In connection with the preceding A'īn, it may be of interest for the general reader, and of some value for the future historian of Akbar's reign, to collect, in form of a note, the information which we possess regarding the religious views of the Emperor Akbar. The sources from which this information are derived, are, besides Abū'l-Fazl's Ā'īn, the Muntakhabu't-Tawārīkh by 'Abdu'l-Qādir ibn-i Mulūk Shāh of Badāon —regarding whom I would refer the reader to p. 104, and to a longer article in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for 1869—and the Dabistānu'l-Mazāhib a work written about sixty years after Akbar's death by an unknown Muhammadan writer of strong Pārsī tendencies. Nor must we forget the valuable testimony of some of the Portuguese Missionaries whom Akbar called from Goa, as Rodolpho Aquaviva, Antonio de Monserrato, Francisco Enriques, &c., of whom the first is mentioned by Abū'l-Fazl under the name of Pādrī Radalf. There exist also two articles on Akbar's religious views, one by Captain Vans Kennedy, published in the second volume of the Transactions of the Bombay Literary Society, and another by the late Horace Hayman Wilson, which had originally appeared in the Calcutta Quarterly Oriental Magazine, Vol. I., 1824, and has been reprinted in the second volume of Wilson's works, London, 1862. Besides, a few extracts from Badāonī, bearing on this subject, will be found in Sir H. Elliott's Bibliographical Index to the Historians of Muhammadan India, p. 243 ff. The Proceedings of the Portuguese Missionaries at Akbar's Court are described in Murray's [S. 177] Historical Account of Discoveries and Travels in Asia, Edinburgh, 1820, Vol. II.

I shall commence with extracts from Badāonī. The translation is literal, which is of great importance in a difficult writer like Badāonī.

As in the following extracts the years of the Hijrah are given, the reader may convert them according to this table :—

The year
980 A.H. commenced 14th May, 1572 [Old Style].
981—3rd May, 1573
982—23rd April, 1574
983—12th April, 1575
984—31st March, 1576
985—21st March, 1577
986—10th March, 1578
987—28th February, 1579
988—17th February, 1580
989—5th February, 1581
990—26th January, 1582
991—15th January, 1583
992—4th January, 1584
993—24th December, 1584
994—13th December, 1585
995—2nd December, 1586
996—22nd November, 1587
997—10th November, 1588
998—31th October, 1589
999—20th October, 1590
1000—9th October, 1591
1001—28th September, 1592
1002—17th September. 1593
1003—6th September, 1594
1004—27th August, 1595

Abū'l-Fazl's second introduction to Akbar. His pride.

[Badāonī, edited by Mawlawī Āghā Aḥmad 'Alī, in the Bibliotheca Indica, Vol. II, p. 198.]

"It was during these days [end of 982 A. H.] that Abū'l-Fazl, son of Shaykh Mubārak of Nāgor, came the second time to court. He is now styled 'Allāmī. He is the man that set the world in flames. He lighted up the lamp of the Ṣabāḥīs, illustrating thereby the story of the man who, because he did not know what to do, took up a lamp in broad daylight, and representing himself as opposed to all sects, tied the girdle of infallibility round his waist, according to the saying, 'He who forms an opposition, gains power.' He laid before the Emperor a commentary on the Āyatu'l-kursī, which contained all subtleties of the Qur'ān; and though people said that it had been written by his father, Abū'l-Fazl was much praised. The numerical value of the letters in the words Tafsīr-i Akbarī (Akbar's commentary) gives the date of composition [983]. But the emperor praised it, chiefly because he expected to find in Abū'l-Fazl a man capable of teaching the Mullās a lesson, whose pride certainly resembles that of Pharaoh, though this expectation was opposed to the confidence which His Majesty had placed in me.

