Sultan ul Ashiqeen A Perfect Fakir

Sultan ul Ashiqeen – A perfect Murshid and Fakir of Sarwari Qadri order

In the present era, Sultan ul Ashiqeen is the perfect Fakir of the Sarwari Qadri order. Undoubtedly, company of Fakir cleanses the esoteric self of a person, ultimately leading to the gnosis of Allah. One can say that company of a Fakir is as necessary as the water is for life.

What does Fakeer mean?

Fakir meaning “poverty”, is a Sufi term and is derived from Arabic word Faqr. It refers to the man of Allah who is completely engrossed in the vision of Allah and with their spiritual attention purifies the inward of the seeker of Allah. As Rumi says:

Meaning: The spiritual sight of a perfect Fakir purifies more than the water does. In fact, water only purifies outwardly whereas spiritual sight of a Fakir purifies inwardly from sin.

Quran Commands to Follow Fakir

Allah Almighty in Quran also commands to follow Fakir as after Prophet Mohammad they are guiding people to follow the Sunna of Prophet. Allah says in Quran:

اَطِیْعُوا اللّٰہَ وَ اَطِیْعُوا الرَّسُوْلَ وَ اُولِی الْاَمْرِ مِنْکُمْ

Meaning: Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those (men of truth) who hold command among you.

Man of Command

According to the teachings of Sultan Bahoo, the men with command are the ones whose command is not barred. Here he is referring to Fakir. Because the tongue of Fakir is the sword of Allah. When he says, ‘be it’, it is done right away according to the will of Allah. The Fakir with such commanding power is in fact the Universal Divine Man, whose command dominates everything.

He says in Risala Roohi Sharif:

عارف کامل قادری بہر قدرتے قادر و بہر مقام حاضر ۔ رسالہ روحی شریف

Meaning: Arif Kamil Qadri (the Universal Divine Man) is omnipotent and omnipresent.

Status of Fakir

Allah grants honor of Universal Divine Man to the perfect Fakir when he reaches the level of  مُوْتُوْا قَبْلَ اَنْ تَمُوْتُوْا (Death before dying) as mentioned in the hadith.

After this he attains the extreme level of Faqr which is annihilation in Hoo. This level is also called the level of Divine Oneness, annihilation in Allah and immortality with Allah or the level of Divine union.

Indeed, this is the most exalted level where once man reaches becomes ‘tawhid’ (One with Allah). As at this level the Fakir’s own self is vanished and Allah eliminates the difference of “You and Me”. At this level he reaches the state of Divine Unity.

About this level Ameer Khusro says:

من تو شدم تو من شدی من تن شدم تو جان شدی

تا کس نگوید بعد ازیں من دیگرم تو دیگری

Explanation: I became you and you became me. In fact, you became soul of my body. Now no one can say that I am someone else or you are someone else. As we are both the same. (Shams Fuqara)

How to Reach the level of Divine Oneness?

In the following Qudsi Hadith, Allah describes the process by which a seeker and Lover of Allah reaches the level of Divine Oneness. In fact, it is the extraordinary journey of Fakir:

مَنْ طَلَبَنِیْ فَقَدْ وَجَدَنِیْ وَ مَنْ وَجَدَنِیْ عَرَفَنِیْ وَ مَنْ عَرَفَنِیْ اَحَبَّنِیْ وَ مَنْ اَحَبَّنِیْ عَشَقَنِیْ وَ مَنْ عَشَقَنِیْ قَتَلْتُہٗ وَ مَنْ قَتَلْتُہٗ فَعَلَیَّ دِیَّتَہٗ وَ اَنَا دَیَّتَہٗ

Meaning: Whoever seeks Me, undoubtedly finds Me and whoever finds Me, he recognizes Me. Thus, whoever recognizes Me, he begins to Love Me. And whoever loves Me, he becomes My Lover. Whoever Loves Me passionately, I kill him and whomever I kill, his compensation is due on Me and I am Myself his compensation.

The above mentioned Qudsi Hadith verifies that the Divine Self of Allah appears in the perfect Fakir. Therefore, it is must for the seekers of Allah to attain the knowledge of gnosis of Allah from such perfect Fakir. As such Fakir is well aware of all the obstacles and ups and downs of this path of Righteousness.

Attributes of Perfect Fakir

Sultan ul Faqr Sultan Bahoo describes the qualities and attributes of a perfect Fakir in his several books. We have given reference of his books to explain Fakir in which he explains the attributes of Fakir. He also describes Fakir as someone who holds the status of Universal Divine Man. In fact, his books are an ultimate source of guidance for people travelling the path of Faqr or the ones who are in search of the perfect Fakir to travel the path of Faqr.

