عقل پرستی اور عقل پسندی: تعلیماتِ حضرت سلطان باھو کے منہج کا اجمالی جائزہ

Exploring the Dynamics of Rational Thought and Reasoning in the Mystical Methodology of Hazrat Sultan Bahoo

Abstract

This study explores the nuanced distinction between rationalism (ʿaql-parasti) and reasonableness (ʿaql-pasandi) within the mystical methodology of Hazrat Sultan Bahoo (RA). Anchored in epistemological and philosophical inquiry, it highlights how Sultan Bahoo differentiates between the ego-bound, partial intellect (ʿaql-i juzwī) and the spiritually awakened universal intellect (ʿaql-i kullī). Drawing on Qur’anic injunctions, Prophetic traditions, and Sultan Bahoo’s Persian and Punjabi works, the research demonstrates that intellect, though a divine gift, acquires validity only when harmonized with the heart, spirit, and remembrance of Allah. Sultan Bahoo critiques the pride, deception, and spiritual veiling fostered by reliance on partial intellect, while affirming that universal intellect leads to humility, divine proximity, and unveiling of higher truths. The analysis situates Sultan Bahoo’s thought within broader intellectual traditions, contrasting rationalist extremes in Greek philosophy, Islamic kalām, and modern Western rationalism with Sufi emphasis on balance, inner purification, and divine love. His teachings reveal that intellect is not to dominate but to serve revelation, spiritual discipline, and experiential gnosis. By rejecting rationalist absolutism yet affirming reason’s supportive role, Sultan Bahoo advocates a mystically infused reasonableness that integrates love, humility, and divine remembrance. The paper concludes that Sultan Bahoo’s epistemology offers a constructive critique of modern rationalist tendencies and proposes a balanced framework wherein intellect becomes a vehicle for spiritual wisdom, ethical conduct, and ultimate proximity to the Divine.