Sultan Bahu
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Sultan BahuTemplate:Efn (also spelled as Sultan Bahoo; {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; 17 January 1630 – 1 March 1691), was a Punjabi Muslim poet, Sufi, scholar, and historian of the 17th century.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Renowned for his mystical poetry, he was active during the reigns of Mughal emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="DT" />
Little is known about Bahu's life, other than what was written in a hagiography called Manaqib-i Sultani seven generations after Bahu's own time.<ref name="Bāhū1998">Template:Cite book</ref> According to these records, he was born in Shorkot into the Awan tribe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="frembgen">Template:Cite book</ref> He was son of Bayazid Muhammad, an officer in the Mughal Army, and Rasti.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He belonged to Qadiri Sufi order,<ref name="frembgen" /> and started the mystic tradition known as Sarwari Qadiri.<ref name="DT" />
More than forty books on Sufism are attributed to him (mostly written in Persian), largely dealing with specialised aspects of Islam and Islamic mysticism. However, it was his Punjabi poetry which had popular appeal and earned him lasting fame.<ref name="Bāhū1998"/>Template:Rp 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.<ref name="Bāhū1998"/>Template:Rp
EducationEdit
Sultan Bahu's first teacher was his mother, Mai Rasti. She pushed him to seek spiritual guidance from Shah Habib Gilani.<ref name=DT>Template:Cite news</ref>
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.<ref name=DT/>
Literary worksEdit
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-Bahu which is in Punjabi verse.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Only the following books written by Sultan Bahu can be found today: Template:Div col
- Abyat e Bahu<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Risala e Ruhi
- Sultan ul Waham
- Nur ul Khuda
- Aql e Baidar
- Mahq ul Faqr
- Aurang e Shahi
- Jami ul Israr
- Taufiq e Hidayat
- Kalid Tauheed
- Ain ul Faqr<ref name=rekhta/>
- Israr e Qadri<ref name=rekhta>Sultan Bahu books on Rekhta.org website Retrieved 18 May 2020</ref>
- Kaleed e Jannat
- Muhqam ul Faqr
- Majlis un Nabi
- Muftah ul Arifeen
- Hujjat ul Israr
- Kashf ul Israar
- Mahabat ul Israr
- Ganj ul Israr
- Fazl ul Liqa
- Dewaan e Bahu<ref name=rekhta/>
Spiritual lineageEdit
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 has a special role in the mystic world and that all orders and saints are always indebted to him directly or indirectly in some way. Thus, whilst referring to Jilani's Qadiriyya tradition, Sultan Bahu has left an offshoot of his own which he named Sarwari Qadiri.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
According to tradition, the lineage reaches Sultan Bahu as follows:<ref name=TNI>"Urs of Sultan Bahu begins" The News International (newspaper), Published 2 September 2019, Retrieved 18 May 2020</ref>
- Muhammad
- Ali ibn Abi Talib
- Hasan al Basri
- Habib al Ajami
- Dawud Tai
- Maruf Karkhi
- Sirri Saqti
- Junaid Baghdadi
- Abu Bakr Shibli
- Abdul Aziz bin Hars bin Asad Yemeni Tamimi
- Abu Al Fazal Abdul Wahid Yemeni Tamimi
- Mohammad Yousaf Abu al-Farah Tartusi
- Abu-al-Hassan Ali Bin Mohammad Qureshi Hankari
- Abu Saeed Mubarak Makhzoomi
- Abdul Qadir Jilani
- Abdul Razzaq Jilani
- Abdul Jabbar Jilani
- Syed Mohammad Sadiq Yahya
- Najm-ud-Din Burhan Puri
- Abdul Fattah
- Abdul Sattar
- Abdul Baqqa
- Abdul Jaleel
- Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi
- Sultan Bahu
The tradition has been continued to this day by Sultan Bahu's successors.
ShrineEdit
The dargah (shrine) of Sultan Bahu is located in Garh Maharaja, Punjab.<ref name="Dehlvi">Template:Cite book</ref> It was originally built on Bahu's grave site until the Chenab River changed its course causing the need to relocate twice and as witnessed by those present at the time of relocation, claims that his body was still intact at the time.<ref name="Dehlvi"/> It is a popular Sufi shrine, and the annual Urs festival commemorating his death is celebrated there with great fervour on the first Thursday of Jumada al-Thani month. People come from far-off places to join the celebrations.<ref>Book Name: Tareekh-e-Jhang, Author: Iqbal Zuberi, Publisher: Jhang Adibi Academy, Jhang Sadar, Pakistan, First Edition, Date: 2002</ref><ref name=TNI/>
Sultan Bahu also used to hold an annual Urs to commemorate the martyrs of Karbala from the first to the tenth day of the month of Muharram. This tradition continues to this day and every year, and thousands of pilgrims visit the shrine during this period.<ref name=TNI/>
External linksEdit
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
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