Here we have extracted some of the attributes of the Fakir from the books of Sultan Bahoo.

The Fakir whom Allah blesses with the following attributes and powers is the true Fakir/Faqeer while the one deprived of them is a liar.

A true Fakir possesses five (spiritual) treasures and five kinds of wisdom such that each wisdom contains fifty thousand kinds of knowledge and each knowledge contains fifty five kinds of Sainthood, fifty five kinds of bestowals and fifty five kinds of contemplations. The meditation accompanied with contemplation and spiritual attention (of the Murshid) is the key to everlasting proximity and union with Allah. As it takes the seeker from the preexistence to eternity in just a moment and grants him the state of observation of Divine presence.

Stages of Faqr:

Sultan Bahoo describes the different stages of Fakir as follows:

The first stage of Faqr is annihilation after annihilation, the second stage is to gain immortality after immortality and the third and final stage is to become One with Allah. What do we mean by annihilation, immortality and becoming One with Allah? A person cannot exemplify the Oneness with Allah with anything while the stages of annihilation and immortality comply with this verse:

یُخْرِجُ الْحَیَّ مِنَ الْمَیِّتِ وَیُخْرِجُ الْمَیَّتَ مِنَ الْحَیِّ

Meaning: He brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living. (Al-Rome-19)

Authorities of Fakeer

The level of annihilation is that the perfect Murshid can annihilate the whole Universe in a single moment, and immortality means that he can give life to the world in just a moment. Owing to his level of یُحْیِ الْقَلْبَ وَیُمِیْتُ النَّفْسَ (He gives life to the inward and death to the an-nafs).  Also, Allah empowers him to convert non-existent to existent, hardship into ease, desolation into population, tranquility into perplexity.

The aforementioned are the authorities of the Fakir who is an enlightened ruler over both the worlds and all the creations because a true Fakir is enthroned at the level of اِنَّ اللّٰہَ عَلٰی کُلِّ شَیْئٍ قَدِیْر (Verily, Allah is dominant over everything). The whole world is under his command. This is the level of اِذَا تَمَّ الْفَقْرُ فَھُوَ اللّٰہ  meaning: “When Faqr is accomplished that is Allah”. The Fana Fillah Fakir possessing these attributes is like Rabia of Bassra and Bayazid Bastami. He holds the key of both the worlds due to his ultimate (marifat) gnosis of Divine Oneness.

Who grants Invocation of Ism e Allah Zaat?

The perfect Fakir, the Universal Divine Man is Sahib-e Musamma Murshid (the man of Divine Essence). Also he is the perfect spiritual guide, Nur ul Huda (the light of Divine guidance) and the holder of the trust of Allah and the treasure of Faqr. Furthermore, he is not only the Imam of his era but also the representative of Prophet Mohammad. He is at such an exalted status that he grants the invocation of “Hoo” to the seekers of Allah on day one of oath of allegiance and sanctifies their innerself by giving life to their dead souls.

Who is the Perfect Fakeer of the Present Era?

Sultan ul Ashiqeen is the spiritual descendant of Sultan Bahoo and the present Shaikh / Fakir of the Sarwari Qadri order. Undoubtedly, he is the center of Faqr and is spreading the spiritual benevolence of Sultan Bahoo. Prophet Mohammad said:

مَنْ مَاتَ وَ لَمْ یَعْرِفُ اِمَامِ زَمَانَۃَ مَاتَ مَیْتَۃٌ جَاہِلِیَّۃٌ

 Meaning: “one who fails to recognize the imam of era dies the death of an ignorant.”

In the aforementioned Hadith, imam of era refers to the perfect Fakir who is the representative of Prophet Mohammad. Actually, he is on the footstep of holy Prophet and is ever present in the Mohammadan assembly. Thus, it is mandatory on the seeker of Allah to seek the path of Righteousness from such perfect Fakir. As he is annihilated in Divine Oneness and holds the an-Nur of Ism-e-Allah Zaat.

Power of Fakir

Sultan Bahoo says:

The people of lust are totally unaware of the powers of Fakir. He can annihilate the whole world in a moment by his single glance. And he does this by the order of Allah and permission of the Holy Prophet. Since the Fakir who is blessed with Divine presence and immersed in Divine Oneness possesses the an-Nur of dhikr of Ism-e-Allah and powers of all the Divine attributes of al-Jalal (Divine majesty) and al-Jamal (Divine beauty) so none of his actions and deeds are without the Divine wisdom.

