A Brief Study of Hazrat Sultan Bahoo (R.A)’s Masterpiece Book ‘Ain ul Faqr’

Among 140 writings of Hadrat Sakhi Sultan Bahu, Ain ul Faqr is one of the most precious and well-known books, which keep the status of … (haq numa) … for the God Seekers. An eternal treasure with heart secrets, the knowledge of God and sitting with Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

Ain Ul-Faqr is the most precious and the most popular of his books, which is known as the compass of truth in the Sufi circles. While highlighting the significance of this fine work, Syed Ahmad Saeed Hamdani writes,

The paramount importance of Ain UL Faqr can be summarized from the fact that special arrangements were made for the male children in the lineage of Hazrat Sultan Bahoo (R.A) to learn this book on the academic pattern, which implied that the study of this book inculcates some capability to understand the Saintliness and Faqr of Hazrat Sultan Bahoo (R.A).

The study of this book renders a feeling of spiritual tranquility and calm and strange realities are revealed.

Ain –ul-Faqr is a beautiful blend of prose and poetry. By and large, the book is in prosaic form but there is no such page, left unembellished by Sultan ul Arifeen with his poetic taste. Every here and there, his verses are scattered in the form of Mathnavi. Some of these are stanzas, some are couplets and an anthem also which is termed as “the anthem of love” by him. Besides his own poetic verses, the verses of other Sufi poets are also scattered everywhere. Alongside poetry, every page of the book contains the verses from the Holy Quran, The Sacred Narration (Hadith Qudsi), traditions of the Holy Prophet Syedna Muhammad (Hadith e Nabwi) SAW and the sayings of the Sufi poets. The style of the book is very attractive and subtle. The book contains knowledge about mysticism and Gnostic enlightenment, intimate observations, Sufi implications, the preferences of affectionate, the points of wisdom, scholarly explanations, elucidating logics. The principles of worship and the pearls of righteousness have been assimilated in such a philosophical and established manner that a seeker of divine truth belonging to any era gets the maximum benefit from it, regardless of the age, he belongs to. Besides providing a comprehensive guideline about the path of Spirituality, this book also extends detailed knowledge about the Qadri Sufi mystic order.

Ameer al KOnain — Hazrat Sultan Bahoo Poetry

The religious and political conditions prevalent at the time of the composition of Ain-ul-Faqr

Before his birth, the seed of Atheism which Jalal ud Din Akbar had sown in the soil of India is the name of the unanimity of all the religions and his intentions were dazed to the ground by a great Sufi Hazrat Sheikh Mujadad Alf Thani (the second), with his spiritual and scholarly powers. The same monotheism appeared again with the grandson of Akbar Dar- Ashikoh in the times of Sultan-ul-Arifeen, Hazrat Sultan Bahoo (R.A). Dara Shikoh belonged to the same sect of Hazrat Sultan Al-Arifeen and intimate to him. Despite that Hazrat Sultan –ul-Arifeen, rejected Akbar and Dara Shikoh’s amalgamation of Right and Wrong (Haq /Batil). He stood with Aurangzeb Alamgir against Dara Shikoh to defend the religion and defeat agnosticism. Aurangzeb, according to prejudiced was very stringent in the matters of religion, but according to the proponents of truth, he was an embodiment of perseverance. He believed in the promulgation of Islamic Sharia in the kingdom. Hazrat Sultan Ul-Arifeen composed a regular digest “Aureng Shahi) for Aurengzeb Alamgeer and in many of his writings he mentioned Aurangzeb Alamgir as Ameer –ul- Momineen (the head of the Islamic state) so that Aurengzeb wins popularity on a public level. According to historical references Aurengzeb made three meetings with Hazrat Sultan Bahoo (R.A) and got spiritual vantage. Aurangzeb Alamgir believed in the implication of Islamic Sharia. On the contrary, Dar Shikoh wanted to make use of “Unanimity of Religions” and introduce such a Sufi movement that presented the similarities between the Holy Quran and Veedahs and ultimately merge Islam into Hinduism so that Mughal rule could be made more acceptable for the majority of the population over there.

A Brief Study of Hadrat Sultan Bahoo (R.A)’s Masterpiece Book Ain ul Faqr

These were the political and religious circumstances of Hindustan when Hazrat Sultan Bahoo (R.A) wrote this book. With the help of his spiritual powers and guidance and advice, he not only crushed the conflicting Atheism but also dilated upon the true meaning of Sufism, in the light of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (SAW).

Hazoor Sultan Bahoo’s(R.A) own sayings about Ain-ul-Faqr Shareef

He (R.A) wrote Ain-ul- Faqr at the age of 46 about which he himself mentioned in the following words in the last chapter of Ain –Ul-Faqr.

“This point of the Oneness of Allah (Ain-ul-Faqr) has been written in the reign of Shah Aurangzeb Alamgir in 1085.”

