02Knights Templar - Julian Emperor

SAINTS
saints. Chief amongst these is the practice of turning the
graves or tombs of the individuals who are believed to have
been figures of great holiness or piety into shrines where the
anniversary of their deaths is observed as a form of feast in
much the same way as saints’ days are celebrated within
Christianity. Many Sufi saints are also claimed to have performed
miracles in their lifetimes or it is claimed that miracles
took place at their shrines after their deaths.
The tomb of Abda al-Qadir al-Jilani in Baghdad is one of
the most important Sufi shrines and he is thought to have the
power to act as an intercessor or mediator between Muslims
and the Divine. He was born in Persia in around 1077 AD and
is believed to be the founder of the Qadiriyah order. This
order is part of the tradition of Sufism. He emerged as an important
preacher in around 1127 and he is credited with
achieving a harmonious balance between Sufi mysticism and
sterner aspects of Muslim society such as its justice system.As
with many Christian saints his biographical details have become
intertwined with legend and myth. Like many other
Sufis, the Muslim Sufi saint Sultan Bahu, who lived from 1628
to 1691, referred to Abda al-Qadir al-Jilani as his spiritual
master. Sultan Bahu was part of the Qadiriyah Sufi Order that
he had formed and went on to form a new but related order
of Sufism called Sarwari Qadiri. Many Sufi saints were hugely
productive writers and Sultan Bahu is said to have written as
many as forty books about Sufism. He is particularly popular
in the Punjab region of Pakistan where he was born and his
poetry is sung by Sufis in the area today. His shrine is at Garh
Maharaja in Pakistan and a lively and popular annual festival is
held there.
It is also interesting to note that the concept of a patron
saint of a particular place is not simply confined to Christian
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