The truth about Shaykh al-Jilaani and Shaykh Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab
Question

                What do you think of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani?

I have heard some really bad stories about Abdul Wahab and how he disgraced the religion of Islam? What is your opinion on this?
Praise be to Allah.When speaking about people, what 
  we say must be based on knowledge and fairness. In the case of a man who has 
  achieved a great deal in the way of religion, we must acknowledge his achievements, 
  but that does not prevent us from pointing out his mistakes. This general principle 
  is to be applied when speaking of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir al-Jilaani and 
  other Muslim scholars. 
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir (may 
  Allaah have mercy on him) is one of the imaams of Islam. He attained a position 
  of leadership over the Muslims of his time, in knowledge, good deeds, issuing 
  fatwas and other aspects of religion. He was one of the greatest shaykhs of 
  his time, enjoining adherence to the sharee’ah, enjoining what is good, 
  forbidding what is evil, and giving that precedence over all else. He was an 
  ascetic (zaahid) and a preacher, in whose gatherings many people repented. Allaah 
  caused him to be well-liked by people and his virtue became widely-known – 
  may Allaah bestow abundant mercy upon him. 
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir was 
  a follower, not an innovator. He followed the way of the righteous salaf and 
  in his books he encouraged people to follow the salaf; he also enjoined that 
  upon his followers. He used to tell people not to follow innovations in religion, 
  and he stated clearly that he was opposed to the ahl al-kalaam (“Islamic 
  philosophers”) such as the Ash’aris and their ilk. 
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir agreed 
  with Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah – the followers of truth 
  – concerning all issues of ‘aqeedah (belief), namely Tawheed, faith, 
  Prophethood, and the Last Day. 
There are some minor mistakes 
  and errors in his books, and some innovations which are relatively insignificant 
  when compared with his achievements. To find out more about them, along with 
  an explanation of where he went wrong, please see Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir 
  al-Jilaani wa Araa’uhu al-I’tidaaqiyyah wa’l-Soofiyyah, 
  by Shaykh Dr. Sa’eed ibn Musfir al-Qahtaani, 440-476.
Moreover, it is not right to 
  make one Muslim scholar, let alone anyone else, the sole source of what is true 
  and correct, in the sense that one takes what he says as being true and what 
  goes against that as being false – not Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir and 
  not anyone else. Rather the truth is that which is in accordance with the Qur’aan 
  and Sunnah, no matter who says it, and what goes against the Qur’aan and 
  Sunnah should be ignored and avoided, even if it is said by ‘Abd al-Qaadir 
  al-Jilaani, Maalik, al-Shaafa’i, Ahmad or anyone else. 
There is a point which we must 
  make here, which is that praising Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir does not mean 
  praising everyone who claims to follow him. Not everyone who claims to follow 
  a shaykh or a tareeqah or anything else is to be believed. How often has it 
  happened that a person who is thought to be a true follower turned out to be 
  the farthest removed from what was thought to be the case? How many misleading 
  people don the cloak of asceticism and piety when they have nothing to do with 
  either of them? Hence the Sufi tareeqah which is known nowadays as the Qaadiriyyah 
  is not following the straight path which the Shaykh (may Allaah have mercy on 
  him) followed, rather it is a deviant Sufi tareeqah which has deviated from 
  the guidance of the Qur’aan and Sunnah; it exaggerates a great deal about 
  Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qaadir and even attributes to him things that can only 
  rightfully be attributed to Allaah. Some of them exaggerate concerning his grave, 
  seeking help from it, and some of them exaggerate about his attributes and miracles 
  (karaamah). 
By comparing the actions of those 
  who claim to follow the shaykh with what is narrated in the Qur’aan and 
  Sunnah, what was narrated from the righteous salaf and even what was narrated 
  from the Shaykh himself (may Allaah have mercy on him), we will clearly see 
  that there is a huge gap between the two, and that the Qaadiri group has deviated 
  from the path of its shaykh whom they claim to be following. That is because 
  they have introduced so many innovations (bid’ahs) into the religion of 
  Allaah, that the Shaykh would never have approved of. It has been narrated from 
  the respectable scholars that they regarded this group as extreme, for example 
  what was said by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) 
  in his refutation of al-Bakri concerning the issue of ziyaarah or visiting graves 
  (1/228), and in the fatwas of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal al-Shaykh, indicates 
  that they have committed some actions of shirk. 
