Ibn al-Najjār narrated: I heard Abū Muḥammad ibn al-Akhdar say:

“I used to enter upon Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir in the depth of winter when the cold was severe, yet he would have on only a single shirt, a small cap on his head, and attendants around him waving fans. Sweat would pour from his body as though it were the height of summer heat (1).”

Ibn al-Najjār also said: I heard ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd al-Malik al-Shaybānī, who heard the ḥadith master ʿAbd al-Ghanī, who heard Abū Muḥammad ibn al-Khassāb the grammarian, say:

“When I was a young man studying grammar, I often heard people extol the eloquence of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir. I wanted to listen to him but never found the time. One day I managed to attend his gathering. When he spoke, I did not appreciate his words and could not understand them, so I thought to myself, ‘Today has been wasted.’ He turned toward me and said, ‘Woe to you! Do you prefer grammar to gatherings of remembrance and choose that instead? Stay with us and we shall make you another Sībawayh.’”

Aḥmad ibn Ẓafar ibn Hubayrah said: “I asked my grandfather to let me visit Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir, and he gave me a sum of gold to present to him. When the Shaykh mounted the pulpit I greeted him, but I felt uneasy about handing him the gold in that large assembly. He said, ‘Give me what you have and pay no heed to the people—and greet the vizier.’”

The author of Mirʾāt al-Zamān (2) wrote: “Shaykh ʿAbd al-Qādir’s silence exceeded his speech. He would speak only when inspired, yet a tremendous reputation and universal acceptance were granted to him. He never left his madrasa except on Friday or to visit the ribāṭ (Sufi hospice). Most of the people of Baghdad repented at his hand, and many embraced Islam. From the pulpit he proclaimed the truth without fear, and evident karāmāt (miraculous gifts) were manifested through him.”