Ishq (Passionate Love)

The film opens in Baghdad, at the shrine of the great Sufi saint ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Gilānī (1077–1166), during the annual festival commemorating his death. Born in Gilan (Iran), al-Gilani became a renowned Hanbali theologian and Sufi master whose legacy inspired the Qadiriyya, today one of the largest Sufi orders in the Muslim world.
Through the voices of ordinary pilgrims and shrine custodians—many from the Indian subcontinent—the documentary offers a rare immersion into Iraqi popular devotion. Guided by Shaykh Afif al-Gilani, a descendant of the saint’s lineage, the film explores the rituals, music, ecstasy, service, and spiritual authority that animate this transnational celebration.
At its heart lies the mystery of ishq—the passionate, boundless love for the saint—glimpsed in its many expressions but never fully revealed.