Birth Story of Sultan Ibrahim

There was a fakir named Adham Shah. He had built a hut some distance away from the city of Balakh. He used to go for walks in the city. One day he saw the only daughter of the emperor of Balakh who was young and beautiful. Adham Shah developed a strong desire to marry the girl.

He went to the emperor and said, “Marry this girl to me.” The king was astonished but was also scared lest the fakir should curse him. He was unable to say yes or no suddenly. He asked the fakir to come the next day. The ministers became aware of this. A consensus was reached that they would tell him the next day that to marry the king's daughter, one has to bring a pearl necklace or a hundred pearls. Otherwise, the marriage cannot take place. The condition was told to the fakir the next day.

The fakir set off to get the pearls. Someone told him that the pearls are found in the sea. He went to the shore of the sea, started filling his pot with the water of the sea and pouring it onto the sand at a distance. He kept on toiling for many days without food and water. The body also was about to perish. Whoever saw him said, “You had left home for Allah, now you are preparing for hell. The sea can never be emptied. Do worship.” God appeared there in the guise of Jinda Baba and asked Adham Shah, “What are you doing?” He told, “I want to marry the emperor's daughter. For it, they have kept a condition for me to bring pearls. I have been told that the pearls are found in the sea. I will empty the sea and take the pearls.”

Jinda said, “The sea cannot be emptied. You will die of hunger and thirst. If you strive to attain the salvation for which you left home, then it would be fruitful. You have planned to destroy your life.” Adham Shah said, “I do not need your teachings. I am doing my work, you do yours.”

Supreme God Kabir has stated that: -

Vikaar marey mat jaaniya, jyon bhoobhal (ash) mein aag |
Jab karellae dhadhakahin, koee bachae Satguru sharan laag ||

{Joke: - A 70–75-year-old drunk man was standing and swaying on the road. The stick in his hand fell on the ground. He was unable to lift the stick because he was drunk. If he had fallen, it would have been difficult to get up again.

A gentleman came through the same path. The old man asked him in a trembling voice, “Pick up my stick and give it to me.” It did not take long for the traveller to understand. He said, “O Grandpa! Look at your age. It does not befit you to drink alcohol at this age. You have grandchildren. What impact will it have on them?” Hearing this, the old man said, “Do you think nobody would have given me this teaching to date? If you want to pick up the stick, then do it; otherwise, go from here.” Similar was the state of Adham Shah Fakir.}

God saw that this devotee would die. Kabir Jinda Baba (Al-Khijr) by his power made a sea wave hit the coast. Thousands of pearls were lying in the sand. Saying (Ya Allah) ‘O [my] God!’, Adham Shah tied thousands of pearls in a sheet. He went and kept them in the emperor's court, and said, “Marry the princess to me as per your promise.” The ministers ordered the soldiers to kill him by beating him with sticks and to throw him in the forest. The same was done. By the grace of God, he did not die. He became mobile within a few days.

After a few days, the emperor's daughter died. Entombing her in the grave, four guards were deployed so that no wild animal should spoil the dead body. Adham Shah learned about it. He went to the grave at night. The guards were sleeping soundly. Adham Shah exhumed the dead body, and refilling the grave back to the original state, took the girl's corpse to his hut.

In the same night, a caravan of nomads lost their way and went to the same forest. A lamp was burning in the hut. The corpse of the girl wrapped in a shroud was kept against the wall as if the girl was sitting with her legs crossed. It was winter season. Two men from the caravan went to the hut to get some fire. Hearing their noise, Adham Shah got scared that the king's men had come. He went behind the hut and hid in a cave in which he used to do spiritual practice.

When the individuals from the caravan saw the dead young girl sitting against the wall, they got frightened and went back to the caravan and told everything. A doctor also lived in the caravan. Many people and the doctor went to the hut. On seeing the girl, the doctor said, “This girl is not dead; she is in shock. I can treat her.” The leader of the caravan said, “You may give her treatment. If the girl revives, then we will ask her only who her father is or where her husband is.” First, they put a sheet over the naked body of the girl. Then the doctor made an incision in the vein of her hand and removed the impure blood.

The girl regained consciousness within a few minutes. She said, “How did I come here?” Adham Shah fakir saw in the light of the lamp that they were not the king's men. The princess has also come back to life. He came to the men of the caravan and narrated the entire story which the girl also heard.

