The Sarwari Qadiri Sufi tariqa was originated by Sultan Bahu in the seventeenth century. The first part of its name, Sawari, derives from the fact that Sultan Bahu claimed to have taken the oath of allegiance directly from Prophet Muhammad. The second part, Qadiri, signifies that this order is essentially an offshoot of the Qadiri order, because Sultan Bahu also claimed to have been a disciple of Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani .

The Sarwari Qadiri order is very similar in its over all philosophy to the Qadiri order, but distinguishes itself in certain points, the most notable being Sultan Bahu's stress and extensive reliance on the practice of 'Tasswar-e-Ism-Zaat' for this disciples. The basic idea of this practice is to visualize the Arabic name of God, Allah as having been written on the disciple's heart.