Name:
Sayyid Sheikh ʿAbd al-Qadir Qazan Qayah ibn al-Sayyid Hussein ibn al-Sayyid Mahmoud ibn al-Sayyid Sheikh Ismaʿil al-Waliyyani.
Title:
Qazan Qayah.
Children:
Sheikh ʿAbd al-Karim, Sheikh Hassan Qara Jiwar, Sheikh Hussein, and Sheikh Muḥyī al-Dīn.
Spiritual Path:
The Qadiriyyah Ṭarīqah.
Contemporaries:
Sheikh ʿAbd al-Karim al-Shah al-Kasnazān (may God sanctify his secret).
Biography
Sheikh ʿAbd al-Qadir Qazan Qayah (may God sanctify his secret) was among the prominent shaykhs of the Qadiriyyah ṭarīqah and the maternal uncle of Sheikh ʿAbd al-Karim al-Shah al-Kasnazān (may God sanctify his secret).
In his early youth, Sheikh ʿAbd al-Karim had a deep passion for hunting. One day, he spotted a large, majestic gazelle standing proudly. He thought to himself: “This is my quarry, and my soul yearns to hunt such a one.” He approached it slowly, noticing it remained completely still. Step by step, he drew closer—yet the gazelle did not move in the slightest.
When he finally stood before it, the gazelle opened its mouth and said:
“You came to hunt us, O ʿAbd al-Karim, but instead, we have caught you.”
Amazed, he immediately went to his uncle, the great saint of God, Sayyid Sheikh ʿAbd al-Qadir Qazan Qayah, who at that time was the shaykh of the Qadiriyyah order. Upon entering the assembly of the dervishes and raising his hand in greeting, his uncle called out to him before he could speak a word:
“O ʿAbd al-Karim, tell us about the gazelle you intended to hunt, but which hunted you instead.”
This was a clear instance of spiritual unveiling (kashf).
At that moment, all those present in the shaykh’s gathering exclaimed:
“It is now your turn, O ʿAbd al-Karim!”
Confused yet humbled, he bowed and kissed the blessed threshold of his uncle.
Sources:
1. Botan Maʿruf, Al-Nafahāt al-Kasnazāniyyah, pp. 58–59.
