu of it, he felt his mind replaced by the knowledge of Allah. Sheikh Shihabuddin Umar Suharwardy ultimately became the Imam of the Suharwardy Order and is the author of the famous book on Sufism named "Awariful Maarif."

Sheikh Muzzafar bin Mansur said that in his youth he saw the Hazrat in the company of a large number of persons. When he sat down with a book on spiritual philosophy, Hazrat without seeing the book but questioning him said that the book was not a good one for him and should be discarded. However, be did not like to discard it owing to his love for the book, but at the same time he neither desired to incur the displeasure of Hazrat also by retaining that book. So he decided to keep it somewhere else and tried to get up to do so. But he could not. He felt as if he was planted to the ground.

Hazrat then asked him to show the book to him. It was given. Hazrat passed his hand over it and said that the book was Ibuzari's "Fazil-ul-Quran" and then returned it to him. I opened it and saw that it was "Fazil-ul-Quran'' but without the chapter on spiritual subject and philosophy "contained therein earlier. Hazrat asked him to repent for what had passed through his mind He first repented and then got up, but found that he could not thereafter remember a single portion of that book.

A relattion of the Khalifa was once taken to Hazrat. The man was suffering from dropsy and had an enormously swollen stomach. He sought relief. Hazrat passed his hands over his stomach, upon which it contracted to its normal size.

Hazrat Ghousul Azam had spiritual powers to hasten to the rescue of those who called him in an hour of emergency or adversity even from afar, such as the hearing of a thundering shout that rang, to frighten away marauders who tried to molest and loot owners of a caravan in the desert of Samarakand, who, in their hour of peril, called and appealed for the aid of the Hazrat.

Sheikh Shihabuddin Suharwardy's parents were for long childless, until his mother approached him and begged of him to pray to that she may be blessed with a son. Raising His hands in supplication he prayed and said that Allah the Beneficient would grant her wish. He desired the child when born to be named Shihabuddin and predicted that the child would rise up to be a Sheikh of Sheikhs. In the ceurse of time she bore a son though she was above the normal age of child bearing.

His powers over the souls of this disciples extended beyond the grave. One day in Baghdad a man informed him that his deceased father in a dream had desired him to appeal to him to pray for (he redemption of his dead father's soul, as he was suffering. Hazrat asked the visitor "Did your father ever visited my Madrassa?" Yes he answered. Hazrat remained silent for a while and referred no further on the matter. A few days latter, the man returned to Hazrat saying that his father appeared to him in a dream wearing a green robe and had told him that his punishment has been lifted due to Hazrat Ghousul Azam's prayers.

Abdullah Zayyat once said that one night Hazrat came out of his closet with a walking stick in his hand. Abdullah within himself at that moment wished to see Hazrat performing some miraculous act. No sooner this thought had occured to him, the Hazrat set up his stick on ground and it became luminous and began to glow. Soon it became so bright that it illuminated the entire house. He then took up his stick, and looked at Abdullah and remarked you desired this sort of act. Abdullah was amazed.

A mother brought his son to the Sheikh to become a murid (follower) A few months later she returned and saw him looking under nourished. She complained that Hazrat was himself partaking the delicious dish of chicken daily whereas his poor son had been made to keep up on dry bread. Hazrat on this complaint picked up the bone of a chicken, by this bone suddenly transformed into a live cock, which crowed as if to testify that there is no Allah but Allah. Mohammad is His Prophet "and Sheikh Abdul Qadir is His Wali". Addressing the terrified woman he commented "when your son is able to do this, then there will be no reason why he should not eat the same as I do."

He once asked nearly three hundred residents of a dewelling place to vacate it immediately. No. sooner these people vacated, (he building fell to the ground. He had forseen the occurence and warned them in time.

Sheikh Alt Arabi of Spain had no children. At the instance of a Mujzub (a mon of distracted mind owing to' divine attraction) he approached Hazrat Ghousul Azam for his blessings and prayers for a son. Hazrat said I have one more son yet unborn in my destiny. I give it to you. Rub your back against mine and name him when born Mohammed Mohiyuddin. He would rise up to be a Qutub of his time. The child was eventually born and was named accordingly. He became a great philosopher and attained high spiritual advancement. He gained the title of Sheikh Akbar and is commonly known as Ibn-al-Arabi.

During a famine in Baghdah, Abdul Abbas Ahmed, the servant of Hazrat complained to him of the need for funds and of food grains. Hazrat gave him a reasonable quantity of wheat and asked him to store the grain in a covered receptacle and never to weigh it, but to take out according to necessity, by opening out a small portion of the container. He used to draw grains in this way for an unusually large period. The wife of the servant of Hazrat at last felt very much curious about it and in order to satisfy herself opened the mouth of the container. She surprisingly found almost *he same quantity of grain as was kept in the beginning, still remaining and unexhausted.

Once the water in Tigris rose to an extra ordinary high level on account of an unprecedent flood. The inhabitants of Baghdad became frightened of the imminent danger. They came to Saiyidina Hazrat Ghousul Azam and solicited his help. There upon Hazrat went up to the river side and planting his stick on the river bank said "Remain with in this limit. The flood then began to recede slowly and came down to the Limit demarcated by him.

Once a resident of Baghdad approached Saiyidina Ghousul Azam and stated that his son has been getting fever for a year and a quarter, and could not shake it off by any means. Hazrat instructed him to speak into the ears of his son and say '0 fever leave my son and go to the village of H Allah.' He acted accordingly, and the fever left his son at once.

It is related on the authority of Sheikh Adi Bin Musafir that once Hazrat Ghousul Azam was conversing with some persons assembled to hear his sermon when it began to rain. Hazrat looked upon the sky and solicited "I call together men for your (Allah's) sake but you disperse them." As soon as he had uttered this, the clouds disappeared and rain ceased in the precints of the Madrassa of Hazrat, though it was raining outside.

