Sultan Bahoo The Life and Teachings/Shrine
Sultan-ul-Arifeen Sultan-ul-Faqr Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh was buried in Fort Qehrgan at the western bank of River Chanab. His shrine remained here for 78 years i.e. from 1102 Hijri till 1180 Hijri (1691 A.D-1767 A.D). When Jhunda Singh and Gunda Singh captured Lahore, descendents of Hazrat Sultan-ul-Arifeen migrated to different parts of Punjab. Only a few faqeers and khalifahs lived in the shrine. In 1180 Hijri (1767 A.D) River Chanab sank down the fort which fell afterwards. The river then reached the graves. Faqeers and khalifahs took out the other coffins and saved them in boxes except the coffin of Sultan-ul-Arifeen because it could not be found. Faqeers and khalifahs started crying in disappointment. Sultan-ul-Arifeen told them inwardly, “I will surely appear, a man who is capable of and deserves to touch my body, will come here tomorrow morning at sunrise. He will take out my coffin, river water will not reach here till then.” Dervishes were satisfied now and they started waiting for this supernatural incident to happen. Next morning, a man with a green veil appeared at the fixed time. He did not remove the veil and instantly took out the coffin of Sultan-ul-Arifeen from the earth that had been dug by the faqeers and khalifahs. Thousands of people gathered around and had the privilege of seeing the body of Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh, which was as fresh as alive, water of ablution was dropping from the sacred beard. When the box was opened the fragrance spread through miles. A lot of people present there went ecstatic and were frenzied. My Murshid Sultan-ul-Faqr VI Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Mohammad Asghar Ali Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh once said to me while talking about this incident, “That veiled person was Sultan-ul-Arifeen Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh himself.”
In Samandari, a small town near River Chanab, there was a boundary wall of a mansion near the well of peeple. Whoever entered this mansion, fainted, so much so that even the cattle and other animals could not enter it. People had left this area out of fear. That mansion was sacred, Sultan-ul-Arifeen ordered that his shrine should be made in that mansion near the well of peeple, as this place was near the old shrine and was fixed for his new shrine. So, the dervishes built his shrine in the centre of the mansion, which was to the west of the well. The coffin was not buried in the earth, rather it was placed on the floor and then shrine was made on it. Sultan-ul-Arifeen’s shrine remained here for 157 years i.e. from 1180 Hijri till 1336 Hijri (1767 A.D-1917 A.D).
According to the predictions of Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh, the water of River Chanab once again reached close to the sacred shrine in 1336 Hijri. At that time Sultan Haji Noor Mohammad Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh was the Superior of the shrine. When the Faqeers of the shrine tried to take out the coffin of Sultan-ul-Arifeen from his shrine, they found the other coffins of all the descendants of Sultan-ul-Arifeen who were buried around, but once again the coffin of Sultan-ul-Arifeen could not be found despite of great struggle, which worried everyone very much. However, since Allah has made him for the guidance of the whole creation, and has sent him as a benefactor of every Muslim and non-Muslim, fortunate and unfortunate in every age, and also as the true successor and the representative of Hazrat Mohammad Sall’Allahu Alayhi Wa’alihi Wasallam, in this critical age to guide the people and perform the religious duties, so he had to appear and his shrine had to be saved. There was some expedience in the concealment of his coffin at that time. So, he came in the dream of Hazrat Sultan Dost Mohammad Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh and ended the restlessness of the khalifahs by telling him to dig deeper from the place of shrine. Next day, when the land was dug from the said place, the signs of the coffin started appearing. When the earth was dug deeper, gusts of fragrance started blowing. That fragrance was out of this world. The coffin of Hazrat Sultan-ul-Arifeen was found but it had become impossible to stay there due to such an extreme fragrance. No one could stay inside the shrine for more than 15 minutes. The coffin was taken out with much difficulty. This fragrance was so lasting that it did not leave the dresses of these workers even when they were old and torn. The coffin of Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh was taken out before the 10th of Moharram 1336 Hijri (October 1917) and kept safe at the same shrine. The construction of the present shrine was started at a distance of 1 mile to the north western side of the old shrine. In six months time, the Mahal Sharif, the mosque and the closets which are now present around the mosque, were ready. Sultan-ul-Arifeen’s coffin was buried in the Mahal Sharif on Friday, April 1918.
The present shrine is situated in a populated area. The city Garh Maharaja is at a distance of two miles from the shrine, Ahmadpur Sial is in the south. In the east, there is the city of Shorekot across the River Jehlum and Chenab and the Muzzaffar Garh Road passes at the distance of one and a half mile towards the west. Nowadays, access to the shrine is very easy because of the concrete road. The pilgrims from Ahmadpur Sial and Garh Maharaja can easily approach the shrine, whenever they want.
Lacs of Seekers of The Divine Truth are benefitted from the shrine. It is a famous miracle of the shrine of Sultan-ul-Arifeen Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh that as soon as one enters it, tears start from one’s eyes automatically. This shrine is a source of Beneficence for the whole world. Wishes of thousands of Seekers and Lovers of Allah are blessed. Thousands of people had Divine experiences and reached the level of Sahib-e-Talqeen-o-Irshad by the attention of Hazrat Sultan-ul-Arifeen Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh and by the grace of his shrine. Lacs of miracles of this shrine are known. Sultan-ul-Arifeen’s shrine is free from any kind of wrong innovations. Hundreds of mystics remain in seclusion in the shrine for the sake of Vision of Allah. Once entered in the shrine, one does not want to come out of it. The Seekers of the Divine Truth and Reality are never returned empty handed from here.
Faqeers are actually those true and spiritually elevated mystics who are alive even after death and benefit people from their shrine.