Sultan Bahu

Sultan Bahu is the Punjabi Sufi poet-saint whose abyat (quatrains) are sung across the Punjab and whose Sarwari Qadiri order carries his method of direct remembrance (dhikr).

Life

Born at Shorkot in the Jhang district, he wrote prolifically in Persian and Punjabi (traditions count over a hundred works), founding? — his teaching line (the Sarwari Qadiri) claims him as its fountain. His hymns to the Guru-in-the-heart (“Bahu, the Master is found within”) made him beloved equally among Muslim and Sikh villagers; Punjabi households quote him as proverbs.

Teachings/Works

The abyat in Punjabi — four-line verses of the path’s inner states, the Teacher within, love over law — are his fame; Persian treatises (Risala Roohi Sharif among them) carry his doctrine. His signature couplet closes every poem with “Bahu.”

Legacy

Annual urs at his Garhi? — his shrines (Jhang and elsewhere) draw thousands; his quatrains are standard in Punjabi sung repertoire (from folk to Sufi-rock recordings).

Verification notes

• His dates vary slightly in sources (1630–1691 range); the corpus’s Punjabi abyat are the anchor.
• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).