The Status of Sultan ul Faqr

In Light of Teachings of Sultan Bahoo

Sultan ul Arifeen Sultan Bahoo is stationed at the extremely exalted spiritual status of ‘Sultan ul Faqr’. He says in Risala Roohi Sharif:

Know! When the Divine light of Ahad (The One) coming out of His isolated Oneness, intended to manifest Himself in multiplicity, He graced (all the worlds) with the splendid disclosure of His Pure Divine beauty. Both the realms started burning like a moth on the candle of His blazing beauty. Then, the light of Ahad concealed in the veil of ‘M’ of Ahmad and manifested Himself as Ahmad. He then shook Himself seven times due to the abundance of Divine passion and will, with that seven purgated souls of Fakirs, annihilated in Allah, immortal with Allah, absorbed in Divine Vision, all core without any flesh or body, drowned in the unfathomed ocean of Divine beauty appeared on the eternal tree of pure transparent belief, seventy thousand years before the birth of Adam.

Neither did they see anything except the Divine Essence since pre-existence till eternity, nor did they hear anyone other than Allah. They ever remained like an ocean of union in Divine sanctuary which has no decline. At times, they endeavour for sanctity and transcendence with their body of light. Sometimes they are a drop in the ocean and sometimes the ocean in a drop. They are blessed with the cover of beneficence of, “When Faqr is accomplished that is Allah.” Hence, they have got an eternal life and are honoured and exalted with the crown of, “Faqr demands nothing from Allah or anyone other than Allah.” Neither they are aware of the birth of Adam nor about the occurrence of the doomsday. They have their feet on the heads of all the Saints, Ghawth and Qutb.

Sultan ul Faqr Resides in Divine Sanctuary

It is absolutely correct to call them god, and if you call them men of God, that is fine too. Only those who recognise them know this secret. Their station is the Divine sanctuary of the Magnificent. They never asked Allah for anything except Allah Himself. They never paid heed to the petty world, the blessings of the hereafter or the houris and castles of the heaven. The single Divine theophany that perplexed Prophet Moses and crushed Mount Sinai into pieces, the same theophany of Divine Passion and light of the Essence descend on them seventy thousand times every moment, yet they do not object or lament. Rather they say, “Is there any more?” They are the Sultan ul Faqr (King of Faqr) and lord of all the worlds.

These sacred souls are seven. Revealing their names, Sultan Bahoo says:

Stability of the Universes Owes to Sultan ul Faqr Souls

Until and unless these two souls manifest in the world of diversity, coming out of the abode of Oneness, the doomsday would not occur. Their sight is absolute Divine light of Unity and the alchemy of honour. On whomsoever the reflection of their hidden reality is cast, his whole being is transformed into absolute light. They do not need to engage their disciples in the struggle of apparent daily recitals and mystic exercises.

The Reality of Sultan ul Faqr

Whilst explaining the reality of Sultan ul Faqr, Sultan Bahoo says:

Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) met Sultan ul Faqr on the night of Miraj in the court of Allah. He embraced it and as a result the whole being of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) turned into Faqr. (Jamia ul Asrar)

On the night of Miraj, the Prophet (pbuh) mounted al-Buraq (heavenly steed) and the Archangel Gabriel escorted him. He decorated the whole universe and eighteen thousand realms and presented them before him. In spite of all the aforementioned arrangements, the Prophet remained engrossed in beholding Allah, nothing drew his attention away. Hence Allah said:

مَا زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ وَمَا طَغَى

Meaning: His eye neither inclined aside nor overstepped the limit. (53: 17)

Allah Conferred the Status Sultan ul Faqr Upon Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)

The same situation was maintained throughout the higher and lower stations. That is why he reached the station of extreme nearness to Allah (qab qausain) and there only remained a thin veil like the membrane of an onion between the two. When the beloved came absolutely nearest there was the Divine call, “O My beloved! I sacrificed both the worlds upon you and let you have the view of the eighteen thousand worlds of both the realms. What in these worlds do you like the most that I may grant you?” The Holy Prophet replied, “O Allah! Confer Faqr upon me because nothing has such nearness and annihilation in You as Faqr has and such a closeness cannot be attained through anything else.” This very Faqr is Sultan-ul-Faqr. The person who beholds Faqr exoterically and esoterically becomes a man of Divine command and the Mohammadan Reality dominates him…..

