Hazrat Sultan Bahu / Haqbahu � Life in Details in English

PAGE NO. 30

SOME MIRACLES OF SULTAN BAHU (RA).

(1) THE MIRACLE OF THE SAYYID AND THE GOLD.

It is narrated that a poor but respectable Sayed was advised by a dervish to seek Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) for his material needs. Going from village to village the Sayed finally found Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) working in one of the fields under intense heat. It must be mentioned here that this was the only time during which the Saint had been occupied in any sort of worldly occupation and this too he had discarded after some time. The Sayed was disappointed that what can this Faqir give me when he himself seems in want and dressed in tattered clothes. Disappointed, the Sayed decided to return to his village. As he was turning back, Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) called out " Sayed Sahib, why are you turning back.... speak what do you seek ?" Taken aback by this sudden forte and calling, the Sayed lamented his material needs to the Saint. Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) asked the Sayed to excuse him while he attended to the call of nature. Returning from the call of nature, 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 where they were standing turned into gold ingots. The 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 jewelry is still extent in the same family for several generations. This writer himself, during his journey to the tomb of Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) in 1982 met a person at the tomb who had a friend who had personally seen the jewelry at the home of the said family.

(2) THE MIRACLE OF THE CAVE AND THE DEER.

It is narrated that on one of his travels which he so often took, 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. His entire life had been spent in serving the Saint and had accompanied him on many of his travels. When they approached the vicinity of Kellar Kahar, the approach of the month of Ramadan had been heralded in by the drumbeat of a caller from a nearby village. Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) spend the entire month of Ramadan, meditating in an isolated cave in the mountains nearby. Drowned in the Ocean of Mercy and remembrance, the entire month of Ramadan passed without 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 use to appear with the food tied on it's horns. This happening has been put into verse by Hazrat Naurang Khatran (RA), the attendant himself. He says

" Strange and wondrous; 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 Ramadan. Disturbed by the sound of drumbeats from the village, Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) raised his head from meditation and enquired from his attendant as to what all the noise was about. Sultan Naurang Khatran (RA) replied " Hazrat the Eid moon has been sited and you have been in a state of intoxication and annihilation in the remembrance of Allah for the entire month of Ramadan�. The Saint exclaimed: " What about my fast, salaat and tarawee for the month of Ramadan". 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 (Peace be on him) or any other obligatory commands of the shari'a. It is said that this episode of the cave is the only one time that Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) had been in a state of intoxication, otherwise his entire life had been spend in a state of sobriety, so much so, that he did not miss even a single mustahab act of the shari'a.

Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) completed his qaza fasts and salaats. It is narrated that thereafter the Saint made tawajju (gave spiritual attention) on the deer and it expired. A grave was dug and the deer was buried nearby the cave in which the Saint had passed his month of Ramadan. Very soon it became a very popular place of ziaarat and today people still visit this place known as `Ahu Bahu'. My grand sheikh, Hazrat Faqir Noor Muhammed Sarwari-Qaderi (RA), visited this place of ziaarat and reported that even today one can feel the spiritual light, radiance, brilliance and luminous vibrational 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 experiences a state of illumination.

(3) THE EPISODE OF THE WOODCUTTER.

It is narrated that some dervishes accompanied Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) on one of his travels. During the course of the journey one of the dervish companions asked : " Hazrat, what is meant by `eyes of elixir' ? " At that moment, at a distance not to far away a woodcutter was about to pick up his wood. With one gaze, Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) transmitted his spiritual attention to the woodcutter, who became motionless, staring in the sky. Turning to the dervish, The Saint said : " Do you see that woodcutter over there ? He will answer your question on our return journey".

It is said that on the return journey, they passed the woodcutter who was still starring into the sky. Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) once again gave his spiritual attention to the woodcutter. With one gaze the woodcutter returned to his normal original state. He fell at the feet of the Saint, lamenting and imploring him to return him to the state he was in. The Saint asked the woodcutter to explain what he had experienced so that his companions could understand what is meant by `eyes of elixir'.

The woodcutter said : " Sir, the other day you were passing by when you looked towards me. As soon as your gaze fell on me, I experienced a state of illumination, peace and felicity. I felt myself being drowned in the ocean of Allah's Light and Mercy, annihilated in a blissful rapture. Please Sir, for the sake of Allah, return me to that delightful and ecstatic state again".

