Sultan Bahu is one of the honorable Sufi saints of the Punjab region, and his life and teachings have been essential to the spiritual and social development of its people for multiple centuries. He lived in the seventeenth century under the reign of the Mughal Empire coinciding with the emperors Shah Jahan and then his son, Aurangzeb.
He is referred to as Sultan al Arifin meaning ‘the king of all mystics.’ There is not much known about his life besides what is recorded in Manaqib e Sultani by one of his descendants, Sultan Hamid Ali. It mentions the city of his birth, his ancestry, details of his life and teachings, etc.
He was a saint of the Qadiriyya, an initiatory order of orthodox Sufism, and Bahu founded the Sarwari Qadiri order. This means that the chain passes through Bahu, ultimately to the Prophet.
He underwent extensive training with his shaykhs from many regions. His mother Mai Rasti guided him to Shah Habib Jilani. He later studied with Abdur Rahman Jilani Dehlawi in Delhi. In a spiritual sense, Bahu was connected to the founder of Qadiriyya, Abdul Qadir Jilani himself, though separated by five centuries.
Tasawwuf is the science of purification of the self. The goal is to align oneself with the will of God in an experiential way, by adhering to morals and worship, service to God and mankind, and avoiding sin and impropriety.
He was a prolific writer of more than a hundred works, of which forty were on Sufi topics, though the majority have not survived. He wrote most in Persian, but his poetry in Punjabi had a much wider appeal, and has been incorporated into various art forms, being sung and recited in Qawwali, Kafi (قافية), etc. as well as being studied individually.
His most popular work is called Abyat e Bahu, alternatively Kalam e Bahu which means poems/speech of Bahu. It’s a collection of poetry in the traditional form, Si Harfi (thirty letters), where each stanza begins with a consecutive letter of the alphabet used in spiritual and romantic verses. It has simple verses on many spiritual themes.
I have been reading from it and found one verse that I’d like to share here. The translation is mine:
If the Lord was to be found by bathing and washing,
Then the frogs and the fish would have reached Hu.
If the Lord was to be found by growing long hair,
Then the sheep of gray color would have reached Hu.
If the Lord was to be found by stay up for night vigil,
Then the bats of black color would have reached Hu.
If the Lord was to be found by celibacy,
Then the castrated bullocks would have reached Hu.
The Lord is not to be found by such practices, oh Bahu,
But with pure intentions you will reach Hu.
(Abyate Bahu 66)
The reference to Hu at the end of each is to God, the One, the He. As recited in the testimony of faith and throughout the Quran and religious literature, La ilaha illa Allah, La ilaha illa Hu (There is no deity except God, there is no deity except He).
He presents three examples of what people consider to be true mysticism and spiritual awakening, judged by the external, to engage in ritual with water and purification, which though important, if not done for the right reasons, with pure intentions and a good character, you would be superseded by the frogs and fish in holiness considering that they remain in water all their lives. As well, if by appearing disheveled and unkempt so that people think a certain way of you, and your intentions are not right, sheep, as well as cattle have long hair. If you think that staying up all night in worship will make you holy by itself, bats stay up all night long, more than a human could do so consistently. His final example is for celibacy, where a castrated bullock would do better.
With such simple examples in a brief poem, Bahu presented an insight into the real reason why we should be doing anything in our lives. We should live for Him, die for Him, and strive for Him.
Other significant works of his that survive include Nur al Huda which is a deep work in Persian prose, Risala e Ruhi which is a concise treatise on the secrets of the soul and the path to reach God, Ayn al Faqr which is a masterpiece in Sufi literature, and over twenty more.
His son Sultan Wali Muhammad wrote Shams al Arifin which is a seminal collection of the teachings of Bahu with discussion on topics like Faqr, Dhikr, Muraqabah, Fana, etc. He summated his father's extensive writings into one, as a guide for those seeking God against the lower desires of the temporary life.
Thousands flock to his shrine all throughout the year for visitation and blessings, and particularly on the first Thursday of the Islamic month Jumad al Thani for the annual Urs commemoration of his death. His shrine is located in Garh Maharaja in Punjab.
References
Online Encyclopedia - SultanBahoo.net
Sultan Bahu - Biography
Sultan Bahu - Information
Sultan Bahu - History
Sultan Bahu - Writings