Allah said, “O Mohammad! I conferred the status of Sultan-ul-Faqr upon you and the People of Cloak as well as upon the Fakirs and the pure and pious followers of your umma.” The Holy Prophet thanked Allah thousand times. (Jamia-ul-Asrar)

The Grandeur of Sultan ul Faqr

Whilst describing the grandeur and glory of Sultan-ul-Faqr, Sultan Bahoo says in his Persian writings:

• The Divine light of Sultan-ul-Faqr is brighter than the sun and its scent is more fragrant than the scent of rose and ambergris. Whoever has the privilege to behold Sultan-ul-Faqr in dream, becomes independent of all desires. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) takes oath of allegiance from him and guides and educates him esoterically. My words are according to my experience. (Kaleed-ul-Tauheed Kalan)

• Only one out of thousands acquires the real gnosis of Sultan-ul-Faqr by attaining the union of exact Divine beauty being blessed with the highest levels of Faqr and witnessing it personally. Mostly people just guise themselves as the people of Faqr. Only one in thousands truly accomplishes in Faqr. What exactly is Faqr? Faqr is the Divine light whose name is Sultan-ul-Faqr that is always desirable in the court of Allah and favoured by Him. (Ameer-ul-Kaunain)

• Only he is blessed with the company of Khidr who meets the spiritual Khidr. Sultan-ul-Faqr is the real spiritual Khidr. One who meets him forgets the superficial knowledge because the theophany of esoteric knowledge, the light of gnosis and Oneness of Allah fill his spiritual self to such an extent that he ever remains engrossed in the Divine presence of nearness and union. (Mehak-ul-Faqr Kalan)

Clarification of a Misconception

People usually raise an objection that in Risala Roohi Sharif among all the Saints of the world only seven sacred souls are honoured with the glorious title of Sultan-ul-Faqr and the leader of the worlds (Sayyid-ul-Kaunain). Why the sacred Companions, Hasan ibn Ali, Husayn ibn Ali, Imams, religious leaders and other Saints have not been included among them?

Let us try to answer this objection rationally and logically. There are several fields of knowledge and skill that have no comparison to each other. For example, someone may be an expert in Economics and Accounting whereas the other has the knack in Physics, Chemistry or Biology. Some have perfection in cricket or hockey and the others are experts in journalism, calligraphy etc. This means, in every field, there are specialists and the men of perfection and every man possesses a particular skill. Thus, there is no comparison or competition among experts of different skills. For instance, one cannot compare a doctor to a professional sportsperson.

Similarly, in the spiritual world there are many fields and different kinds of ranks, perfections and marvels. Some Mystics are famous for truth, some for gratitude, some for their justice and self-accountability. Others are famous for their modesty and self-honour; worship and adoration; patience and renunciation; ascetic discipline and mystic practices, and some for beneficence and generosity. Hence among the Prophets, Jesus Christ was best known for devotions, Prophet David was superior as a slave of Allah and Prophet Job was the most patient. It means every Prophet was a person of perfection in a particular esoteric quality and rank.

Sultan Bahoo Describes the Grandeur of Faqr

Faqr is a special spiritual rank and a marvel. In comparison to it, there is neither any marvel nor any rank. Allah granted this Divine treasure exclusively and perfectly to our lord Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) among all the other Prophets. Regarding Faqr, neither any Prophet nor any Messenger of Allah is a peer in status to the Holy Prophet. That is why he expressed his pride in Faqr. Due to it, he is exalted, distinguished and eminent among all the Prophets and Messengers. It is worth considering that he was perfect in all the physical and spiritual marvels. Yet, he was neither proud of his bravery, generosity, piety, patience, renunciation, trust in Allah nor of his eloquence but he expressed pride only in Faqr. It means that Faqr is his asset and legacy.

In short, there are countless spiritual stations and ranks like truthfulness, loyalty, justice, accountability of innerself, modesty, companionship, leadership, martyrdom, fiqh, exegesis, sainthood, levels of al-Ghawth and al-Qutb, piety, patience, gratitude, submission, fear of Allah, optimism, generosity, kindness, knowledge, bravery, affection etc. However Faqr is the most superior and elevated status. Rather, it should be said that Faqr encompasses all of them or to say, it is the fount of all these virtuous attributes.

