BIRTH AND YOUTH OF HAZRAT- E-SULTAN BAHOO(RA)

THE BIRTH AND YOUTH OF SULTAN BAHU (RA).

According to some sources Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) was born in the village of Shorkhote in Punjab Province in the year 1039 AD, during the reign of the great Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

Already as a child his Saintly qualities became apparent. He too, like Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani ( Rathi Allahu ‘anh), refuses to drink his mothers’ milk from Sehri to Iftaar (before sunrise to sunset). Despite showing inherent spiritual qualities his training responsibility fell in the lap of his pious, devout and saintly mother, Ma Rasti (RA). In his childhood and early days, she was responsible for both his inward and outward training, colouring his personality in the Prophetic light. In many of his writings, Sultan Bahu (RA.) refers to his saintly mothers’ piety and spiritual station. In one of his Persian couplets, he refers to her devotion to truth as follows:

` Bliss of God for Rasti be

For with truth is gifted she’

Interestingly ` Rasti ' itself in Persian means

`Truth'. At another place he writes:

`Mercy of Allah be on Rasti who named me Ba -Hu’

Ma Rasti (RA) saw a vision that soon she will be blessed with a child with inherent spiritual qualities whose light of Faqr will benefit many a seeker till the end of time. She was instructed to name the child `Ba Hu' -meaning -`With Allah'. This name, most certainly suited this holy personality, for he was always drowned in the Love of Allah. Hazrat Sultan Bahu's (RA) name is incomparable and has no parallel. His very name reflects his lofty spiritual station, pure qualities and attributes. We will, very briefly, attempt to examine and elucidate further on the characteristics and the quality of the saints name Bahu. This would help to absolve the fallacy

and misunderstanding concerning the disposition of the Saints name.

True meaning and implication of the name BAHU.

The characteristic of the name has a multidimensional qualitative feature, which identifies itself with the personality of the Saint himself. In one of his poems he says :

`With one dot Ba-Hu becomes Ya-Hu.... and Bahu is always steeped in the remembrance of Ya-Hu'.

At another place he says:

`Whatever you want, ask Bahu....... for conversely Ba-Hu is Wah-hab '

In the morphology and syntax of the language used by the Saint to express his thoughts and ideas a mere change in the movement of a dot alters the meaning of a word. So by adding a dot to the first letter of the name Ba-Hu, it becomes Ya-Hu and conversely Ba-Hu becomes Wah-hab (Gods attributive Name-The Giver of abundance). Here the Saint refers to his total personality being annihilated, colored and imbued with divine attributes, a goal of a Sufi and has nothing to do with the concept of `Hama- oest' i.e. God incarnate.

In the science of numerology the sum total of the name Ba-Hu is 14, the date of the full moon and the start of adolescence. It is a symbol of completion and perfection. There are so many qualities of the name Ba-Hu, that it would require a research of its own. In short, Sultan Bahu (RA.) himself says in one of his writings:

`Qualitatively my name (in its effects) is like Isme-Azam ' and at another place he says; ` My name brings light to the oblivious heart '.

It has been seen and experienced by many a true seeker that by simply mentioning or hearing his name, the seeker has gone into ecstasy proclaiming `Ya Hu Haqq Bahu'. Many a doubtful and acrimonious mind will think that because of our strong belief we have overestimated the experience of true seekers regarding the above. But even a person who is completely objective and impartial will have to acknowledge that the name `Bahu' has a unique and distinctive accentuation and intonation with multi-dimensional meanings and even a critical analysis of the experience will reveal the inherent blessings of the name Ba-Hu.

enigmatic term nomenclature aphorism epigram cliché

Critics will take offence at the maxim `Haqq-Bahu' and might object that it is a proclamation of Kufr (Ma-aaz-Allah -God forbid). Indeed this is only THEIR misconception due to their ignorance, unawareness and heard heartedness. We find it necessary to explain this further. In the maxim ` Haqq-Bahu', the word `Haqq' is not used in the sense alluding to the Person (Zaat) of Allah. But instead it signifies righteousness, pureness truthfulness, virtuousness and words of similar import, terms which are opposite of falsehood (`baatil'). So the epigram indicates and signifies that Sultan Bahu (RA.) is truthful, genuinely connected, submerged and annihilated in the Name and Love of Allah the Supreme. In fact he foretells in one of his works:

` the maxim of `Haqq' will be adjoined to Ba-Hu ...... this attachment will manifest even from Ba Hus grave '

and of course nearly 300 years have passed, this prophesy has proved to be true to the latter. What a blessed name that it penetrates into the reaches of the heart. For a conscious hearted Gnostic this name is a glimpse through which he perceives the higher levels of realisation and reality. This condition has to be experienced before one can reject the said effects.