Sultan ul Ashiqeen, undoubtedly holds the aforementioned attributes and qualities which verifies that he is the spiritual descendent of Sultan Bahoo. He is a source of kindness for the seekers of Allah. Because of his benevolence and compassion, millions of seekers attained gnosis of Allah. Indeed, he holds the key to the treasure of Faqr and the only center of Faqr in the present era. The perfect spiritual guide of Sarwari Qadri has the power to take the seeker of Allah to the Mohammadan assembly with his single spiritual glance. Also with his spiritual attention, he engrosses the seeker in the Divine observation. He does not waste the time of seeker in hard mystic exercises like forty-day seclusion.

How can the inward of Seeker of Allah be Transformed?

Sultan Bahoo says the following about the perfect Fakir/ Murshid:

Murshid Kamil is like a Paras (philosopher’s) stone and also like a touchstone. In fact, his glance is beneficent like the sun which changes all the bad qualities of the seeker into good one. Not only that but he is like a dyer (who changes the inward color of seeker by diverting his attention from worldliness to Allah). Murshid is a well-informed person and is aware of all the qualities of a seeker just like a betel leaf chooser is aware of the qualities of betel leaves. As Sultan Bahoo says:

 آہن کہ بپارس آشنا شد

فی الحال بصورتِ طلا شد

Meaning: The iron which touches Paras stone, at once turns into gold. (Ain-ul-Faqr)

At another occasion, Sultan Bahoo says:

   باھُو مرشدانِ این زمانہ زر بگیر

ہر کہ نظرش زر کند آن بے نظیر

Meaning: O’ Bahoo! The Murshids of this age want to grab more and more wealth. The Murshid whose glance can turn soil into gold (i.e. a common person into a lover and beloved of Allah) is rare.

Sultan Bahoo also said:

باھوؒ از سرتا پا تجلی گشت نوری

من ازاں نورم کہ از من ظہوری

Meaning: Bahoo has completely transformed into a theophany of an-Nur. I am an-Nur because I manifest the Divine an-Nur. (Ain-ul-Faqr)

Sultan ul Ashiqeen Sanctifies the inward of the Seekers of Allah

Sultan ul Ashiqeen with his spiritual attention is purifying and sanctifying the inward of the seekers of Allah. He is also eliminating the love of the world and worldliness from their inward. Undoubtedly, he is at a supreme status and accomplished spiritual guide. He is like a shady tree for his disciples, he endures the severity of the weathers himself and provides shade and comfort to those under his guidance. Also with a single glance he makes the seeker forget all his outward knowledge and acquaints him with both worlds. Furthermore, he grants knowledge to an ignorant person with just his one glance. Sultan ul Ashiqeen is the actual Mard e Momin (the true believer) which Iqbal refers to in his poetry. As Allama Iqbal says:

مردِ میدان زندہ از اللہ ھُو است

زیرِ پائے او جہانِ چار سُو است

Explanation: The Universal Divine Man is alive due to Ism e Allah Zaat. And all the worlds are under his footsteps.

What is the Spiritual Authority of Perfect Fakir?

Sultan Bahoo describes the spiritual authority of the perfect Fakir in the following words:

باھوؒ بہر از خدا این راہنما

گر بیائی میرسانم باخدا

Meaning: O’ Bahoo! For Allah’s sake be a guide on this way and cut the head from the neck.

A Perfect Fakeer takes a Seeker to Allah

When a Murshid remembers any of his disciples by taking his name and blesses him with his spiritual attention, he instantly takes that disciple to the Divine presence and grants him the gnosis, closeness and vision of Allah, conferring upon him the Meraj (accession to Allah). Then the disciple becomes favourite of Allah forever. It is obligatory upon the Murshid to take his true disciple to this level of Divine presence. In fact, the Murshid grants his desirable disciple the skill of panacea alchemy and Dawat of Takseer, so that Allah reveals upon him all the treasures hidden in the earth as well as the treasures of Allah.

The Perfect Fakeer can Elevate the Seeker Spiritually

Whomsoever the perfect Murshid considers a capable seeker, raises his level to a Saint and grants him ranks higher than the kings. In the view of Fakirs, a king is just a beggar and indigent. The seeker whom the Murshid grants contemplation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat, gains unveiled insight and command over the whole Solomon empire. In fact, the perfect Murshid makes his true disciple proficient in every practice and alchemy and makes him so generous and powerful by giving him the Paras stone that the king of his time becomes a loyal slave to him and spends his whole life in his obedience.

