Sultan ul Arifin Hazrat Sultan Bahu (R.A)
HU is within, HU is without, HU always reverberates in my heart.
The would in my heart aches constantly
With the un-abating pain of HU’s love.
The darkness of ignorance departs
From the heart lit by HU (God Allah)
I sacrifice myself to the one, O Bahu,
Who has realized the significance of HU.
God is within you, say all masters and saints
During the reign of Mughal king Shah Jehan, Bazid Muhammad was one of his important officials. He was not only Hafiz-e-Quran but also a great scholar and was very much respected even by the king. He married to a very religious women of his own family namely Rasti Bibi.
Shah Jehan appointed him the official (magistrate) of Kohistan and after sometime he was sent to Multan. This area was very much liked by him and he refused the king to go back to Kohistan, as the king regarded him very much, he did not stress him to leave Multan. Shah Jehan gave a village namely Kehar Gan. After sometime Hazrat Bazid shifted to Shorkot permanently.
Rasti Bibi was very religious women and it was due to her religious personality that Hazrat Bazid’s life also changed. Rasti Bibi was such a pious lady that she offered her “Tahjad” prayer even on that morning Hazrat Sultan Bahu was born. She had great place in spirituality.
Hazrat Sultan Bahu came into this world in 1039 AH 1629 AD. He belonged to Awan family. Awans are the descendents of Hazrat Qutab Shah who was the uncle of Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. Hazrat Qutab shah was the descendent of Hazrat Muhammad Bin Hanifia (Hazrat Ali (RA))
Hazrat Sultan Bahu was a born saint and his name Bahu was given to him on the order of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W).
Her mother educated him spiritually in his childhood and Hazrat Sultan Bahu’s face was so much attractive that many Hindus accepted Islam just after seeing his Face. At last a group of Hindus met Hazrat Bazid Muhammad and requested him to make a schedule, for the safety of their religious. His father died in his childhood and his mother arranged best teacher of his time for his education and he acquired all the knowledge very quickly because of his extra ordinary intelligence. Soon, he became famous as a religious scholar. Owing to his mother’s teaching, he had a great inclination towards spirituality and his immersion was extraordinary.
He got married in his early youth and twice or thrice afterwards.
When he was thirty year of age, he had a very extraordinary vision in which he saw Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the spiritually recommendations and support of Hazrat Ali(RA) and Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani. The Prophet (PBUH) himself took his bay’ah and allowed him to pass on the sufi teaching.
He often mentioned in his books about his presence in the spiritual meetings presided by the Prophet (S.A.W) himself. However in the treatise of the spirit, he calls Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jilani his Murshid . He is always lavish in the praise of Hazrat and calls himself Qadiri. In his eyes, the teaching of the Qadiriya order were most effective for the spiritual development by the disciplines. But at the same time it is evidently clear that by the Qadiriya order, he means the one that he himself represented. He names it Sarwari Qadiri.
His mother was very pleased to hear the vision and asked him to have a bay’ah of ‘murshid’. Hazrat Sultan Bahu requested his mother to take his bay’ah but she replied a women can take bay’ah if it was possible then the wives of Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Hazrat Rabia Basri had also taken a bay’ah.
So she asked Hazrat Sultan Bahu to go east wards. Finally Hazrat Sultan Bahu met Hazrat Shah Habibullah who welcomed him very warmly and asked about the reason of his coming Hazrat Sultan Bahu told everything. After listening, he replied Hazrat Sultan Bahu that wordly love and Faqr can’t go side by side. So Hazrat Sultan Bahu came back home and sold most of his land and distributed the money among the poor. When he returned to Hazrat Shah Habibullah and requested him to take his bay’ah.
He asked him to go to Delhi, where Sheikh Abdur Rehman Qadri is living. He will take bay’ah. So he left that place and when he reached Delhi, a person asked him name and told him that he is the disciple of Sheikh Abdur Rehman Qadri, he was orderd to welcome Sultan Bahu was much astonished to hear all this and said, yes I am Sultan Bahu.
