Sultan Bahu

Sultan Bahu was a Muslim, Sufi, Saint of Pakistan, who founded the Sarwari Qadiri sufi order.

Like many sufi saints of Indian Subcontinent, Sultan Bahu was also a prolific writer, with more than forty books on Sufism attributed to him. However, as the majority of his books deal with specialized subjects related to Islam and Islamic Mysticsm, it is his Punjabi poetry, that has caught the popular appeal and made him an household name in the region. His poetical verses are sung in many genres of Sufi Music, including qawaalis and Kaafis. In particular, tradition has established a particular style of singing his couplets, which is not used in any other genre of sufi music. (Please see the External Links section for audio resources)

The Shrine of Sultan Bahu is located in Garh Maharaja, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a popular and frequently visited sufi shrine of Pakistan, and the annual festival is celebrated with the usual fervour, which is now a distinguishing feature of what is being called a 'shrine culture' of the Indian Subcontinent.

Spiritual Geneology / Tareeqa

Sultan Bahu belonged to the Qadiri sufi order, and later initiated his own offshoot of Sarwari Qadiri. Sultan Bahu also refers to Muhiyuddin Abdul Qadir Jilani as his spiritual Master in a number of his books and poetry, but it is obvious that this relationship must have existed purely in the spiritual domain, as Abdul Qadir Jilani had since died before the birth of Sultan Bahu. However, a majority of sufi orders and saints maintain that Abdul Qadir Jilani has a special role in the mystic world and thus all Orders and Saints are always indepted to him directly or indirectly in some way.

The complete spiritual lineage (Silsila) of Sultan Bahu, is as follows:

• Sultan Bahu
• Sayyid Abdur-Rahman
• Sayyid Abdul Jalil
• Sayyid Abdul Baqa
• Sayyid Abdul Sattar
• Sheikh Najmuddin
• Sayyid Yahya Wali
• Sayyid Abdul Jabbar
• Sayyid Abdur Razzaq
• Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani
• Sheikh bu Saeed Al Mubarak
• Sheikh bu Hassan
• Abul Farrah Yusuf
• Walid Abdul Wahid
• Sheikh Shibli
• Shaykh Junayd Baghdadi
• Sari As Saqati
• Maruf Karkhi
• Daud Tai
• Shah Habib Al Ajami
• Khwaja Hassan Basri
• Ali bin Abi Talib
• Prophet Muhammad

Genealogy

Sultan Bahu was from the progeny of Ali, cousin and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad. His family is thus Hashimi, and tribe Awan. The Awan tribe trace their descent to Ameer Shah, son of Qutub Shah.

Afte the incident of Karbala, the household of the Prophet Muhammad had to migrate to other lands. Many of the descendants of the Prophet who lived in Egypt and nearby lands had to leave for Turkistan and Iran due to the persecution of Hujjaj bin Yusuf Safaqi.

As time went by, they resettled in lands such as Bukhara and Hamadhan in Turkistan, Baghdad in Iraq. Some migrated to Khurasan and others to Herat in the mountainous regions of present day Afghanistan.

The ancestors of Sultan Bahu migrated and settled in India, and the father of Sultan Bahu, Bazid Muhammed elevated to the rank of an important titleholder the court of the Mughal Emperors of India.

The complete genealogy of Sultan Bahu is as follows:

Sultan Bahu, Bazid Muhammed, Fatah Muhammed, Alla-Radatta, Muhammed Tameem, Muhammed Mannan, Mogila, Peera, Muhammed Sughra, Muhammed Noor, Sulla, Muhammed Baharie, Muhammed Jayoon, Muhammed Hargun, Noor Shah, Ameer Shah, Qutub Shah, Emmaan Shah, Husein Shah, Firoze Shah, Mahmud Shah, Fartak Shah, Nawaab Shah, Darrab Shah, Awhum Shah, Abeeq Shah, Ahmed Shah, Ameer Zubeir, Caliph Ali, Abu Talib, Abul Mutallib (Grandfather of Prophet Muhammad), *Hashim, *Abdul Munaf

Literary Works

The actual number of books written by him is not certain. According to tradition, he is supposed to have authored of over hundred works and treatises. The following is a list of the important works of Sultan Bahu that still exist today, and can be traced back to with credibility.

Nurul Huda, Risala-e-Roohi, Aql Baidaar , Mahq-ul-Fuqara, Qurb Daidaar, Aurang-Shaahi, Jami-il-Asraar, Taufiq-Hedaayat, Kaleed Tauheed, Ainul Faqr, Shamsul Arifeen, Magzane Faiz, Ameerul Quonain, Asrare Qaderi, Kaleed Jannat, Muhqamul Fuqara, Majaalis-tun Nabi, Muftahul Arifeen, Hujjatul Asraar, Jannatul Firdaus, Kash-ful Asraar, Risaala Ruhi Shareef, Abyaat Bahu (poetry), Muhabbatul Asraar, Ganjul Asraar, Dewaan Bahu, Panj Ganj, Fazlul Laqa, Jhook Sultany, Ameerul Mumineen.

Of all the above, Nurul Huda (Light of Guidance), and Risala-e-Roohi (Book of Soul) are more popular, along with the poetry collection, Abiyaate Bahu.

Related articles

• Sufism
• List of famous Sufis
• Sarwari Qadiri

External links

• Complete Punjabi Poetry of Sultan Bahu
• Sufi Music - Kalaam of Sultan Bahu
• The Sultan Bahu network
• Sarwari Qaderi Silsila - South Africa
• Sultan Bahu Center, South Africa
• Free Online Books by Sultan Bahu - English & Urdu
• Death Before Dying, and Other Books - Amazon Books