The people of the caravan explained to the girl that if this fakir had not exhumed you out of the grave and brought you here, you would have died. Now you should stay with this fakir considering it the will of Allah. The girl consented to it. Those people got both of them married. The leader of the caravan said, “If you want to come with us, we will serve you; we will not let you face any trouble.” The fakir who had become a householder said, “We wish to stay here itself. I will never forget your favour. You have come to me as an embodiment of Allah. We both would have died. You have saved our lives.” Leaving them there, the men of the caravan departed.

After some days, the girl gave birth to a beautiful son. They named him "Sultan Ibrahim". After the child turned four, he was admitted to study with the Maulvi (Muslim Cleric) of the city of Balakh. Every day, Adham would leave his son with the Maulvi in the morning and bring him in the evening. The Emperor of Balakh only had a daughter; he did not have any son. The emperor used to help poor children. One day the Emperor of Balakh went to that Maulvi (cleric). He used to reward the students. He used to distribute clothes to poor children. The emperor was astonished to see the son of Adham Shah Fakir. His face resembled that of the emperor's daughter.

The emperor asked the Maulvi, “Whose child is this?” Maulvi told him, “A fakir comes from the forest; he is his son. He leaves the boy in the morning and picks him up in the evening. We did not inquire further.” The boy also got up and hugged the emperor. The emperor took him in his lap and left. He told the cleric, “If his father comes, send him to the palace; he can take him from there.” The emperor showed that child to the queen. Upon seeing him, remembering her daughter, the queen fainted and fell on the floor. On regaining consciousness, she embraced the child. She fed him food, rice pudding and halwa made with her own hands. The queen said, “This child resembles our daughter.” Meanwhile, the fakir went to the cleric and from there came to the emperor's palace. The emperor had already ordered the servants, “If the father of this boy comes, do not stop him. Bring him respectfully to the palace.” Seeing the same fakir, the emperor asked, “Whose child is this?

The fakir said, “He is my child. He was born to your daughter.” The emperor said, “It does not befit a fakir to lie.” The fakir narrated the whole story. The emperor could not believe it. Taking the fakir along, he first got the grave of his daughter disinterred. There was no dead body in it. Then he went to the fakir's hut. Their daughter was sitting wearing torn clothes patched at various places. As soon as she saw her parents, she ran towards them and embraced them one by one.

The emperor requested and took his daughter, her child and the fakir to his palace. He appointed fakir Adham as his successor. Due to which, he became known as Shah. His name was 'Adham'. After staying there for a few days, Adham Shah did not like the luxuries of the palace. He bade them a loving farewell and went to his hut. He used to occasionally visit his son and wife. After a few years, Adham Shah Fakir died. His tomb was built in the hut. A beautiful garden was built around it. Child Ibrahim was made the successor of his grandfather's kingdom.

Point to consider:

Kabir kamaai aapni, kabahu na nishfal jaay |
Saat samandar aadey padey, miley agaau aay ||

Meaning - Whatever earnings of worship one has made, it is not in vain, even if one faces an obstacle equivalent to the seven oceans.

The nature of the body of a devotee is very helpful in worship. Because of being born to righteous parents, the nature of the parents also stays with the child in his/her body. The birth in which Sultan Ibrahim was Samman Maniyaar, he had sacrificed his son for the service of the Satguru. There were some circumstances which led to this. Supreme God i.e., Satguru Kabir had resurrected that boy. That same Samman then became a king [Nausher Khan] in the next life, but he did not do any worship. This time, that soul received a body [Sultan Ibrahim] from a father [Adham Shah] who had been devoted to God since birth. In order to provide salvation to the soul of Samman, Supreme God induced a strong desire in Adham Shah to marry. Getting the pearls from the sea, the girl being in shock, the caravan of nomads losing their way and going to the hut, revival of the girl, the birth of Sultan Ibrahim to Adham Shah and the pious girl, who was leading a life of a saint while living with a fakir; she had developed lofty ideals; she was away from all the evils of the world. The sacrifice of his son Seu (Shiv) for the Satguru in the form of Samman, and the billions of rupees donated (Zakat) in the form of Nausher Khan. The fruit of that donation had also to be given to that living being. God Kabir had performed this divine act for him. The grandfather of Adham Shah Fakir was the emperor of that same city of Balakh. Its kingdom had been snatched by the father of Ibrahim's maternal grandfather in a war. Then the same kingdom was given to Sultan Ibrahim of the same dynasty. Because of deviating from the path of worship, even Adham Shah obtained the birth of an animal.

Supreme God Kabir has stated that: -

Ye sab khel hamaare kiye | Ham se miley jo nishchay jeeye ||
Jojan meri sharan hai, uska hoon main daas |
Gel gel laagya firoon, jab tak dharti aakaash ||