The Saint turned to his companion dervishes and said : " You have received your answer to your question from the woodcutter himself. This what you have witnessed is but a small drop from the reality of what is meant by `eyes of elixir�. You cannot comprehend and withstand the full force of it's reality�. Turning to the woodcutter he told him to carry on his work, counseling him not to despair as his inner state was now luminous and that intermittently he would be experiencing the same state of ecstatic rapture. Bidding him farewell, the Saint carried on his journey. By Allah, what an eyesight! Such is the reality of the Faqir's of Allah. With one gaze they turn a woodcutter into a Gnostic of Allah. With one gaze they turn a `dead' heart into a `living' heart, to remain always immersed in the remembrance of Allah.

EPISODE OF THE SAINT SHER SHAH (RA).

This fact is well known that Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) passed most of his life in travelling from one place to another. This helped him in concealing his real identity. Many of the miracles wrought by the hands of this great saint have been manifested during his travels.

It was during one of these travels that Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) came to a village where a Sufi saint Hazrat Sher Shah (RA) was well known. At the border area of the village Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) retired to a little hillock where he sat in a state of deep meditation. Immersed in Divine light the saint became oblivious of his surroundings. At that moment some disciples of Hazrat Sher Shah (RA) were on their daily errands of collecting firewood for the kitchen. One of them came close to Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) and offered salaams. Once again Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) demonstrates to us the power of the gaze of a true Faqir of ALLAH. Returning the greeting the saint's `eyes of elixir' irradiated the inward of the disciple, whose heart became alive with the zikr (remembrance) of ALLAH. Crying in ecstasy he fell at the feet of the saint. Noticing this spectacle the second disciple hurried to inquire the condition of his friend. Seeing the saint he too fell into ecstasy. The third disciple raced off to his master, Hazrat Sher Shah (RA) to report on the incident. Sher Shah (RA), together with some of his disciples and dervishes hastened to confront the enchanter 'who had cast a spell over his disciple. He confronted Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) :"Many a Spiritual court have I attended, including the Holy Court of his Holiness Prophet Muhammed (peace be on him). In none of these Courts have I seen you present. You must be an illusionist or trickster and have cast a spell over my disciple. Cease and desist from such action and bring my disciples to their original state or else I will complain about you in the court of his Holiness (peace be on him)." Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) responded " Shah Sahib, you be present in the court of his Holiness and I too will try to be present in the august court of his Holiness (peace be on him). Tomorrow we will meet at this same place and decide on the outcome." Shah Sahib departed promising to meet the next morning.

That same evening, Shah Sahib was blessed to be present in the spiritual court of his Holiness, Prophet Muhammed (peace be on him). Respectfully he looked around the assembly to see if he could see the `enchanter' dervish who had cast a spell over his disciple. Not seeing him in the assembly he thought to himself that tomorrow in the morning we will deal with him. For the moment let me be respectful in this august court.

Suddenly from behind a spiritual curtain ( a place which is reserved for the Prophets (peace be on him) household) a beautiful child appeared. The child went straight to the Prophet (peace be on him) and sat on his Holiness lap. The Prophet (peace be on him) of Allah very lovingly and affectionately embraced this beautiful child, stroking him with his blessed hands. The child was similarly blessed by Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq, Hazrat Omar, Hazrat Othman Gann, Hazrat Ali, Imam Hassen and Hussein, various Prophets present in the court, Hazrat Sayyid Abdul Qadir Jilani and other believers (peace be on them all). Finally the child came to rest in the lap of Sher Shah (RA) who also embraced the child lovingly. Playfully the child pulled at the beard of Sher Shah (RA) with his little hands pulling out two pieces of hair. Thereafter the child of light again returned to the blessed lap of the Prophet (peace be on him) from whence he disappeared behind the curtain from which he had entered.

The next morning Hazrat Sher Shah (RA) accompanied by his companion dervishes went to the agreed meeting place. On meeting Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) he said angrily " Oh dervish, I did not see you present in the blessed court of the Prophet (peace be on him). I looked all around but you could not be seen. So you must be an enchanter and juggler. I once again warn you to give up this trickery otherwise the end will be not good for you."

Sultanul Arifeen Sultan Bahu (RA) replied:

" Oh Sher Shah. How many witnesses do you need according to the Sharia that I was present in the court of his Holiness." Sher Shah retorted " two witnesses." Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) took out the two pieces of hair which belonged to Shar Shah (RA) saying: " here is my proof of me being present in the august court of the Prophet (peace be on him)." Recognising the hair of his beard, Sher Shah (RA) immediately apologised to the great saint. Thereafter they both retired into seclusion to discuss the deeper secretes and meanings of the spiritual path. On the request of Sher Shah (RA), Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) blessed him with higher realms of spiritual knowledge and some say that he was blessed with khilafat also. Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) further counselled him to carry on his work by bringing people to the reality of the truth.