من غنی ام بادشاہ ہم باخدا

بادشاہ در نظر من مفلس گدا

Meaning: Owing to my Oneness with Allah, I am the generous king of both the worlds. In fact, the worldly king is like a beggar for me.

احتیاجے نیست ما را سیم و زر

غالبم باموسیٰؑ غالب بر خضر

Meaning: I do not need any worldly wealth, by the Grace of Allah, as I am spiritually more powerful than Moses and Khidr.

ہر تصرف از تصور بردہ ایم

کونین را در حکم خود آوردہ ایم

Meaning: By the power of contemplation of Ism-e-Allah Zaat, I have gained every authority and taken both the worlds under my command.

ہر کرا مرشد شود آن راہبر

حاضر و ناظر بود صاحب ِ خبر

Meaning: One who is guided by the perfect Murshid, gains Divine presence and vision and becomes a man of awareness. (Ameer ul Kaunain)

Perfect Murshid is the Mirror of his Disciple

Sultan Bahoo elaborates this in the following words:

“Murshid is like a mirror.”

Also the holy Prophet (pbuh) said:

Meaning: Momin is a mirror of other Momin.

Thus, there is not any fault in the mirror, it shows the things exactly as they are, black as black, red as red and yellow as yellow. The Murshid first verifies the intention of the seeker that whether he truly seeks Allah or anything other than Allah. Then he takes the seeker of the Truth to the Truth and he leaves the seeker of falsehood with the falsehood. (Ain-ul-Faqr)

A Perfect Fakir is Always with Allah

Sultan Bahoo further says in Sultan ul Waham:

Insan-e-Kamil is the one whose outward self is engaged with the creation but inward is engrossed in the Creator. As he is actually stationed in the LaHoot which is the hidden world. His sees the reality with his inward. That is why he is called Hazrat Khums. As he is present in all five worlds simultaneously (which is Ahdiyat, LaHoot, Jabrut, Malakut and Nasut).

This shows that Allah has conferred unlimited treasures under the footsteps of a perfect Fakir. His step is on the heads of the kings of this world. In fact, Fakir is the secret of Allah. (Sultan ul Waham)

 Secret of Allah

Fakir is the secret of Allah whose heart and soul is completely engrossed in Divine love. What would crows know about the state of the falcon Arifs (knower of Allah). (Qurb e Deedar)

Why would a seeker of world ever need the perfect Fakir? As he is engrossed in his man-made world. Only those can reach the perfect Fakir who can desire to seek him. The perfect Fakir is so engrossed in the sea of Oneness and Divine love that he is oblivious to the fact whether someone recognizes him or not. As my perfect spiritual guide Sultan ul Ashiqeen says the following:

“A perfect Fakir is oblivious to reverence or humiliation. He does not care whether someone believes him or not.”

A Fakir Needs Nothing But Allah

• A perfect Fakir is the one in which a seeker of Allah can see the unveiled soul of Quran.
• In the sight of Fakir, no one holds any special rank or status but Allah.

Sultan ul Ashiqeen As Perfect Fakir

Undoubtedly, all the aforementioned attributes are absolutely present in the sacred self of Sultan ul Ashiqeen. He is so engrossed in the ocean of Divine Oneness that is beyond the understanding of a common person. However, he can unveil his Divine reality in whomsoever he wants. He dedicated his life to spread the message of Allah. Just like Sultan Bahoo wrote almost 140 books, similarly, Sultan ul Ashiqeen has also written and compiled so many books. In fact, keeping in mind the needs of the present era, he has used all social media platforms to spread the message of Faqr around the world.

May Allah grant the Muslim Umma with the benevolence and guidance of Sultan ul Ashiqeen so under his supervision the Muslim Umma can recognize and understand the true spirit of the Mohammadan religion. Ameen.

Ending Note:

This article was published in the August 2020 issue of Mahnama Sultan-ul-Faqr Lahore (monthly Urdu magazine of Tehreek Dawat-e-Faqr) titled as سلطان العاشقین بطورِ فقیر ِ کامل اکمل  – حضرت سخی سلطان باھُوؒ کی تعلیمات کی روشنی میں. Arshia Khan Sarwari Qadri originally penned it in Urdu and translated in English with some changes by Fatima Noor Sarwari Qadri. This article has been translated in English using the American English vocabulary. If you wish to read it in Urdu, then please visit the link:

https://www.mahnama-sultan-ul-faqr-lahore.com/august-2020-sultan-ul-ashiqeen-batoor-faqeer-e-kamil-sultan-bahoo/