Qi Jingyi (1656-1719), also known as Hilal al-Din, was a Chinese Sufi master, instrumental in the spread of the Qadiriyyah school among Chinese Muslims

Islam in China

Throughout the history of Islam in China, Chinese Muslims have influenced the course of Chinese history. Chinese Muslims have been in China for the last 1,400 years of continuous interaction with Chinese society...

. He was known among his followers as Qi Daozu (祁道祖), i.e. Grand Master Qi.

Life

According to Qi Jingyi's followers, the 16-year-old Qi Jingyi met the revered master Afaq Khoja in Xining

Xining

Xining is the capital of Qinghai province, People's Republic of China, and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. It has 2,208,708 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 1,198,304 live in the built up area made of 4 urban districts.-History:...

 in 1672, and asked him to become his teacher. Afaq Khoja supposedly said in response: "I am not your teacher; my ancient teaching is not to be passed on to you; your teacher has already crossed the Eastern Sea and arrived in the Eastern land. You must therefore return home quickly, and you will become a famous teacher in your land." He later studied under Koja Abd Alla, a 29th generation descendant of Prophet Muhammad, who had entered China in 1674.

Death

Qi Jingyi's grave in Linxia City has become the center of the shrine complex known as Da Gongbei, or the "Great Tomb", which remains the center of the Qadiriyyah in China.