Urgut is the administrative center of the Urgut District in the Samarkand Region of Uzbekistan. It is a small but densely populated town, or rather, an agglomeration of closely situated villages stretching along the slopes of the Turkestan Range to the southeast of ancient Samarkand. The hilly landscape is dominated by the majestic peak of Allaeran, which literally means “God is with us.” The peak rises to an elevation of 2,096 meters above sea level.
Urgut itself is mentioned in Arab chronicles as early as the 9th century under the names Varkud or Vazkert. It became known by its current name in the 17th century when it became a well-fortified residence of the beks—local rulers from the Uzbek Ming tribe. At that time, the beks were vassals of the Bukhara Khanate.
Today, the population of the agglomeration is around 60,000 people, many of whom identify themselves as part of the ethnic group known as Urgutlik or Urguti, which is also found in neighboring Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan. Modern residents of Urgut are primarily engaged in horticulture, vegetable farming, livestock breeding, and traditional crafts. The town is home to the only tobacco factory in Uzbekistan, several carpet-weaving workshops, and a building materials enterprise. The rural market in Urgut is one of the most famous in the region. Alongside folk art items such as suzani embroidery and traditional headwear, cheap everyday clothing and household goods from China are sold both retail and wholesale.
Urgut is also a major religious center. The memorial of the legendary founder of the Qadiriyya order, the famous Sufi sheikh Abd al-Qadir Gilani, and the grove of “millennium-old” plane trees surrounding a sacred spring attract many pilgrims.
Abu Muhammad Muhiyuddin Sayyid Abd al-Qadir Gilani is a figure well-known both in the East and the West; his lineage traces back to the Prophet Muhammad. He was born in 1077 in the city of Gilan in northern Iran, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. From an early age, the future sheikh was deeply devout, and by the age of eighteen, he traveled to Baghdad, then the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. There, he studied Islamic law, hadiths (traditions about the life of the Prophet), and tafsir—the discipline of Islamic theology concerned with the interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah.
Historical chronicles do not mention Abd al-Qadir Gilani as a follower of Sufism, although they attribute to him the authorship of over 50 philosophical works. However, Sufi traditions unequivocally identify him as the founder of the Qadiriyya tariqa—one of the most powerful Sufi orders, which spread from the Far East to North Africa and Spain during the Middle Ages.
According to legend, after many years of focused study, Abd al-Qadir suddenly left Baghdad and spent the next twenty-five years as a zahid—an ascetic and wanderer—continuously traveling through the desert regions of Iraq. When he returned to Baghdad in 1127, he was already in his fifties. He began preaching in public places and gradually gathered a devoted group of followers. For them, the mentor developed a special “Science of States”—a set of philosophical principles, behavioral rules, and specific ritual practices that lead disciples to the state of ma’rifa, which allows for mystical, non-rational knowledge and even direct contemplation of God.
According to historical sources, Sheikh Abd al-Qadir Gilani died at the age of 88 and was buried in Baghdad. His grave in the Iraqi capital remains a revered memorial complex throughout the Muslim world, also serving as the residence of the hereditary Qadiriyya order. This naturally raises the question: how did his mausoleum also come to be near Samarkand?
As has been noted repeatedly, “folk Islam” and mass religious practices in Uzbekistan often involve the transfer of historical or legendary figures from other regions of the world. These figures are typically tied to local natural landmarks through legends. This practice is called kadam goh (or kadam joy), literally meaning “place of the footprint.” In this case, the sacredness of a site is attributed to the belief that a particular outstanding figure—from Adam and Noah to Alexander the Great and Hazrat Ali—visited or could have visited the area. Legends often smooth over obvious geographical and temporal inconsistencies.
Since even Sufi tradition does not specify exactly where Abd al-Qadir Gilani wandered, it cannot be categorically denied that he might have visited Urgut. However, there is another explanation for the appearance of the memorial of Gavsul Azam—”The Great Intercessor” (a popular epithet for Gilani)—in the village of Gus, west of Urgut. His mausoleum is a picturesque structure of cubic form, adorned with a traditional semicircular dome at its center and small towers at each corner. The building has undergone multiple reconstructions over different periods, making it difficult to determine its exact age. However, it houses a real burial site. The Qadiriyya order is not the most widespread in Uzbekistan, though it has had, and still has, many devoted followers in the oases of Bukhara and Samarkand. Initially, the burial site might have belonged to one of the local mentors of the mystical brotherhood. Over time, however, his name faded from popular memory and was replaced by the more renowned name of the order’s founder. The caretakers of the memorial do not elaborate on the details, which aligns with the Sufi tradition of not divulging esoteric knowledge to the uninitiated.
Pilgrims are told a fantastical tale. Once, in the vicinity of Urgut, there lived a very beautiful girl who grew up in a family of followers of Abd al-Qadir Gilani. One day, she went to fetch water from a mountain stream, where she encountered a young shepherd who had brought his flock to drink. Struck by her beauty, the shepherd, despite the laws of Sharia, stopped her, roughly grabbing her arm. Offended and frightened, the girl silently called for help from Gavsul Azam. At that moment, Abd al-Qadir was thousands of kilometers away in Baghdad, preparing for evening prayer by performing ablutions. Yet, he heard the girl’s plea, seized his left kavush—a leather shoe with a wooden sole—and threw it over his left shoulder. Miraculously, the shoe traversed the vast distance and struck the shepherd on the forehead. In that instant, both the shepherd and the girl mysteriously vanished. At the site of the incident, a spring gushed forth from the ground, its water said to heal many ailments, and a plane tree grew. Folklore holds that if someone wishes to visit the mausoleum of Abd al-Qadir in the village of Gus, Gavsul Azam immediately recognizes their good intentions and begins to provide the pilgrim with all manner of support on their journey. And, of course, he fulfills their every desire once the pilgrimage is complete.
It is noteworthy that the official history of Islam considers Abd al-Qadir Gilani a theologian of the Hanbali school of thought. This legal school of Sharia is the most intolerant of superstitions and regards the veneration of saints’ graves or any sites other than the Kaaba in Mecca as a grave heresy—a bid’a (unacceptable innovation) and a mortal sin. However, in the vicinity of Urgut, the strict Hanbali interpretation of Islam has, over time, reconciled itself with local folk customs. Devout pilgrims, nevertheless, remain aware of this contradiction and strive, as much as possible, to observe the etiquette of ziyarat (pilgrimage). On the final leg of the journey to the sacred site, it is necessary to proclaim the takbir (the phrase “Allahu Akbar,” meaning “God is Great”) one hundred times to emphasize one’s commitment to Islamic monotheism. In the mosque at the tomb, one must face Mecca and perform the namaz-e ziyarat, followed by listening to the mullah’s recitation of praises to Allah and the local saint, who is primarily mentioned as a faithful Muslim. Only then can one speak of personal needs, but always addressing prayers to Allah, with the saint invoked merely as an intercessor.
Of course, not all who visit the tombs of Sufi mentors and other revered sites today strictly adhere to this ritual. However, no one reprimands them. The caretakers warmly welcome even ordinary tourists, believing that visits to sacred places by non-believers or atheists ultimately contribute to the spread of faith.
@ Andrey Kudryashov / “Fergana”
Visit Caliph Uthman’s Quran
See Mausoleum of Imam al-Bukhari
Wander through Bukhara’s Old City
Tour Samarkand’s Registan Square
Experience Folklore Show in Bukhara