Sultan Bahu (ca 1628 - 1691) was a Muslim Sufi, who founded the Sarwari Qadiri sufi order. Sultan Bahu belonged to Awan tribe.Awans are the descendants of Ali. Like many other sufi saints of the Indian subcontinent, Sultan Bahu was also a prolific writer, with more than forty books on Sufism attributed to him. However, as the majority of his books deal with specialised subjects related to Islam and islamic mysticism, it is his Punjabi poetry that has generated popular appeal and made him a household name in the region. His poetic verses are sung in many genres of sufi music, including qawaalis and kaafis. Tradition has established a particular style of singing his couplets, which is not used in any other genre of sufi music.

The Mausoleum of Sultan Bahu is located in Garh Maharaja, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a popular and frequently-visited sufi shrine, and the annual festival is celebrated with the usual fervour, which is now a distinguishing feature of what is being called a 'shrine culture' of the Indian subcontinent.

Shrine of Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahu

Spiritual Genealogy / Tareeqa

Sultan Bahu belonged to the Qadiri sufi order, and later initiated his own offshoot, Sarwari Qadiri.

Sultan Bahu refers to Muhiyuddin Abdul Qadir Jilani as his spiritual Master in a number of his books and poetry, but it is obvious that this relationship must have existed purely in the spiritual domain, as Abdul Qadir Jilani passed away before the birth of Sultan Bahu. However, a majority of Sufi orders and saints maintain that Abdul Qadir Jilani has a special role in the mystic world and thus all orders and saints are always indebted to him directly or indirectly in some way.

Sultan Bahu's education began at the feet of his mother, Mai Rasti, who was herself a saintly woman, and has her own Mouselem in Shorkot, Pakistan. She told him to seek spiritual guidance from Sheikh Habibullah Qaderi. After some time, Sheikh Habibullah sent him to Delhi for further 'polishing' under the guidance of Sheikh Abdul Rehman al Qaderi. This did not take long, after which Sultan Bahu returned to his own, familiar surroundings.

Read More about Hazrat Sultan Bahu's Biography, as a SUFI, and Descendants