It is narrated that in the early years of his life , whenever Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) ventured out of his house, he caused consternation and alarm because whenever his blessed sight fell onto non-believers, they (the non-believers) would involuntarily recite the Kalima -Shahaadah ( declaration of Faith ). The townsfolk sent a delegation to the parents of the Saint( may Allah be pleased with them), requesting that a guard or sentry be posted near their house, so that whenever `little' Bahu would venture out a siren would be sounded so that the people would take shelter from the penetrating gaze of `little' Sultan Bahu. This trait in his personality remained with him till the very end of his life. As he says in one of his works"

` Half gaze of Bahu is better than one hundred suns'

HIS TOMB.

The above stated fact is true. Three centuries later, the tomb of Sultan Bahu (RA) is like a beacon of light, attracting thousands of true seekers, radiating their inward with his spiritual attraction. Many a dead hearted persons first sight of the Saints tomb produces in him an involuntary and spontaneous outburst of zikr (remembrance) of Allah.

Sultan Bahu (RA) tomb is situated in a village near the banks of the river Chenub situated not far from the town of Shirkot in the district of Jung - Punjab Province. In this age of forgetfulness and materialism, the tomb serves as an elixir to the immoral and corrupt hearts and souls of people. Millions of pilgrims from far and wide visit the tomb to receive blessings and benefits. This can be observed during the first 10 days of Muharram (Muslim New Year) when over 2 million people gather to celebrate the annual anniversary - Urs -of this renowned Saint. The pilgrims receive countless inward and outward blessings. Often it has been experienced by many a seeker that in one to three nights their hearts desire is fulfilled. Ordinary people receive guidance in their dreams, the elite in Muraqaba (meditation), and the elite of the elite `in a waking state'.

The tomb of Sultan Bahu (RA) is unique in this case. He gives attention to true seekers in such a fashion that the entire personality of the seeker is spiritualized ...... dancing in ecstasy they reach their hearts desire. This holy personality's generosity and blessings is immeasurable because for a true Faqir (Spiritual Master), life and death, inward and outward is the same. It has been experienced many a time that a thought would pass in one's mind and `supra-rationally it would be answered and made clear. His grave is not a tomb but a furnace from where one's soul is purified.

In his lifetime the Sheikh used to bless people without revealing himself. His love for anonymity was such that before his death, he predicted that his resting place would be unknown. But Allah Willed otherwise. The resting place of this great Saint was made famous for the benefit of mankind. The discovery of his resting place itself is a miracle. In `Munaqabi-Sultanie' it is documented that the Chenub River flooded and its waters reached an old mud fort where a few old graves were situated. One very pious Sayed from a neighboring village saw in a vision Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) indicating to him the location of his grave, which was being threatened by the flood. He asked the Sayed to remove his body and take for burial to a safer place. Sayed Sahib together with a few friends did as instructed but was disappointed not to find the body in its grave. The following evening he was again instructed to bring along a casket and leave it overnight at the graveside and to return the next day when he would find the casket heavy with the body inside. The following day, with the help of his friends Sayed Sahib loaded the casket onto a camel and proceeded towards a graveyard (known as Hazrat Peer Abdur Rehan Qureishi's graveyard), when on the way they came across an enclosure, which was famous for its macabre and uncanny surroundings. This surrounding was screened and preserved with a fencelike structure so that no man or animal could venture therein. On reaching the place the she camel sat down, despite being goaded to move on. Witnessing the camel’s strange behaviour, they deduced that Allah must have reserved this sanctuary as the resting place for Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA). Spontaneously, the camel rose and entered the enclosure and sat on a neat clean clearing. Taking this as divine approval, they buried the casket.

From this chosen site started a spring of blessings and instructions, which turned into an ocean of benefit and guidance as time passed on. Later his great Persian and Punjabi works in prose and poetry, which lay hidden in the guise of anonymity became available. Scholars and seekers after truth travelled far and wide to acquire the invaluable treasures of Hazrat Sultan Bahu's(RA) writings. These were copied, distributed and studied. As the saint himself says that when he did not find any true seeker to impart his spiritual wealth and blessings, he decided to transform this esoteric wealth into writing and thus made it available for generations to come.

For 150 years, the tomb of the great saint illuminated the hearts and minds of the people. The river Chenub once again raised its waters, coming dangerously close to the shrine. This time it was Hazrat Sultan Noor Ahmed (RA) who was instructed to once again shift the tomb to where it stands today.

Hazrat Sultan Bahu(RA) did not acquire the worldly sciences. Due to immense spiritual attractions and ecstasy it became difficult to attain to formal education. Yet his own person was luminous with Divine Light. In one of his writings the saint refers to this when he says that: ` I did not have time to spare for formal education but spiritual experiences, divine favour and guidance and esoteric conquests has enabled me to acquire such vast knowledge that it would require many files of paper to record. Spiritual realities have so enlightened my inward that both the esoteric and exoteric sciences have been revealed to me....neither did I have the time to perform daily litanies (wird) because since the beginning I have been immersed in the ocean of Unity (Tauheed) '. He was a strict upholder of the Shari'a and did not in his entire life forego even one Mustahab.
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