Sultan Bahu

Sultan Bahu (Punjabi: سُلطان باہُو; also spelled Bahoo; ca 1630–1691) was a Sufi mystic, poet, and scholar active during the Mughal empire mostly in the Punjab region (present-day Pakistan). He belonged to Qadiri Sufi order,[1] and founded the mystic tradition known as Sarwari Qadiri.[2]

Sultan Bahu
سُلطان باہُو
Shrine of Sultan Bahu
Born17 January 1630
Shorkot, Punjab, Mughal Empire
(now Pakistan)
Died1 March 1691
Jhang, Punjab, Mughal Empire
Resting placeGarh Maharaja, Punjab
EducationMarifat
Known forSufism, poetry
PredecessorAbdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi
SuccessorSyed Mohammad Abdullah Shah Madni Jilani
Parents
  • Bayazid Muhammad (father)
  • Mai Rasti (mother)
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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.[3]

Sultan Bahu's father was Bayazid Muhammad, who was an Army Officer in the Mughal Army.[4] Sultan Bahu was born in Shorekot, Jhang, in the current Punjab Province of Pakistan. He belonged to Awan Tribe.[5] More than forty books on Sufism are attributed to him (mostly written in Persian), largely dealing with specialised aspects of Islam and Islamic mysticism. He lived during the reigns of Mughal emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb in the 17th century.[6][2]

However, it was his Punjabi poetry which had popular appeal and earned him lasting fame.[3]:14 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.[3]:14

Education

Sultan Bahu's first teacher was his mother, Mai Rasti. She pushed him to seek spiritual guidance from Shah Habib Gilani.[2]

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.[2]

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.[7]

Only the following books written by Sultan Bahu can be found today:

  • Abyat e Bahu (1967)[8]
  • 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[9]
  • Israr e Qadri (1908)[9]
  • 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[9]

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.[10] 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.

Bahu's Sarwari Qadiri tradition (or Sufi order) is similar in its overall philosophy to the Qadiri order.[11] 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 (Allah, God) as written on one's own heart.

According to tradition, the lineage reaches Sultan Bahu as follows:[11]

  1. Muhammad
  2. Ali ibn Abi Talib
  3. Hasan al Basri
  4. Habib al Ajami
  5. Dawud Tai
  6. Maruf Karkhi
  7. Sirri Saqti
  8. Junaid Baghdadi
  9. Abu Bakr Shibli
  10. Abdul Aziz bin Hars bin Asad Yemeni Tamimi
  11. Abu Al Fazal Abdul Wahid Yemeni Tamimi
  12. Mohammad Yousaf Abu al-Farah Tartusi
  13. Abu-al-Hassan Ali Bin Mohammad Qureshi Hankari
  14. Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi
  15. Abdul Qadir Jilani
  16. Abdul Razzaq Jilani
  17. Abdul Jabbar Jilani
  18. Syed Mohammad Sadiq Yahya
  19. Najm-ud-Din Burhan Puri
  20. Abdul Fattah
  21. Abdul Sattar
  22. Abdul Baqqa
  23. Abdul Jaleel
  24. Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi
  25. Sultan Bahu

The Sultan Bahu tradition is still practiced to this day by Sultan Bahu's successors.

Shrine
Shrine of Sultan Bahu near Jhang, Pakistan

The shrine of Sultan Bahu is located in Garh Maharaja, Punjab.[12] 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.[12] 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.[13][11]

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.[11]

See also

References
    1. Jürgen Wasim Frembgen (2006). The Friends of God: Sufi Saints in Islam, Popular Poster Art from Pakistan. Oxford University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780195470062.
    2. Amjad Parvez (30 October 2019). "Metaphysics of Sultan Bahu dedicated to those with clear concepts of philosophy". Daily Times (newspaper). Retrieved 18 May 2020.
    3. Sult̤ān Bāhū (1998). Death Before Dying: The Sufi Poems of Sultan Bahu. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-92046-0.
    4. Sultan Bahu (29 March 2015). Ganj ul Asrar. Translated by Hafiz Hamad Ur Rahman. Sultan ul Faqr Publications. p. 12. ISBN 9789699795213.
    5. Jürgen Wasim Frembgen (2006). The Friends of God: Sufi Saints in Islam, Popular Poster Art from Pakistan. Oxford University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9780195470062.
    6. Syed Ahmad Saeed Hamadani. Sultan Bahu Life & Work.
    7. Sultan Hamid Ali,"Manaqib-i Sultani" Malik Chanan Din Publishers (Regd) Lahore Pakistan 1956
    8. Muhammad Sharif Sabir. "Complete Book of Poems by Sultan Bahu". Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA). Retrieved 18 May 2020.
    9. Sultan Bahu books on Rekhta.org website Retrieved 18 May 2020
    10. S. Padam, Piara (1984) [1st. Pub. 1984]. Dohrhe Sultan Bahu. s. n.
    11. Urs of Sultan Bahu begins The News International (newspaper), Published 2 September 2019, Retrieved 18 May 2020
    12. Sadia Dehlvi (1 December 2013). Sufism: Heart of Islam. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 185–. ISBN 978-93-5029-448-2.
    13. Book Name: Tareekh-e-Jhang, Author: Iqbal Zuberi, Publisher: Jhang Adibi Academy, Jhang Sadar, Pakistan, First Edition, Date: 2002
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