Answering Common Objections

Given below is the debate on the objections relating to the status of Sultan-ul-Faqr raised by some ignorant people who have no spiritual insight. They object that:

1. Among these seven sacred personalities, the gateway to Faqr (Bab-e-Faqr) and the leader of Faqr Ali ibn Abi Talib is not included who is the leader of the Qadri, Chishti and Suhrawardi chains and these chains connect to the Holy Prophet (pbuh) through him.
2. Has Faqr not been transferred to the leader of the truthful, Abu Bakr Siddiq? He is Holy Prophet’s friend of the cave and through him the Naqshbandi chain reaches the Holy Prophet.
3. Has it not been transferred to the other two pious Caliphs, Umar ibn Khattab and Usman ibn Affan?
4. Did the Holy Prophet (pbuh) not bestow the legacy of Faqr upon the leaders of the lovers of Allah, Husayn ibn Ali and Hasan ibn Ali?
5. Has Faqr not been granted to other Companions of the Holy Prophet who are the most exalted persons of the umma?
6. Have all the interpreters of sharia and other Saints not been endowed with Faqr?

Faqr and the Rashidun Caliphs

Sultan ul Arifeen Sultan Bahoo himself has answered these objections in his writings. He states that there are four spiritual leaders:

صدیقؓ صدق و عدل عمرؓ و پُر حیا عثمانؓ بود

گوئی فقرش از پیغمبرؐ شاہِ مردانؓ می ربود

Explanation: From the Holy Prophet, Abu Bakr Siddiq got the attribute of truthfulness, Umar ibn Khattab got justice, Usman ibn Affan got modesty and Ali ibn Abi Talib received Faqr. (Ain-ul-Faqr, Mehak-ul-Faqr Kalan)

He further says:

The seeker must recognise the four spiritual leaders. Leader of the truthful is Abu Bakr Siddiq, leader of the just people is Umar ibn Khattab, leader of the modest people is Usman ibn Affan and the leader of Fakirs is Ali ibn Abi Talib. (Jamia-ul-Asrar)

Sultan Bahoo states in these extracts that the asset and legacy of the Holy Prophet ‘Faqr’ was transferred to Ali ibn Abi Talib. He is the gateway to Faqr (Bab-e-Faqr) and the one who transfers Faqr. Moreover, Abu Bakr Siddiq, Umar ibn Khattab and Usman ibn Affan received the highest levels of truthfulness, justice and modesty, respectively. Therefore, there is no need to pay any heed to such objections.

Sultan Bahoo Describes Attributes of Seeker

Sultan Bahoo says that the seeker of Allah should be like Abu Bakr Siddiq in truthfulness. In justice and accountability of the innerself he should follow Umar ibn Khattab. In modesty, he should follow the footsteps of Usman ibn Affan and as regards Faqr, he should be like Ali ibn Abi Talib. Until one equally acquires these four levels, he cannot gain perfection in Faqr. Sultan Bahoo calls them four leaders because Faqr is accomplished esoterically by their spiritual attention. Yet the gateway to Faqr is only Ali ibn Abi Talib. The meaning of spiritual attention of four leaders is clarified in the following incident of the oath of allegiance of Sultan Bahoo:

The next moment, Sultan Bahoo found himself in the Mohammadan Assembly. At that time Abu Bakr Siddiq, Umar ibn Khattab and Usman ibn Affan were also present in the company of the People of Cloak. First of all, Abu Bakr Siddiq met Sultan Bahoo and left the celestial assembly after paying his spiritual attention. Afterwards Umar and Usman met him one by one, blessed with their spiritual attention and left the assembly. Only the People of Cloak stayed there.

Sultan Bahoo Pledged Allegiance Directly to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)

Sultan Bahoo further recounts, “It seemed from the sacred face of Ali that the lord of universe, the Holy Prophet will assign my oath taking to Ali as he was my very first source and accomplished guide on the path of Faqr but he remained silent. After a moment Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) raised his both hands towards me and ordered, “Hold my hands.” Then I pledged allegiance to him and he blessed me with Divine persuasion. He instructed me to recite shahada. When I recited it, at once there remained no veils of ranks and stations. The pre-existence and the eternity became one for me.