His birth year is 1039, thus in 1085, his age would be 46 years.

Why the book was named as Ain-ul-Faqr Shareef, this question has been replied in the foreword of this book in the following words, “Know this that this book has been named as Ain-ul-Faqr (the eye if the saintliness) because this book provides guidance to those who are the genuine seekers of Divine Truth and those desirous of annihilating themselves in Divinity, on any stage either it’s the beginning of the end of their journey and keeps them on the straight path and blesses them with the observation of the secrets of Divinity and the observation of the celestial Divine lights and eventually leads them to the knowledge of the truth, witnessing the truth, and believing the truth.

21st Century and the Teachings of Hadrat Sultan Bahoo

The world in the twenty-first century is a very dangerous place. We see natural disasters such as earthquakes tsunamis and floods and also man-made disasters such as wars and killings on a massive scale as well as damage to the environment all over the globe. The world is going from bad to worse and all of mankind is groping in the dark looking for a way to escape their plight.

They have- not suffer from the scarcity of resources being ravaged by malnutrition, famine, and infectious diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.

Those with plenty suffer from chronic despair and unhappiness too despite abundance, they face risks of depression alcoholism, drugs addiction and obesity to name but a few.

There is a pervasive sense of both helplessness and hopelessness and the future seems dark and ominous. Mankind is groping in the dark clutching at straws to escape their plight. Mankind is looking for beacons of light and rays of hope.

21st Century And The Teachings Of Hadrat Sultan Bahoo — Sahibzada Sultan Ahmed Ali

The teachings of Hadrat Sultan Bahoo are a magnificent source of guidance and inspiration for mankind in the twenty-first century and help towards establishing a tolerant purposeful pluralistic society. They are an immense source of strength in guiding Muslims in modern times in seeking peace with themselves their environment and with other human beings as well as seeking the pleasure of Allah (SWT).

Leave the lower self behind – Jihad against the animal self and the devil:

Half curse upon the world and full curse upon mundane Hoo

Those who have not spent on the path of Almighty, enraged punishment will obtain Hoo

It has fathers slaughtering their sons, damn your o worldly ploy Hoo

Those who have abandoned the world Hazrat Bahoo (R.A) spring gardens pleasure they will enjoy Hoo

The lower self or nafs e Amara pulls man down towards his baser animal instincts. This lower self is gluttonous inconsiderate and motivated by pleasure-seeking pursuits. It has no sense of right or wrong nor good deed or sinful one.

In addition to that the devil is lying in wait to trap the humans and lead them astray and take them off the straight path straight into damnation forever in the hereafter.

And of-course there is the attraction of the world with all its materialistic pleasures again waiting to lure mankind off the straight path and into the marsh and morass from whence it is difficult indeed to escape.

Together with the trio of the lower self, the devil and the materialistic pleasures of the world try to keep mankind trapped in this vicious place, where life and let die are the norm and man is trapped at the level of beasts?

We see a significant number of people living at this level and they may not be even aware of their state.

We need to realize that we are not here for mere worldly pleasures and that we will be held accountable for our actions.

Islam is peace — Solidarity Event with Martyrs of Christchurch Attack

We need to begin to improve ourselves and start getting a roadmap to recovery from this position. We need help and those who seek will ultimately reach their goal. We need to raise our level of consciousness and reach out purposefully to create a better future for ourselves. We need to make a conscious decision to mend our ways and seek forgiveness and guidance from Allah (SWT) and indeed He is the Most Merciful and Forgiving.

The Prophet (SAW) said on one occasion from returning from a battle that we have left behind the lesser jihad (battle against the enemies) and are now preparing for the greater jihad (battle against the nafs and the devil). That is how important it is to overcome our lower nafs and better ourselves for this world and the hereafter.

2.Rise towards the higher self – Angelic nafs e mutma’enna

I have made my body and soul as the city, and actual suburb in the heart Hoo

Satisfaction I have attained when in heart, Alif dwelled, Hoo

I am hearing everything but all besides Allah speaking expelled Hoo

Compassionates had understood the hint ‘Bahoo’ but none sympathetic have humiliation on their head from start Hoo

But mankind’s history is full of heroic tales where man has indeed risen to a level on par with the realm of the angels. Man has sacrificed personal gains for a much higher cause. Man has helped fellow human beings and even raised the awareness and responsibility towards the whole of creation including the animals and plants and the ecosystem we occupy.

It is imperative for us to realize that mankind has a purpose on this earth. We are not here merely in pursuit of pleasure-seeking earthly life but for a much higher purpose. We are ultimately accountable for our actions and we should strive utmost in doing good deeds with higher motives. In doing so not only do we alleviate the suffering of others but also elevate our own status.

We need to be kind compassionate and considerate towards our fellow human beings. This is the case regardless of our race creed and color. Islam is a universal religion. Islam is for the whole of mankind and for all times.