The reason of Abū'l-Fazl's opinionativeness and pretensions to infallibility was this. At the time when it was customary to get hold of, and kill, such as tried to introduce innovations in religious matters (as had been the case with Mīr Ḥabshī and others), Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī and Makhdūmu'l-mulk, and other learned men at court, unanimously [S. 178] represented to the emperor that Shaykh Mubārak also, in as far as he pretended to be Mahdī, belonged to the class of innovators, and was not only himself damned, but led others into damnation. Having obtained a sort of permission to remove him, they despatched police officers, to bring him before the emperor. But when they found that the Shaykh, with his two sons, had concealed himself, they demolished the pulpit in his prayer-room. The Shaykh, at first, took refuge with Salīm-i Chishtī at Fatḥpūr, who then was in the height of his glory, and requested him to intercede for him. Shaykh Salīm, however, sent him money by some of his disciples, and told him, it would be better for him to go away to Gujrāt. Seeing that Salīm took no interest in him, Shaykh Mubārak applied to Mīrzā 'Azīz Kokah [Akbar's foster-brother], who took occasion to praise to the emperor the Shaykh's learning and voluntary poverty, and the superior talents of his two sons, adding that Mubārak was a most trustworthy man, that he had never received lands as a present, and that he ['Azīz] could really not see why the Shaykh was so much persecuted. The emperor at last gave up all thoughts of killing the Shaykh. In a short time matters took a more favourable turn; and Abū'l-Fazl, when once in favour with the emperor, (officious as he was, and time-serving, openly faithless, continually studying His Majesty's whims, a flatterer beyond all bounds) took every opportunity of reviling in the most shameful way that sect whose labours and motives have been so little appreciated, and became the cause not only of the extirpation of these experienced people, but also of the ruin of all servants of God, especially of Shaykhs, pious men, of the helpless, and the orphans, whose livings and grants he cut down.

He used to say, openly and implicitly,—

O Lord, send down a proof for the people of the world!
Send these Nimrods a gnat as big as an elephant!
These Pharaoh-like fellows have lifted up their heads;
Send them a Moses with a staff, and a Nile!

[S. 1799 And when in consequence of his harsh proceedings, miseries and misfortunes broke in upon the 'Ulamās (who had persecuted him and his father), he applied the following Rubā'ī to them:—

I have set fire to my barn with my own hands,
As I am the incendiary, how can I complain of my enemy?
No one is my enemy but myself,
Woe is me! I have torn my garment with my own hands.

And when during disputations people quoted against him the edict of any Mujtahid, he used to say, "Oh don't bring me the arguments of this sweetmeat-seller, and that cobbler, or that tanner!" He thought himself capable of giving the lie to all Shaykhs and 'Ulamās."

Commencement of the Disputations.

 [Badāonī II, p. 200.]

"During the year 983 A. H., many places of worship were built at the command of His Majesty. The cause was this. For many years previous to 983, the emperor had gained in succession remarkable and decisive victories. The empire had grown in extent from day to day; everything turned out well, and no opponent was left in the whole world. His Majesty had thus leisure to come into nearer contact with ascetics and the disciples of the Mu'īniyyah sect, and passed much of his time in discussing the word of God (Qur'ān), and the word of the prophet (the Ḥadīs, or Tradition). Questions of Ṣūfism, scientific discussions, enquiries into Philosophy and Law, were the order of the day. His Majesty passed whole nights in thoughts of God; he continually occupied himself with pronouncing the names Yā hū and Yā hādī, which had been mentioned to him, and his heart was full of reverence for Him who is the true Giver. From a feeling of thankfulness for his past successes, he would sit many a morning alone in prayer and melancholy, on a large flat stone of an old building which lay near the palace in a lonely spot, with his head bent over his chest, and gathering the bliss of early hours."

In his religious habits the emperor was confirmed by a story which he had heard of Sulaymān, ruler of Bengal, who, in company with 150 [S. 180] Shaykhs and 'Ulamās, held every morning a devotional meeting, after which he used to transact state business; as also by the news that Mīrzā Sulaymān, a prince of Ṣūfī tendencies, and a Ṣāhib-i ḥāl was coming to him from Badakhshān.

Among the religious buildings was a meeting place near a tank called Anūptalāo, where Akbar, accompanied by a few courtiers, met the 'Ulamās and lawyers of the realm. The pride of the 'Ulamās, and the heretical (Shī'itic) subjects discussed in this building, caused Mullā Sherī, a poet of Akbar's reign, to compose a poem in which the place was called a temple of Pharaoh and a building of Shaddād (vide Qur. Sūr. 89). The result to which the discussions led, will be seen from the following extract.

"For these discussions, which were held every Thursday night, His Majesty invited the Sayyids, Shaykhs, 'Ulamās, and grandees, by turn. But as the guests generally commenced to quarrel about their places, and the order of precedence, His Majesty ordered that the grandees should sit on the east side; the Sayyids on the west side; the 'Ulamās, to the south; and the Shaykhs, to the north. The emperor then used to go from one side to the other, and make his enquiries……, when all at once, one night, 'the vein of the neck of the 'Ulamās of the age swelled up,' and a horrid noise and confusion ensued. His Majesty got very angry at their rude behaviour, and said to me [Badāonī], "In future report any of the 'Ulamās that cannot behave and talks nonsense, and I shall make him leave the hall." I gently said to Āṣaf Khān, "If I were to carry out this order, most of the 'Ulamās would have to leave," when His Majesty suddenly asked what I had said. On hearing my answer, he was highly pleased, and mentioned my remark to those sitting near him."

