Sultan Bahu (also spelled as Sultan Bahoo; ; 17 January 1630 – 1 March 1691), was a Punjabi Muslim poet, Sufi, scholar, and historian of the 17th century. Renowned for his mystical poetry, he was active during the reigns of Mughal emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. According to these records, he was born in Shorkot into the Awan tribe. He was son of Bayazid Muhammad, an officer in the Mughal Army, and Rasti. He belonged to Qadiri Sufi order,
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.
Only the following books written by Sultan Bahu can be found today:
- Abyat e Bahu
- 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
- 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
According to tradition, the lineage reaches Sultan Bahu as follows:
- 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.
Shrine
The dargah (shrine) of Sultan Bahu is located in Garh Maharaja, Punjab. 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.