Mubarak Ali Shah Gillani (15 August 1936 – 15 May 2021) was a Pakistani Sufi religious leader in the United States. A member of the

Qadiriyya The Qadiriyya () or the Qadiri order () is a Sunni Sufi order (''Tariqa'') founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani (1077–1166, also transliterated ''Jilani''), who was a Hanbali scholar from Gilan, Iran. The order, with its many sub-orders, is widesp ...

tariqa A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the ...

, he was the founder of The Muslims of America (TMOA) and also founded the International Qur'anic Open University (IQOU). With full titles his name appears as El-Sheikh Syed Mubarak Ali Shah Gillani Hashimi.

Early life and education

Mubarak Ali Shah Gillani was the eldest son of Pir Maqsood Shah Gilani, having two brothers and four sisters. His family were the historical caretakers and custodians of the

Mian Mir Mian Mir or Miyan Mir (c. 1550 – 22 August 1635), was a famous Sufi Muslim saint who resided in Lahore, in the neighborhood now known as Dharampura. He was a direct descendant of Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab and belonged to the Qadiri order ...

shrine in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. He graduated from the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public university, public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South As ...

, where he founded the Adventure Club for climbers and mountaineers.

Political career

In the 1970s, Gilani was active in Pakistan's national politics, having joined

Air Marshal Asghar Khan Mohammad Asghar Khan (17 January 1921 – 5 January 2018) known as ''Night Flyer,'' held the distinction of being the first native and second Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) from 1957 to 1965. He has been described as the Fa ...

’s Tehreek-i-Istaqlal, becoming the party's Punjab chapter vice president. Due to his political involvement, he was arrested thrice by the

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

Government, pushing him to move to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

before shifting to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

The Muslims of America

The Muslims of America, Inc. (TMOA) was founded in 1980 by Gilani during his seven years in the United States during which he sought to establish

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

in America. Among other projects, TMOA has communities in the town of

Hancock, New York Hancock is a town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The town contains a village, also named Hancock. The town is in the southwest part of the county. The population was 2,764 at the 2020 census. The town is the largest by area in De ...

, called Islamberg and in

York County, South Carolina York County is a county on the north central border in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,090, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. Its county seat is the city of York, and its ...

, called Holy Islamville. A community in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

foothills of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, called Baladullah, existed from 1989 to 2002.

Publications

In 1978, Gilani published ''An Introduction to Quranic Psychology'', which detailed, according to him, proofs upon scientific evidence and witnessing about using the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

and religious observance to cure certain mental disorders. This was followed up by his ''An Introduction to Psychiatry: Based on Teaching of the Quran and also Contains Results of Scientific Demonstration of Curing Incurable Mental Diseases in the Psychiatric Institute, Taif, Saudi Arabia, 1976–1977'' published in 1981. In 1983, he published an edited and revised edition of '' Rauzatus-Safa'', an influential 15th century Islamic history volume set beginning with the creation of the

Jinn Jinn or djinn (), alternatively genies, are supernatural beings in pre-Islamic Arabian religion and Islam. Their existence is generally defined as parallel to humans, as they have free will, are accountable for their deeds, and can be either ...

and

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

and going all the way up to the Temurid dynasty.''Rauzatus-Safā fi Sīrat-ul-Ambiyā wal-Mulūk wal-Khulafā'' (''The Gardens of Purity concerning the biography of the Prophets and Kings and Caliphs'') by Syed Muhammad ibn Khawandshah ibn Mahmud Al-Hussaini, an historian also known as ''Mirkhwand'', originally published in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

in seven volumes in the year 1417 C.E. (836 A.H.)
OCLC 11220401
/ref> ''Rauzatus-Safa'' was additionally edited, revised, and re-published in hardcover in 2014.

Later life and death

After living in the United States Gilani returned to Pakistan, where he continued to be recognized as a

healer Healer may refer to: Conventional medicine *Doctor of Medicine *Health professional Alternative medicine * Faith healer * Folk healer * Healer (alternative medicine), someone who purports to aid recovery from ill health * Spiritual healer F ...

and spiritual guide. On 15 May 2021, Gilani died in

from a stroke and underlying health conditions. He was survived by eight sons, three daughters and two wives.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilani, Mubarak Ali 1937 births 2021 deaths Pakistani Sunni Muslims Pakistani Sufi religious leaders Pakistani Islamists Qadiri order Religious leaders from Lahore American Sunni Muslims American Sufis American Islamists University of the Punjab alumni