Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) is from the progeny of Hazrat Ali (RA) and is a direct descended from Hazrat Ali (RA). Traditionally according to the law of the land he is Hashimi and belongs to the tribe of A'wan. Historically the A'wan tribe trace their descent to Ameer Shah, son of Qutub Shah whose family lineage is traced back to Hazrat Ali (RA). Hazrat Sultan Bahu's (RA) family genealogy is traced as follows: Hazrat Sultan Bahu ( Rathi Allahu ‘anh), son of Hazrat Bazid Muhammed ( Rathi Allahu ‘anh), son of Hazrat Fatah Muhammed, son of Hazrat Alla-radatta, son of Hazrat Muhammed Tameem ,son of Hazrat Muhammed Mannan, son of Hazrat Mogila, son of Hazrat Muhammed Peera, son of Hazrat Muhammed Sughra, son of Hazrat Muhammed Noor, son of Hazrat Sulla'a son of Hazrat Muhammed Baharie, son of Hazrat Muhammed Jayoon, son of Hazrat Muhammed Hargun, son of Hazrat Noor Shah, son of Hazrat Ameer Shah, son of Hazrat Qutub Shah, son of Hazrat Emmaan Shah, son of Hazrat Husein Shah., son of Hazrat Firoze Shah, son of Hazrat Mahmud Shah, son of Hazrat Fartak Shah, son of Hazrat Nawaab Shah, son of Hazrat Darrab Shah, son of Hazrat Awhum Shah, son of Hazrat Abeeq Shah, son of Hazrat Ahmed Shah, son of Hazrat Ameer Zubeir, son of Hazrat Ali ( Rathi Allahu ‘anh), son of Hazrat Abu Talib, son of Hazrat Mutallib, son of Hazrat Hashim, son of Hazrat Abdul Munaf. THE MIGRATION OF THE SAINTS ANCESTORS FROM MEDINA TO PUNJAB. The Holy Prophet of Islam (Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallim) was born in 570 AD. The divine call of Islam came in the first decade of the seventh century. In the early years, the Muslims had to suffer persecutions of the worst type at Mecca. In 622 AD the Muslims migrated to Medina. That was the turning point in the history of Islam. The flight marked the birth of Islam as a temporal power. The Islamic state was established at Medina. The Holy Prophet of Islam (Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallim) was a statesman, a soldier, an administrator, a thinker, a king a leader, in short the perfect man. At the death of the Holy prophet (Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallim0 in 632 AD, the influence of Islam extended up to the borders of the Arabian Peninsula. Across the border to the west was the ancient Byzantine Empire and to the east the great Iranian empire. When Islam appeared on the world stage, these empires stood exhausted by mutual wars and conflicts extending over several centuries. KHULFAI RASHIDIN.---On the death of the Holy Prophet (Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallim), Hazrat Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) became the Khalifa. Under his Khilafat the Muslims under the generalship of Khalid bin Walid won an astounding victory against the Byzantine army and the Muslims became the masters of Syria. Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) died in 634 and was succeeded by Hazrat Omar (RA) as the Khalif. It was under Hazrat Omar that Islam burst across the horizon both to the west and the east. At the battle of Qadisiya in 637 AD the Muslims gained a decisive victory over the Persians. In 641 AD at the battle of Nihavand, the Persians were completely crushed by the Muslims and Persia once a mighty empire became a province of the Muslims. Within ten years of the Holy 1 Prophets (Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallim) death, the Muslims became the masters of all the lands extending from Egypt to Khurasan. Hazrat Omar (RA) was assassinated in 644 AD. He was succeeded by Hazrat Osman (RA) who also fell victim to the knife of an Assassin in 656 AD. Then he was followed by Hazrat Ali (RA) as the fourth Khalifa of Islam. He shifted the capital from Medina to Kufa in Iraq, and here he was assassinated in 661 AD. Out of the four `rightly guided Khaki's, three were assassinated at the hands of those who professed to be Muslims. THE OMAYADS ---On the death of Hazrat Ali ( Rathi Allahu ‘anh), Imam Hasan, the son of Hazrat Ali became the Khalifa. Amir Muawiya (RA) who was related to Hazrat Osman (RA) and belonged to the house of the Omayads, refused to accept Imam Hasan (RA) as the Khalifa and declared himself as the Khalipha. In order to avoid a war, Hazrat Imam Hasan (RA) withdrew as a khalifa and Amir Muawiya became the Khalifa of Islam. Hazrat Muawiyah (RA) died in 680 Ad and was succeeded by his son Yazid. This was against the pact agreed between Hazrat Imam Hasan and Amir Muawiyah. Hazrat Imam Hussain ( Rathi Allahu ‘anh), the brother of Imam Hasan (RA) challenged Yazid. Hazrat Imam Hussein (RA) was betrayed and martyred at the field of Karbala. It was during the corrupt and repressive rule of Yazid