See: Fataawa Ibn Ibraaheem, 
  1/276, 109 
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 
  2/250-252
Al-Durar al-Sunniyyah, 
  1/74 
With regard to the ‘Abd 
  al-Wahhaab mentioned in the question, perhaps what is meant is Shaykh Muhammad 
  ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allaah have mercy on him). If we want to know 
  more about him, we cannot find anyone who can describe the man better than himself, 
  because when there is a man concerning whom people’s opinions vary greatly, 
  with some praising him and some condemning him, we should look at what he says 
  in his writings and his books, and at what is correctly attributed to him, then 
  weigh that against the Qur’aan and Sunnah. What Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd 
  al-Wahhaab said, describing himself, was: “I tell you that– praise 
  be to Allaah – my belief and my religion, according to which I worship 
  Allaah, is the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah, which was the 
  way of the imaams of the Muslims, such as the four Imaams and their followers 
  until the Day of Resurrection. But I explain to people that they must devote 
  their worship sincerely to Allaah (ikhlaas). I forbid them to call upon the 
  Prophets and the dead among the righteous and others, and from associating them 
  with Allaah in any act of worship that should be done for Allaah alone, such 
  as offering sacrifices, making vows, putting one’s trust, prostrating 
  and other actions which are due to Allaah and in which no one should be associated 
  with Him, not any angel who is close to Him or any Prophet who was sent. This 
  is the Message which was proclaimed by all the Messengers, from the first of 
  them to the last of them, and this is the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah. 
  I hold a high position in my village and people listen to me. Some of the leaders 
  denounced that because it goes against the customs they grew up with. I also 
  obliged those who are under me to perform regular prayer, pay zakaah and fulfil 
  other Islamic duties, and I forbade them to deal with ribaa, drink intoxicants 
  and other kinds of forbidden things. The leaders could not criticize that or 
  find fault with it, because it is something that is liked by the common folk, 
  so they directed their criticism and enmity against that which I enjoin of Tawheed 
  and that which I forbid of shirk, and they confused the common folk by saying 
  that this goes against what everyone is doing, and they caused a great deal 
  of fitnah…” (al-Durar al-Sunniyyah, 1/64-65, 79-80)
 Any 
  fair-minded person who studies the books of this man will know that he is one 
  of those who call people to Allaah with sure knowledge, and that he bore many 
  difficulties and hardships in order to restore Islam to its pure form, when 
  it had been altered a great deal at his time, and that was because of his opposition 
  to the whims and desires of the leaders, who stirred up the ignorant masses 
  of the common people against him, so that they could continue to enjoy their 
  positions of worldly leadership and wealth. 
I urge you not to be easily influenced 
  by others with regard to what you listen to and believe. Rather you should be 
  a seeker of truth, defending it no matter who is promoting it, and I urge you 
  to avoid falsehood and error no matter who is promoting it. So if you look at 
  any of the books by this shaykh – and I recommend you to read Kitaab 
  al-Tawheed alladhi huwa haqq Allaah ‘ala al-‘Abeed [Kitaab 
  al-Tawheed is available in English translation] – you will find out 
  how great the Shaykh’s knowledge was, and how important his call is, and 
  the extent to which his words have been twisted and accusations have been made 
  against him. 
You can see some of the accusations 
  made against the Shaykh and find out the response to them by clicking on the 
  following link for information in English, 
  And this link will give you the information in Arabic: 
 More importantly, I urge 
  you to ponder the Qur’aan and Sunnah, to ask trustworthy scholars about 
  matters concerning which you are confused. Beware of those who follow their 
  whims and desires, and of shirk in all its forms. If you do that, then the question 
  of whether Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allaah have mercy 
  on him) was right or wrong becomes irrelevant. Moreover you should realize that 
  it is haraam to violate the honour and reputation of Muslims by saying things 
  about them in such a manner as to undermine their position, even if what is 
  said is true – so how about if it is false?  
May Allaah help us and you to 
  follow true guidance and the religion of truth, and to do that which pleases 
  Him. 
And Allaah knows best..