Sultan Bahu ( , ਸੁਲਤਾਨ ਬਾਹੂ ; also spelled Bahoo; 17 January 1630 – 1 March 1691), was a 17th-century Punjabi Sufi mystic, poet, scholar and historian. He was active in the Punjab region (present-day Pakistan) during the reigns of Mughal emperors Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Little is known about Bahu's life, other than what is written in a hagiography called Manaqib-i Sultani, which was written by one of Bahu's descendants seven generations after Bahu's own time. According to these records, he was born in Shorkot, Jhang, in the current Punjab Province of Pakistan, in the Awan tribe. He was son of Bayazid Muhammad, an officer in the Mughal Army, and Rasti. He belonged to Qadiri Sufi order, and started the mystic tradition known as Sarwari Qadiri. More than forty books on Sufism are attributed to him (mostly written in Persian), largely dealing with specialised aspects of Islam and Islamic mysticism. However, it was his Punjabi poetry which had popular appeal and earned him lasting fame. His verses are sung in many genres of Sufi music, including qawwali and kafi, and tradition has established a unique style of singing his couplets. Education Sultan Bahu's first teacher was his mother, Mai Rasti. She pushed him to seek spiritual guidance from Shah Habib Gilani. Around 1668, Sultan Bahu moved to Delhi for further training under the guidance of Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi, a notable Sufi saint of the Qadiriyya order, and thereafter returned to Punjab where he spent the rest of his life. Literary works The exact number of books written by Sultan Bahu is not known, but it is assumed to be at least one hundred. Forty of them are on Sufism and Islamic mysticism. Most of his writings are in the Persian language except Abyat-e-Bahu which is in Punjabi verse. Only the following books written by Sultan Bahu can be found today: Abyat e Bahu Risala e Ruhi Sultan ul Waham Nur ul Huda Aql e Baidar Mahq ul Faqr Aurang e Shahi Jami ul Israr Taufiq e Hidiyat Kalid Tauheed Ain ul Faqr Israr e Qadri Kaleed e Jannat Muhqam ul Faqr Majalis un Nabi Muftah ul Arifeen Hujjat ul Israr Kashf ul Israar Mahabat ul Israr Ganj ul Israr Fazl ul Liqa Dewaan e Bahu Spiritual lineage Mian Taj Muhammad was successor of Sultan Bahu as his spiritual master, however Mian Taj Muhammad was born long after