and after the martyrdom of Hazrat Hasan (RA) and the martyrdom of Hazrat Husein (RA) at Karbala that the Bani Fatima household (progeny of Hazrat Bibi Fatima (Radii Allahu Anhu) and the other children of Hazrat Ali (Radhi Allahu Anhu) from his other wives, were all arrested and exiled to Damascus. The rest of them who did not accompany Imam Husein (Radhi Allahu Anhu) to Karbala lived and spent their time around the precincts of the tomb of the Prophet of Islam (Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallim). After some time those exiled to Damascus returned to Medina and some went to Egypt. So it was during the rule of Yazeed that the Prophet's (Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallim) household had to migrate to other lands. The rest of the descendants of Bani Fatima (Radhi Allahu Anhu) and Hazrat Ali (Radhi Allahu Anhu) who lived in Egypt and nearby lands had to leave for Turkistan and Iran due to the persecution of Hujjaj bin Yusuf Safaqi, a corrupt and tyrannical ruler, under whose rule thousands were killed or massacred. In Iran the tomb of Hazrat Imam Ali Musa Raza (Radhi Allahu Anhu), who was martyred, still stands as a reminder that they had migrated to and lived in the plains of Iran. As time went by the descendents of Hazrat Ali (Radhi Allahu Anhu) migrated and resettled in other lands such as Bukhara and Hamadhan in Turkistan, Baghdad in Iraq - a border between Turkistan and Iran. Some migrated to Khurasan and others to Herat in the mountainous regions of present day Afghanistan. After the heartbreaking events of Karbala, the descendents of Hazrat Bibi Fatima (Radhi Allahu Anhu) passed the rest of their lives in seclusion and solitude in the remembrance of Allah. And the rest of the offspring of Hazrat Ali (Radhi Allahu Anhu) from the Aloewi/Hashimi clan, showing off their valor, passed onto Herat and other cities, subduing and overcoming the highlands and mountainous country further south in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. THE FATHER OF HAZRAT SULTAN BAHU (Radhi Allahu Anhu). As we have stated earlier, the father of Hazrat Sultan Bahu ( Rathi Allahu ‘anh), Hazrat Bazid Muhammed (RA) was from this A'wan tribe. He was a titleholder and an office bearer in the court 2 of the Mughals. He was a pious and devout scholar and a strict follower of the Shariat. He later married Hazrat Bibi Rasti (RA) who belonged to the same social class of the same family. Hazrat Bibi Rasti (RA) was a devout, pious and saintly wife. Her piety had a marked influence on her husband, so much so, that the love of Allah kindled in his heart. This fire of love forced and compelled him to give up his government service, and passed the rest of his life in the service of Allah. He settled in Multan. Hazrat Bibi Rasti (RA) joined her husband in Multan. In the mean time, as a recognition of his services, the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan, conferred on Hazrat Bazid Muhammed (RA) an estate in the vicinity of the small town of Shorkhote in District Jung, Punjab Province. Hazrat Bazid Muhammed (RA) and Hazrat Bibi Rasti (RA) settled and spend the rest of their lives in Shorkhote. THE BIRTH AND YOUTH OF SULTAN BAHU (RA). According to some sources Hazrat Sultan Bahu (RA) was born in the village of Shorkhote in Punjab Province in the year 1039 AD, during the reign of the great Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Already as a child his Saintly qualities became apparent. He too, like Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani ( Rathi Allahu ‘anh), refuses to drink his mothers’ milk from Sehri to Iftaar (before sunrise to sunset). Despite showing inherent spiritual qualities his training responsibility fell in the lap of his pious, devout and saintly mother, Ma Rasti (RA). In his childhood and early days, she was responsible for both his inward and outward training, colouring his personality in the Prophetic light. In many of his writings, Sultan Bahu (RA.) refers to his saintly mothers’ piety and spiritual station. In one of his Persian couplets, he refers to her devotion to truth as follows: ` Bliss of God for Rasti be For with truth is gifted she’ Interestingly ` Rasti ' itself in Persian means `Truth'. At another place he writes: `Mercy of Allah be on Rasti who named me Ba - Hu’ Ma Rasti (RA) saw a vision that soon she will be blessed with a child with inherent spiritual qualities whose light of Faqr will benefit many a seeker till the end of time. She was instructed to name the child `Ba Hu' - meaning - `With Allah'. This name, most certainly suited this holy personality, for he was always drowned in the Love of Allah. Hazrat Sultan Bahu's (RA) name is incomparable and has no parallel.