By the 13th century, a widespread belief had taken root in Muslim societies that a Sufi saint's spiritual powers could be inherited by his descendants. Upon the death of Baba Farid, his son Badr ad-Din Sulaiman was deemed to be Baba Farid's prime successor, setting a pattern of hereditary acquisition of the position. The successorship of Badr ad-Din's son, Shaikh Ala ad-Din Mauj Darya, in 1281 further cemented this tradition. The chief caretaker and spiritual authority of most shrines is typically referred to as a
sajjada nashin, though at Baba Farid's shrine, the title for the position in taken from the royal courts of medieval Islamic India, and is instead referred to as
diwan. The
diwan is traditionally believed to inherit the
baraka, or spiritual power, of Baba Farid. The
diwan of the Pakpattan shrine historically has not maintained spiritual authority in the region by himself – rather, the shrine's authority was also spread among a
baradari, or network of Baba Farid's descendants that lived in the regions surrounding the shrine, who in turn were sometimes themselves
sajjada nashins of small shrine dedicated to pious descendants of Baba Farid. Members of the
baradari were often owned large tracts of land granted to them by various rulers, or were local village officials. By the 19th and 20th centuries, the network of
sajjada nashins in the Baba Farid
wilayat maintained a network of authority that paralleled the region's official administrative system. The success of each
diwan or
sajjada nashin was tied to his ability to attract official patronage and increase donations, in order to further promote the shrine's prestige, and to distribute among subsidiary shrines located in the region surrounding Pakpattan. Resources directed towards subsidiary shrines were used to maintain social services, such as the
langar which served free meals to the poor. Hospitality provided at the
langar further heightened the status of a
Sajjada nashin.
Diwan succession Appointment of a successor for the hereditary title required "revelation" from Baba Farid's spirit to determine the inheritor of his
baraka, or blessed direct access to God. Selection of the inheritor was supported by consent from Baba Farid's committed devotees, and members of the
baradari network of shrines.
Conflicts over succession Conflict over succession sometimes occurred – in the 1880s during
British colonial rule, those in dispute appealed to the British court system to determine which claimant had inherited revelation from Baba Farid, though the court based its decision on deference to historic customs in determining the successor. During the 1880s and 1890s, the shrine's
diwan switched three times in the course of deliberations – though attendance at the shrine did not decline, and it did not appear that devotees particularly cared which person served in the role. The eventual successful petitioner, Sayid Muhammad was not considered a learned religious scholar. Erosion of the ''diwan's'' spiritual role resulted in criticism of the entire shrine system by Muslim reformist movements in the 20th century. At the time of Sayid Muhammad's death in 1934, another crisis over inheritance erupted as some members of the shrine's
baradari bodies disputed the succession of a minor, Ghulam Qutb ad-Din, to the role which they argued was inappropriate to be filled by a young man. British Courts accepted Ghulam Qutb ad-Din as the next successor, and established a caretaker system for the shrine until he reached maturity, and arranged for his training and education at Lahore's prestigious
Aitchison College – a plan which was met with resistance by members of the
baradari who feared that an education there would signal the ''diwan's'' integration into the British values system, rather than that of Islam. British attempts at resolution were seen as interference in the shrine's religious affairs, and eroded the legitimacy of the shrine's
diwan system. ==Administration==