Sultan Bahoo The Life and Teachings/The Spiritual Mentor of Sultan-ul-Arifeen-Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh
Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi is the Murshid of Sultan-ul-Arifeen Sultan-ul-Faqr Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh. He belonged to the progeny of Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani Razi Allah Anhu. Details about his life are hidden from the world just as details about other Mashaikh of Sarwari Qadri Order are hidden. They all do not like fame, so they keep themselves away from people. Thus, the details about their lives remain a secret. According to the writer of Manaqib-e-Sultani:
“Syed Abdul Rehman Dehlvi held a government post in Dehli and was the key holder and trustee of the royal treasury. He was provided with armed security and a safe place to live. When he met his disciples, he used to hide his face with a veil because people could not bear the effects of the Light of The Divine Reality and Majesty luminous on his sacred face. Thus, he held a great position in worldly life as well as in Faqr.”
This statement of Manaqib-e-Sultani gives rise to following confusions:
1.Since Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi held a great position in Faqr, many Seekers of Allah had been meeting him to reach the Divine Truth through his mediation. The Indian writers have also stated in their books that lacs of people were benefited through him. Had he been on a high government post, it would not have been possible because then, he must have been busy in doing his worldly duties. Moreover, none of the Indian historians have mentioned his name as a high royal official. Other Indian writers have mentioned just a few lines about him in reference to his shrine. If he was a high government official and incharge and trustee of the royal treasury, he must have contacts with all the members of the royal family, other officials and servants. In the reign of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb, dozens of historians were appointed to write each and every moment of the history but no one has ever mentioned his name as an important royal official, which seems absurd.
2.When Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo went to the mosque of Dehli immediately after meeting Syed Abdul Rehman, everyone in the mosque was affected by his attention except Aurangzeb, Qazi and Kotwal. Afterwards Aurangzeb requested Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo for the blessings. Hence, he wrote Risala Aurang Shahi for him. It is not possible that during this meeting, Aurangzeb had not asked him about his purpose of coming to Dehli, and he would not have told him that he had come to meet Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi. Had Syed Abdul Rehman been a government official, Aurengzeb would have recognized him immediately and must have added him to his special advisors.
3.To cover the face had never been a tradition of Sarwari Qadri Mashaikh. This act makes a person more famous and known among people, while Sarwari Qadri mentors never like fame and prefer to remain unknown. They also prefer to keep away from the rulers and like to remain among common people.
4.His shrine is in old Dehli at a long distance from Lahori Darwaza. Adjacent to the shrine is Shah Abdul Rehman Mosque. This also shows that he did not live inside the fort. Rather, he always lived among common people and blessed them with his benevolence.
All the above arguments prove that the writer of Manaqib-e-Sultani has not researched before writing the above statement about Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani, nor did he travel to Dehli to confirm it. He only wrote what he listened from someone in the family without confirmation.
In 1934, Syed Tajamal Shah Naqvi Achvi’s book “Bagh-e-Sadaat” was published. Its second edition was published in 1947. Now this book is rare, although it is confirmed that its first edition was published in 1934 as its reference is present in Sharif-ul-Tawareekh, which was also published in 1934 after it. On page 61 of “Bagh-e-Sadaat”, the family lineage of Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani is given as:
- Ghaus-ul-Azam Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani Razi Allah Anhu
- Syed Abdul Razzaq Jilani Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh
- Abu Saleh Nasar
- Syed Yaseen
- Syed Ahmad Shah
- Syed Abdul Qadir
- Syed Abdul Latif
- Syed Abdul Rehman, commonly known by the name of Bholoo Shah buried in Dehli, mentor of Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh.
This lineage continues as:
- Pir Habib Shah
- Pir Rajab Shah
- Abdullah
- Mohammad Shah
- Pir Allah Baksh
- Pir Karum Shah
- Hazoor Shah
- Noor Shah
- Zaman Shah
It is written in “Mazaraat-e-Auliya-e-Dehli”:
“He (Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi) was amongst the great and authoritative saints. He was the disciple and khalifah of Syed Abdul Jalil Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh in Qadria Order and the Murshid of Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh, who is the famous saint of Punjab. Syed Abdul Rehman Dehlvi was a Man of Divine Powers and had a miraculous personality. His shrine is in the compound behind the waiting room of railway station Sadar Bazar. He died between the last days of the reign of Shah Jahan and the beginning of Alamgir’s reign. The exact date and year of death is not known. (First edition, published in Dehli, 1927)
The books written after this book have extracted details about Syed Abdul Rehman Dehlvi from this book. In “Rehnuma-e-Maqamat-e-Muqaddas Dehli” it is written about the shrine of Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi:
“His shrine is adjacent to Sadar Station Dehli. He is from the progeny of Syed Abdul Qadir Jilani Razi Allah Anhu. He was a great saint. The famous saint of Punjab Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo was his Khalifah-e-Azam . It was due to his saintly powers that his shrine was saved by the government. With the construction of the road and the railway track, the government also tiled its compound, made an iron fence around it and made a pavement to reach the shrine.” (Published in 1914 in Dehli)
Doctor Ghulam Yahya Anjum writes in “Tareekh Mashaikh Qadria” (vol:III):
“Hazrat Syed Shaikh Abdul Rehman Gillani Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh was one of the most eminent saints of Dehli. His genealogy traces back to Hazrat Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani Razi Allah Anhu. He was distinguished in piety and mysticism and held a high position in revelations and miracles. Syed Abdul Rehman Gillani Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh received the Beneficence of Qadria way from Syed Abdul Jaleel Rehmat-ul-Allah Alayh, whose disciple he was, in the said way. The Qadria way flourished in and around Dehli due to him. Countless Men of Allah became his disciples and he blessed many of them with Khilafat and Ijazat . The famous saint Hazrat Sakhi Sultan Bahoo was also his disciple.” (Published in 2006 in Dehli)