Guru Arjan Dev ji was born in Goindval to parents Bibi Bhani and Jetha Sodhi. Bibi Bhani was Guru Amar Das's daughter, and her spouse Jetha Sodhi went on to become renowned as Guru Ram Das. Arjan's birthplace is today known as the Gurdwara Chaubara Sahib. He had two brothers named Prithi Chand and Mahadev. Various Sikh chroniclers put his birth year as 1553 or 1563; the latter is considered by scholarly consensus as the correct year of birth, with 15 April as the official birth date.

Guru Arjan Dev ji spent the first 11 years of his life at Goindwal and the following seven years with his father in Ramdaspur. According to Sikh legend, he spent two years in Lahore as a youth after his father sent him there to attend the wedding of his first cousin Sahari Mal's son and to build a Sikh congregation. Following his father's death in 1581, he was designated as the Sikh Guru. Guru Ram Das was a Khatri from the Sodhi subcaste. With Arjan's succession, the Guruship remained in the Sodhi family of Guru Ram Das.

Guru Arjan Dev was married to Mata Ganga ji on 19 June 1589. Mata ji was the daughter of Bhai Krishan Chand of the village of Mau, 10 km west of Phillaur in the state of Punjab, India. The now famous historical town of Doaba (Bilga) is where the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev Ji arrived the day before the wedding. He stayed in this village for two days to take rest while going to village Mau Sahib for wedding ceremony.

Guru Arjan's Dev ji father, Guru Ram Das Ji, constructed the town "Ramdaspur" around a man-made water pool called "Ramdas Sarovar". Arjan continued his father's infrastructure-building efforts. During Arjan's reign, the town grew, funded by donations and built entirely by volunteers. The pool area expanded into a temple complex, with the Gurdwara Harmandir Sahib located nearby. In 1604, Arjan put Sikhism's scripture inside the new temple. The city that arose is today known as Amritsar, and it is the holiest pilgrimage place for Sikhism.

Baba Nanak articulated the basic principles of the new religion, and three of his successors laid the groundwork. Guru Arjan Dev Ji embarked on a quest to establish it on stable ground. As instructed by his ancestors, Guru Nanak, through Guru Ram Das Ji, took on the responsibility of completing the site where his father had built a clay reservoir of Nectar. In the pure spirit of "I am neither Hindu, nor Muslim..." Guru Arjan Dev Ji requested Mian Mir, a Muslim Saint from Lahore, to lay the cornerstone of the Harmandar, the current Golden Temple.

He was hardly 18 years old when his father Sri Guru Ramdas Ji installed him as the Fifth Nanak. He was married to Mata Ganga ji and had a son (Guru) Hargobind Sahib Ji. Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji completed the work on two sacred tanks (Sarowars) Santokhsar and Amritsar. He got the foundation stone of Harmandir Sahib, laid by a Muslim Saint Hazrat Mian Mir Ji of Lahore on 1st Magh, Vikrami Samvat 1644 (December 1588). After the completion of Sri Harmandir Sahib, Guru Sahib completed the construction of Santhokhsar.

Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji founded the town of Tarn Taran Sahib near Goindwal Sahib and also created a large tank and Gurdwara there. A house for lepers was also built. He also laid the foundation stone of the town Kartarpur in Doaba region (near Jalandhar city). He constructed a Baoli in Dabbi-Bazar of Lahore. (Once Shah Jahan destroyed the Baoli and erected a mosque there. But later on Maharaja Ranjit Singh re-excavated the Baoli. Again, after the partition of India in 1947, it was demolished by the Musilm mob). Guru Sahib also established another town, Hargobindpur on the river Bias and sunk a big well for irrigation at Chheharta, a few miles away from Amritsar.

The doorways on all four sides of the structure indicated that it accepted all four castes and all religions. Despite the congregation's demands, the floor of the Harmandar Saheb was kept lower than the surrounding region; as the river rushes downward, so do the searchers of God's graces. Along with God's House came the City of Amritsar, complete with its devotion, comforts, and gaiety.

According to Sikh tradition, Arjan created the Adi Granth by collecting hymns of previous Gurus from various locations and eliminating those that he believed were fakes or deviated from the Gurus' teachings. His approved collection contained hymns authored by the first four Gurus of Sikhism, as well as 17 Hindu and two Muslim bards (Bhagats). The compilation was finished on August 30, 1604, according to Sikh tradition, and installed in the Harmandir Sahib temple on September 1, 1604.

Sri Guru Arjan Dev ji was a prolific poet, composing 2,218 hymns. Arjan produced more than half of the Guru Granth Sahib volume, as well as the biggest collection of hymns. Arjan's writings, according to Christopher Shackle and Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, combined spiritual message with "encyclopedic linguistic sophistication" and "Braj Bhasha forms and learned Sanskrit vocabulary".

Immediately upon Akbar's death, the Muslim clergy grabbed Prince Saleem's thoughts and assisted him in regaining the throne as Emperor Jahangir. He was given the notion that if he became Emperor, he would reinstate Shariyat (Orthodox Muslim Law) throughout the country.

Khusro, Akbar's grandson, was a devout guy who shared his grandfather's liberal beliefs. Akbar had made him the next in line to rule the country. However, the might of Muslim clergy forced him to flee for his life. While journeying through Punjab, he paid a visit to Guru Arjan Dev Ji in Tarn Taran and requested his blessings.

Later, when Chandu saw the wisdom of the match advised by his family priest and had an offer of marriage sent to Guru ji, the Guru, cognizant of his attitude and scorn, refused the marriage.

Sheikh Ahmad Sarhindi was highly esteemed by Muslims. He claimed to be Islam's Prophet of the Second Millennium, the first millennium belonging to Prophet Muhammad.

He claimed that he had a higher position than the Sikh Guru. Guru Arjan Dev Ji firmly opposed this. Sheikh Ahmad had a strong influence on Jehangir. Citing the Guru's blessings on Prince Khusro, he persuaded the Emperor against Guru Arjan Devji. Jehangir stated in his biography:

"A Hindu named Arjan resided in Goindwal...simple-minded Hindus and uneducated and foolish Muslims were encouraged to follow his lead...this enterprise has thrived for three generations. For a long time, I had considered ending the affair or converting him to Islam..."

Khusro was later 'caught and blinded in punishment'. Afterward, 'Jehangir summoned Guru Arjan Dev Ji to Lahore'. With preconceived notions, Jehangir expressed unhappiness with the Guru's explanation of Khusro's shelter. He described the Guru as a rebellious party who 'intended to punish him with death'.

However, on the advice of Pir Mian Mir, he lowered his sentence to a fine of two lakh rupees plus 'an order to delete a few verses' from the Granth Sahib. Guru Arjan Dev Ji declined to accept. The Sikhs of Lahore tried to pay off the fine, but the Guru bluntly opposed any attempt to pay an unfair fine.

The Guru Ji was imprisoned and severely tortured. His body was exposed to the burning heat of the May-June sun. He was told to sit on the red-hot sand, and boiling water was thrown over his nude body.

Pir Mian Mir contacted him and tried to intervene on his behalf. Some say he even promised to demolish the entire city of Lahore with his ecclesiastical power as punishment, but the Guru refused, claiming that everything was happening by God's will: "Thine doings seem sweet unto me, Nanak craves for the wealth of God's name." (Rag Asa M.5, P.394). And on this day of May 30, 1606, he enveloped his blistering body in the cool waves of the River Ravi and journeyed to his heavenly abode.