Sheikh Osman Sayrifini and Sheikh Abdul Haq Harimi stated ".We were present before Saiyidina Hazrat Ghousul Azam in his Madrassa on third Saffar 555 A.H., when Hazrat suddenly got up with his wooden sandles under his feet and performed ablution. He offered two Rakats of prayers and with a loud shout, threw one of the sandles into the air. It disappeared from our sight. With another shout, his Holiness threw the other sandle into the air, which also disappeared. None present dared questioning him on the incident.

But thirty days after this incident a caravan came to Baghdad from Ajam and said that they had brought some presents for Hazrat. Hazrat permitted the acceptance of the presents of valuable things but these the same pair of sandles which were thrown in the air by Hazrat. They related that on the third of Saffar when they were travelling, suddenly a gang attacked them and plundered their merchandise and murdered some of them in the caravan. The gang then entered the jungle to divide the booty. Then they had halted at the outskirts of the jungle and it struck them to solicit the help of Hazrat Ghousul Azam. Just at that time they had heard two loud shouts which reverberated throughout the jungle. They had mistaken the shouts as the aftermath of a scuffle between the gang that attacked us and a stronger gang of Arabs. We were terror stricken. Some members of the gang came to us and said that a calamity had befallen them and requested us to take back the plundered goods. We went to the place where the booty was lying divided and saw two of their leaders lying dead and the two sandles lying close by.

Sheikh Abdul Hassan commonly known as Ibn Astantana of Baghdad stated "When I used to live in the Madrassa of Saiyidina Ghousul Azam for the acquisition of learning, I generally keep awake, at night in order to serve the Hazrat, if and when required. One night in 553 A.H. Hazrat came out of his room, presuming he required water for ablution, I took it to him but his holiness did not take it. Instead, he proceeded towards the gate of the Madrassa. I quietly followed him. The gate automatically opened and when he passed on, it closed itself. He then went towards the gate of the city which also similarly opened and closed automatically. Shortly after this we reached a town, which I had not seen before. On reaching the town he went to a house which was similar to his own Ribat in appearance. There were six persons in the house, who saluted him. He proceeded further on and I, stood, by a pillar. I heard the groaning of a person in a low voice. After a few minutes, the groaning ceased and another person went to the place whence the groaning came and carried away a dead body on his shoulder. Shortly after this, another person bare headed and with long whiskers, came there.

The man sat down in front of Hazrat who made him recite the declaration of faith used in converting one to Islam. Hazrat then cut off his whiskers, put a cap on his head and named him Mohammad. He said that he had appointed him in place of the deceased. The persons residing in the house accepted the decision submissively. He then left the place and in a short time came to the gate of Baghdad, which opened and closed automatically as before. His holiness (hen entered his Madrasa. In the morning when I resumed taking lesson from Hazrat I prayed him to explain the incident of the previous night. Whereupon he said that the town I had seen was Nehawand a distant city in the outskirts of the empire under the Khalif of Baghdad. The six persons in the Ribat, were Abdul and Nujaba. The man ^ho died was one of shem. The man with long whiskers was a Christian of Constantinople who accepted Islam and was appointed by him to fill the place of the deceased. The man who carried away the corpse was Hazrat Khizar.

It seems desire able here to explain that according to the Sufis, there exists a sort of hierchy of Saints at all times in the world through whom Allah manifests His mercy to the world of humanity. In the absence of the Prophet, they are the vice gerents of Allah on earth on the Prophet's behalf. They are of three different grades, Abdal is a plural of Badal meaning literally "substitute", so called because should any one of these saints die, Allah immediately substitutes him by another (Sihah). They are righteous persons of whom the world is never destitute. But on more authoratative view is that they are given this name, because of their ever changing spiritual condition. They are inaflux; and are not allowed to remain in one state. Being on their way to Realisation, they are not allowed to settle down at any intermediate point. As to their exact number and their locations, opinion, is divided. They seem to be the lowest in rank amongst the spiritual successors of the Prophet, Ghousul Azam and Qutubs.

According to the best authorities they are a hirearchy of the saints of a particular generation and are supposed to be pre-eminently endowed with sanctity and faculties to even perform miracles. If anybody is a Qutub or a Ghouse, he is recognised as such only by his agents. Abdals, themselves reveal their position to a. particular person. The literal meaning of Qutub is axis or pivot, the point upon which a thing turns, the chief around whom the state of affairs turns. So a Qutub is he, whose attention and prayers decide the course of events in a particular society of people? He may be regarded as a kind of spiritual agent in a particular community.

The literal meaning of Ghouse is 'AID' or 'Succour' in the midst of difficulties. So Ghouse is a kind of intercessor, who intercedes at a moment when the sins of a nation or humanity are at the point of being punished. These great men appear to be particularly tender hearted like the Holy Prophet. Their hearts melt at the woes and sufferings of humanity and as such become a means to be able to avert Divine punishment. With the assurance of acceptability of their prayers, their prayers become a plea for Divine forgiveness and mercy. Hazrat Ghousul Azam has once said that the Almishty has given him the knowledge of all his murids up to the end of the world, and His Holiness has proclaimed that none of his murids would die without repentance, and attain the seventh degree to alude in paradise. Once he remarked that he would not have the presence

of Allah unless He did not accompany him and his murids to enter paradise. His Holiness was once questioned as to the position of a devotee who has regard and love for him, but was not actually his murid nor wore Khirqa from him. He said that such a person was also his murid although the real process of his becoming a murid was not complete. Even a person who had love and reverence for him would not be disappointed by the graciousness of the Almighty.