We need to learn to share the resources at our disposal; to give kindly in charity to the poor, the needy and the downtrodden in our midst. There is vastly more pleasure in sharing our time, money and resources than there could ever be in hoarding this worldly wealth. Which will be of no use to us in the hereafter.

In Maslow’s theory of self-realization, the twentieth-century social scientist puts contribution to society as the apex of mankind’s achievement. It is in giving that man really achieves peace on earth. If we were true to this, we would have far more peace here on earth then we do at present.

Let us recall that Allah is merciful to those who are merciful to His creation

“Time” As Understood by Sultan Bahoo

Since ancient civilizations such as Babylonians, Mayans, Greeks, Muslim Civilizations and today in modern times there has not been any a comprehensive theory that can define, explain and justify the existence of “Time” despite Philosophers and Scientists have long been attempting to find an answer to this mysterious concept.

According to philosophers like G. J. P. Bolland, “The more we consider the time-concept, the more puzzling it becomes.” Further, the complexity of the topic can be imagined when of St. Augustine said “And yet what in our usual discourse do we more familiarly and knowingly make mention of that time? And surely, we understand it well enough, when we speak of it: we understand it also when in speaking with another we hear it named. What is time then? If nobody asks me I know: but if I were desirous to explain it to one that should ask me, plainly I know not.”Sir Isaac Newton has also been unable to comprehend time, as one of his sayings goes “I do not define Time, Space, Place and Motion, as is well known to all … absolute, true and mathematical time, of itself, and from its own nature flows equably without relation to anything external, and by another name is called duration.”

Hazrat Sultan AHmad ali — Sahibzada Sultan Ahmed Ali

Today the world’s major institutes of Meta Physics, Philosophy and Science are researching on the very reality and existence of Time. There have been many theories in present time such as parallel time, and relative time, furthermore, the quantum time. All of which tend to explain and justify the existence of Time up to a certain extent.

In this article, we will explore what Time is, in Sultan Bahoo’s point of view, one of the world’s most famous saints ever to exist, who have provided many insights on topics such as Economics, Politics, Science, Philosophy, Religions, Astronomy and many more.

This paper on time is based on the verses from the Quran, sayings of Hadrat Muhammad (PBUH), and sayings of Sultan Bahoo.

The creation of Human Being as explained in the Quran is from Allah’s Spirit:

“So, when I have made him and have breathed into him of My Spirit, do ye fall down, prostrating yourselves unto him.”

Hadrat Muhammad (PBUH) said:

“Narrated Abu Hurairah: Allah’s beloved Rasool said, Allah, said, ‘The offspring of Adam abuse Dahr (Time), and I am Dahr (Time); in My Hands are the night and the day!’”

According to Sultan Bahoo:

“Allah asked ‘Am I not your Rabb?’ to the spirits of 18000 universes”

From the above three statements, we can create a hypothesis that Time is the ultimate reality, and every living thing consists of Time.

Every living thing has a Body (not necessarily a solid visual body), and Time resides inside that living thing. The moment we came into existence our Time started with its first tick. By tick, we mean that our Time started passing. To understand it lets visualize it in this way: the tick is a clock’s hand, which at one end is attached to the center of the clock, and the length of the hand stays within the boundary of the clock. In the same way, our tick’s one end is attached to the center of our body which is the Time, and it stays within our Body. By the center of the body, we do not mean a physical central point of our body, neither there is a hand from the center of our body to the boundaries of our body. We have taken this visualization to understand Time. In this paper, we will call the tick inside us as time Hand.

The circular boundary is the Body, the red line coming from the center of the circle to the boundary is time Hand, and the red center of the circle is Time. Points are the starting and endpoint of the time Hand. point is the present state of time Hand. The area on the anti-clock-wise side between points to points are the past, and the area on their clock-wise side is the future.

According to the figure, when we come into existence our time and starts from points, and it travels all the way around till it reaches back to points. Once it reaches back to the starting point, our Time ends, and we no longer exist. The time it will take to complete its one round is our lifetime.

The speed of time and is variable, never steady and for now irreversible. The speed of time and depends on the energy in our body. The more the positive energy, the less the speed of time Hand, and vice-versa. When we eat, we get positive energy; that makes our time Hand’s movement slow, causing us to have more time to live. On the other hand, if we take in poison, it will act as negative energy for our body and will decrease our positive energy, causing time and to speed up, hence less time to live.

Consider another picture, if we do not take in negative energy, but stop taking in the positive energy as well, what will happen? Because our body and we didn’t stop consuming the positive energy available in the body, we will be gradually lowering the level of positive energy in us, causing time and to speed up and hence again less time to live. However, this effect of speeding up of time and will not be quicker compared to taking in of poison scenario. Two physical bodies when existing inside one another can have a positive or negative effect on either or both of them.