Sayyid Ahmed Gailani's family are descended from Abdul-Qadir Gilani, the founder of the Qadiriyyah.[1] His father, Sayyid Hasan Gailani, was born in Baghdad before moving to Afghanistan in 1905 in order to establish the Qadiriyyah order in that country.[2] Amir Habibullah Khan gave him land in Kabul and eastern Nangarhar Province.[3]