Tahir Allauddin Al-Qadri Al-Gillani

In 2011, AlSyed Muhammad Ziauddin Al-Qadri Al-Gillani visited Bradford for a second occasion, where he presided over a conference that has been held annually by Syed Khalid Ali Tahiri to commemorate the death anniversary of his Shaykh AlSyed Tahir Allauddin Al-Gillani During this visit, he also visited Darbar-e-Ghousia Qadiria Tahiria UK and the residence of Syed Khalid Ali Tahiri.

In 2007, Al-Gillani's Son AlSyed Muhammad Ziauddin Al-Qadri Al-Gillani inaugurated Darbar-e-Ghousia Qadiria Tahiria in Bradford, England. This Darbar is run under the guidance of Syed Khalid Ali Tahiri Qadri (Sajjada Nasheen Darbar-e-Ghousia Qadiria Tahiria UK) after receiving approval from all three sons of Al-Gillani. Syed Khalid Ali Tahiri Qadri is one of the closest students of Al-Gilani and has received his spiritual training and authorisation directly from him. He began serving Al-Gilani at a young age, and was appointed as personal tutor to AlSyed Muhammad Ziauddin Al-Qadri Al-Gillani during his childhood. Syed Khalid Tahiri is the only representative of al-Gillani in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States.

Al-Gillani would be invited as main guest to conferences and events, being held both nationally and internationally. These include the International Khatm e Nabuwat Conference held at Minar e Pakistan, the inauguration of Minhaj-ul-Quran International held at Lahore in 1984, the International Minhaj-ul-Quran Conference held at Lahore in 1987, the Al-Hejaz Conference held in London and the historic International Minhaj ul Quran Conference held at Wembley Arena, London in 1988

In the 1960s, Al-Gillani was invited to the city of Faisalabad by the grand scholar of Pakistan Muhadith e Azam e Pakistan Maulana Sardar Ahmed Qadri to attend the opening ceremony of Jamia Amjadia Rizvia. To welcome Al-Gillani and for his protocol, Maulana Sardar Ahmed Qadri arranged for rolls of white silk to be spread the entire journey from his madrasah to the Railway Station. It is reported that a small spot had been left uncovered near the door of the madrasah and Maulana Sardar Ahmed Qadri kneeled down and used his own beard to sweep this area clean.

Since a young age, he began touring across the world for propagating Islam and the teachings of Tariqa Qadiria. His visits included Saudi Arabia, India, Bangladesh, United Kingdom, Germany, Egypt, Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sri Lanka and the Persian Gulf countries. During Al-Gillani's visit of Ceylon in 1958, he established a care-home in Ceylon for needy and orphaned children.

In 1956, Al-Gillani left Baghdad and migrated to Pakistan, where he settled permanently in Quetta. He stayed in Pakistan until the end of his life. He went to Germany for medical treatment May 1991, and died the following month. He was buried in Lahore, Pakistan. He had three sons, AlSyed Mahmood Mohyuddin Al-Gillani Al-Qadri, AlSyed Abdul Qadir Jamaluddin Al-Gillani Al-Qadri and AlSyed Muhammad Ziauddin Al-Gillani Al-Qadri, who propagate the teachings of Silsilah e Qadiriyya Tahiria.

In 1956, Al-Gillani left the city of Baghdad and migrated to Pakistan after receiving spiritual orders from Abdul Qadir Gilani. Al-Gillani first completed 40 days seclusion (Chilla) at the Shrine of the Sufi saint Data Ganj Baksh Ali Hujwiri in Lahore. He then settled in Quetta, where he established the Darbar-e-Ghousia religious school. In honour of Al-Gilani's presence, the government of Balochistan renamed the road to Al-Gillani Road. Darbar-e-Ghousia became the official headquarters of Tariqa Qadiria in the sub-continent and is still run by the sons of Al-Gillani.

When Al-Gillani visited India in 1952, he visited the city of Bareilly on the invitation of Mustafa Raza Khan Qadri, the Grand Mufti of India. When Al-Gillani reached Bareilly, his car was lifted by the hundreds of thousands of devotees and carried to the residence of Mufti Mustafa Raza Khan. It is reported that Mufti Mustafa Raza Khan was so respectful of Al-Gillani that he remained barefoot for the duration of his stay and would stand to serve him. On this occasion, Maulana Mustafa Raza Khan also made several of his family members pledge Baith on the hands of Al-Gillani including the later Grand Mufti of India Mufti Akhtar Raza Khan. During this visit to India, Al-Gillani was visited by the heads of major Sufi Tariqas situated here, including Abdul Qadeer Badayuni Qadri and Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi Qadri.

Tahir Allauddin Al-Gillani (السيد طاهر علاؤ الدين الجيلاني البغدادي) (11 July 1932 – 7 June 1991) formally referred to as His Holiness, Qudwatul Awliya Naqeeb ul Ashraaf Hazoor Pir Syedna Tahir Allauddin alGillani alQadri alBaghdadi, was a Sufi Saint who lived in the twentieth century and was the head of the Qadiriyya Baghdadia Spiritual Tariqa. He was the custodian of the Shrine of Ghous-e-Azam Abdul-Qadir Gilani and has been accepted by many as a reformer of Sufism. Born in Baghdad on 18 June 1932, he traced his lineage by seventeen steps to Abdul-Qadir Gilani and 28 steps to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Al-Gillani came from an Iraqi family who are the custodians of the mausoleum of Abdul-Qadir Gilani. He is the youngest of the six sons of Naqeeb-ul-Ashraaf Mahmood Hussamuddin al-Gillani al-Qadri. His grandfather, Naqeeb-ul-Ashraaf Abd Al-Rahman Al-Gillani, was the first Prime Minister of Iraq (11 November 1920 – 20 November 1922) following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The current Custodian of the Shrine of Abdul-Qadir Gilani is his elder-brother, Naqib ul Ashraaf AlSyed Ahmed Zafar Al-Gillani, who also served as the ambassador of Iraq in Pakistan from 1978 until 1992.