After I was honoured by the persuasion of the Holy Prophet, the queen of paradise Fatimah-tuz-Zahra said to me, ‘You are my spiritual son.’ Then I kissed the feet of sacred leaders Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali and entered the circle of their slavery.” (Manaqib-e-Sultani)

After reading this extract of Sultan Bahoo the objection that the four Rashidun Caliphs are not mentioned at the status of Sultan-ul-Faqr should vanish. It must also be understood that Faqr is not accomplished without the attention of the four spiritual leaders Abu Bakr Siddiq, Umar, Usman and Ali.

Prophet Mohammad Transferred Faqr to his Umma

In short, Allah conferred the greatest blessing of Faqr upon the Holy Prophet at the night of Miraj. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) granted this blessing to the glorious queen of paradise, Fatimah-tuz-Zahra. And he conferred the robe of Faqr to Ali ibn Abi Talib. Faqr transferred to Mohammadan umma only through Ali. Then Hasan ibn Ali, Husayn ibn Ali and the Companions found Faqr. Among the whole umma of the Prophet, six other personalities were chosen. They were crowned with a special rank in Faqr; Sultan-ul-Faqr. Sultan Bahoo describes their peculiar signs as below.

Their sight is absolutely the Divine light of Unity and the alchemy of honour. On whomsoever the reflection of their hidden reality is cast his whole being is transformed into absolute light. They do not need to engage their disciples in the struggle of superficial daily recitals and mystic exercises. (Risala Roohi Sharif)

It means they do not engage the seekers of Allah in the hard work of daily recitals or forty days seclusions. Rather their glance itself is a Divine light. On whomever it is cast, he also becomes the Divine light.

I had to discuss this issue in detail because I have often faced such queries. Moreover, such questions keep arising in people’s minds particularly those with superficial mind-set. Hopefully, the aforementioned discussion, would clarify the misperceptions. Although, one thing must be kept in mind that the complete authority of Faqr is with the Holy Prophet because Faqr is his true asset and the People of Cloak are the real inheritors of this heritage and its conveyors.

Note:

This is an English translation of Urdu blog  مرتبہ سلطان الفقر – حضرت سخی سلطان باھو کی تعلیمات کی روشنی میں which appeared in January 2022 issue of the Mahnama Sultan ul Faqr Magazine, Lahore. It is an excerpt from Shams ul Fuqara written by the Universal Divine Man of this era and the present Shaikh of the Sarwari Qadri order, Sultan ul Ashiqeen Sultan Mohammad Najib ur Rehman. The English translation of Shams ul Fuqara (Sufism – The Soul of Islam) is available both in printed form as well as a pdf copy that can be downloaded from the Sultan ul Faqr Publications website.

Questions:

What is the status of Sultan ul Faqr?

Sultan ul Faqr enjoys an extremely exalted spiritual status. Faqr is a special spiritual rank and a marvel. In comparison to it, there is neither any marvel nor any rank. Amongst all the spiritual ranks, Faqr is the most superior and elevated status. Rather, it should be said that Faqr encompasses all of them or to say, it is the fount of all these virtuous attributes.

Who is Sultan ul Faqr?

Sultan ul Faqr is the Saint who has accomplished Faqr in its entirety. Faqr is a special spiritual rank and a marvel. In comparison to it, there is neither any marvel nor any rank. Allah granted this Divine treasure exclusively and perfectly to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) among all the other Prophets. Regarding Faqr, neither any Prophet nor any Messenger of Allah is a peer in status to the Holy Prophet. That is why he expressed his pride only on Faqr. It is worth considering that he was perfect in all the physical and spiritual marvels. Yet he was neither proud of his bravery, generosity, piety, patience, renunciation, trust in Allah nor of his eloquence. But he expressed pride only in Faqr. It means Faqr is his asset and legacy.

In short, there are countless spiritual stations and ranks. Such as truthfulness, loyalty, justice, accountability of innerself, modesty, companionship, leadership, martyrdom, fiqh, exegesis, sainthood. The levels of al-Ghawth and al-Qutb, piety, patience, gratitude, submission, fear of Allah, optimism, generosity, kindness, knowledge, bravery, affection etc. However Faqr is the most superior and elevated status. Rather, it should be said that Faqr encompasses all of them or to say, it is the fount of all these virtuous attributes.