That person guided him to the residence of Sheikh Abdur Rehman took the bay’ah of Hazrat Sultan Bahu. Hazrat Sultan Bahu was much pleased after the bay’ah and started giving solution of people’s problems. People started visiting him and soon he became famous all around. He became a hope of light for hopeless people. When Sheikh Abdul Rehman heard this he called on Sultan Bahu and said, we did not give you all this to distribute in such a way. Hazrat Sultan Bahu replied, I did this because if I need more so that I can get it from you.
Secondly I know that here you are on my back and thirdly Holy prophet (PBUH) orderd me to help the people. Then Hazrat Sheikh Abdur Rehman gave him the permission to serve will remain forever. When he came back home Rasti Bibi was very much pleased to see him. He started working on his remaining land and preaching also due to which a large number of people embraced Islam.
It is narrated that a poor but respectable Sayed was advised by a dervish to seek Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) for his material needs. The sayed found Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) working in the fields under intense heat. Sayed was disappointed that what can this man give him when himself seems in want and dressed in tattered clothes. Disappointed, Sayed decided to return to his village. As he was turning back, Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) called Sayed Sahib, why are you turning back speak what do you see? Sayed narrated his material needs to the Saint.
Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) asked Sayed to excuse him while he attended the call of nature. After returning, the Saint threw the stone with which he dried himself in anger at the direction of the Sayed .
Wherever the stone made contact with the clay ground wher they were standing turned into gold ingots. Sayed was told to take the gold for his needs and depart immediately so that nobody could be aware of what had taken place. It is said that this gold in the form of jewellery is still extent in the same family for several generation.
Once Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) was accompanied by his attendant Sultan Naurang Khatran (RA) a dervish who was blessed with spiritual light by the Saint himself when they approached the vicinity of kellar Keha, the approach of the month of Ramazan had been heralded in by the drumbeat of a caller form nearby village. Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) spent the entire month of Ramazan meditating in an isolated cave in the mountains nrearby. Drowned in the ocean of mercy and remembrance the entire month of Ramazan passed with out the intake of food on the part of the saint.
The dervish who accompanied the Saint had received daily his food for Sehri and Iftaar miraculously by a deer which used to appear with the food tied on its horns. This happening has been put into verse by Hazrat Naurang Khatran (RA) the attendat himself.
He said:
Strange and wonderous, my sight did witness.
Spectacle of Bahu,
Load of lover; carried on horns of a deer.
At the approach of Eid, a call was heard from the nearby village announcing the end of Ramazan. Disturbed by the sound of drumbeats from the village, Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) raised his head from the meditation and enquired his attendant as to what all the noise was about. Sultan Naurang Khatran (RA) replied Hazrat the Eid moon has been sited and you in a state of intoxication and annihilation in the remembrance of Allah for the entire month. The Saint exclaimed: What about my fast, salaam and taravee for the month or Ramazan. It is narrated by his attendant that despite having being in a state of intoxication in the remembrance of Allah, Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) performed all his Qaza fasts and Salaats. This is the state of the true friends of Allah that they do not even for one moment leave aside the Sunna of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) or any other obligatory commands of the Shari’a. it is said that this episode of cave is the only one time that Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) had been in a state of intoxication, otherwise his entire life had been spent in a state of sobriety, so much so that he did not miss even a single Mustahab act of the Shari’s. Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) completed his Qaza fasts and Salaats. It is narrated that thereafter the Saint gave spiritual attention to the deer and it expired.
A grave was dug and the deer was buried near the cave in which the saint had passed his month of Ramazan. My grand Sheikh, Hazrat Faqir Noor Muhammad Sarwari Qaderi (RA), visited this place and reported that even today one can feel the spiritual light, radiance, brilliance and luminous vibration energy in the cave and surrounding area.
It has such a magnetic effect on the visitor that any sincere seeker sitting in the cave in the remembrance of Allah experience a state of illumination.