Sultan Bahu was a Sufimystic, poet, and scholar active during the Mughal empire mostly in the Punjab region. He belonged to QadiriSufi order, and founded the mystic tradition known as Sarwari Qadiri. Little is known about Bahu's life, other than what is written in a hagiography called Manaqib-i Sultani, which was written by one of Bahu's descendants seven generations after Bahu's own time. Sultan Bahu's father was Bayazid Muhammad, who was an Army Officer in the Mughal Army. Sultan Bahu was born in Shorekot, Jhang, in the current Punjab Province of Pakistan. He belonged to Awan Tribe. More than forty books on Sufism are attributed to him, largely dealing with specialised aspects of Islam and Islamic mysticism. He lived during the reigns of Mughal emperorsShah Jahan and Aurangzeb in the 17th century. However, it was his Punjabi poetry which had popular appeal and earned him lasting fame. His verses are sung in many genres of Sufi music, including qawwali and kafi, and tradition has established a unique style of singing his couplets.
Education
Sultan Bahu's first teacher was his mother, Mai Rasti. She pushed him to seek spiritual guidance from Shah Habib Gilani. Around 1668, Sultan Bahu moved to Delhi for further training under the guidance of Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi, a notable Sufi saint of the Qadiriyya order, and thereafter returned to Punjab where he spent the rest of his life.
Literary works
The exact number of books written by Sultan Bahu is not known, but it is assumed to be at least one hundred. Forty of them are on Sufism and Islamic mysticism. Most of his writings are in the Persian Language except Abyat-e-Bahoo which is written in Punjabi verse. Only the following books written by Sultan Bahu can be found today:
Abyat e Bahu
Risala e Ruhi
Sultan ul Waham
Nur ul Huda
Aql e Baidar
Mahq ul Faqr
Aurang e Shahi
Jami ul Israr
Taufiq e Hidiyat
Kalid Tauheed
Ain ul Faqr
Israr e Qadri
Kaleed e Jannat
Muhqam ul Faqr
Majalis un Nabi
Muftah ul Arifeen
Hujjat ul Israr
Kashf ul Israar
Mahabat ul Israr
Ganj ul Israr
Fazl ul Liqa
Dewaan e Bahu
Spiritual lineage
In his writings, Sultan Bahu refers to Abdul Qadir Jilani as his spiritual master, even though Jilani died long before the birth of Sultan Bahu. However, most Sufis maintain that Abdul Qadir Jilani plays a special role in the mystic world and that all orders and saints are forever indebted to him in some way either directly or indirectly. While acknowledging that he is a follower of Jilani's Qadiriyya tradition, Sultan Bahu initiated an offshoot of his own which he named Sarwari Qadiri. The Awan tribe of Pakistan claim he belonged to the Alvi Awan tribe. Bahu's Sarwari Qadiri tradition is similar in its overall philosophy to the Qadiri order. Unlike many other Sufi orders, the Sarwari Qadiri tradition does not prescribe a specific dress code, ascetic practices, breathing exercises, etc. Instead, it focuses on practicing mental exercises, an important one, being the visualisation of the word الله as written on one's own heart. According to tradition, the lineage reaches Sultan Bahu as follows:
The Sultan Bahu tradition is still practiced to this day by Sultan Bahu's successors.
Shrine
The shrine of Sultan Bahu is located in Garh Maharaja, Punjab. It was originally built on Bahu's gravesite until the Chenab River changed its course causing the need to relocate twice and as witnessed by those present at the time of relocation, claimed that his body was, in fact, still intact at the time. It is a popular Sufi shrine, and the annual Urs festival commemorating his death is celebrated there with great fervor on the first Thursday of Jumada al-Thani month. People come from far-off places to join the celebrations. Sultan Bahu also used to hold an annual Urs to commemorate the martyrs of Karbala from the 1st to the 10th day of the month of Muharram. This tradition continues to this day and every year, thousands of pilgrims visit the shrine during the first 10 days of Muharram.