Soon after, another row occurred in the presence of the Emperor.

[Bad. II, p. 210.]

"Some people mentioned that Hājī Ibrāhīm of Sarhind had given a decree, by which he made it legal to wear red and yellow clothes, quoting at the same time a Tradition as his proof. On hearing this, the Chief Justice, in the meeting hall, called him an accursed wretch, abused him, and lifted up his stick, in order to strike him, when the Hājī by some subterfuges managed to get rid of him." [S. 1819

Akbar was now fairly disgusted with the 'Ulamās and lawyers; he never pardoned pride and conceit in a man, and of all kinds of conceit, the conceit of learning was most hateful to him. From now he resolved to vex the principal 'Ulamās; and no sooner had his courtiers discovered this, than they brought all sorts of charges against them.

"His Majesty therefore ordered Mawlānā 'Abdu'l-lah of Sulṭānpūr, who had received the title of Makhdūmu'l- Mulk, to come to a meeting, as he wished to annoy him, and appointed Ḥājī Ibrāhīm, Shaykh Abū'l-Fazl (who had lately come to court, and is at present the infallible authority in all religious matters, and also for the New Religion of His Majesty, and the guide of men to truth, and their leader in general), and several other newcomers, to oppose him. During the discussion, His Majesty took every occasion to interrupt the Mawlānā, when he explained anything. When the quibbling and wrangling had reached the highest point, some courtiers, according to an order previously given by His Majesty, commenced to tell rather queer stories of the Mawlānā, to whose position one might apply the verse of the Qur'ān (Sūr. XVI, 72), 'And some one of you shall have his life prolonged to a miserable age, &c.' Among other stories, Khān Jahān said that he had heard that Makhdūmu'l-Mulk had given a fatwa, that the ordinance of pilgrimage was no longer binding, but even hurtful. When people had asked him the reason of his extraordinary fatwa, he had said, that the two roads to Makkah, through Persia and over Gujrāt, were impracticable, because people, in going by land (Persia), had to suffer injuries at the hand of the Qizilbāshes (i. e., the Shī'ah inhabitants of Persia), and in going by sea, they had to put up with indignities from the Portuguese, whose ship-tickets had pictures of Mary and Jesus stamped on them. To make use, therefore, of the latter alternative would mean to countenance idolatry; hence both roads were closed up.

"Khān Jahān also related that the Mawlānā had invented a clever trick by which he escaped paying the legal alms upon the wealth which he amassed every year. Towards the end of each year, he used to make over all his stores to his wife, but he took them back before the year had actually run out. [S. 182]

"Other tricks also, in comparison with which the tricks of the children of Moses are nothing, and rumours of his meanness and shabbiness, his open cheating and worldliness, and his cruelties said to have been practised on the Shaykhs and the poor of the whole country, but especially on the Aimadārs and other deserving people of the Panjāb,—all came up, one story after the other. His motives, 'which shall be revealed on the day of resurrection' (Qur. LXXXVI, 9), were disclosed; all sorts of stories, calculated to ruin his character and to vilify him, were got up, till it was resolved to force him to go to Makkah.

"But when people asked him whether pilgrimage was a duty for a man in his circumstances, he said No; for Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī had risen to power, whilst the star of the Mawlānā was fast sinking."

But a heavier blow was to fall on the 'Ulamās.   [Bad. II, p. 207.]

"At one of the above-mentioned meetings, His Majesty asked how many freeborn women a man was legally allowed to marry (by nikāḥ). The lawyers answered that four was the limit fixed by the prophet. The emperor thereupon remarked that from the time he had come of age, he had not restricted himself to that number, and in justice to his wives, of whom he had a large number, both freeborn and slaves, he now wanted to know what remedy the law provided for his case. Most expressed their opinions, when the emperor remarked that Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī had once told him that one of the Mujtahids had had as many as nine wives. Some of the 'Ulamās present replied that the Mujtahid alluded to was Ibn Abī Laila; and that some had even allowed eighteen from a too literal translation of the Qur'ān verse (Qur. Sūr. IV, 3), "Marry whatever women ye like, two and two, and three and three, and four and four;" but this was improper. His Majesty then sent a message to Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī, who replied that he had merely wished to point out to Akbar that a difference of opinion existed on this point among lawyers, but that he had not given a fatwa, in order to legalize irregular marriage proceedings. This annoyed His Majesty very much. "The Shaykh," he said, "told me at that time a very different thing from what he now tells me." He never forgot this.

"After much discussion on this point, the 'Ulamās, having collected [S. 183] every tradition on the subject, decreed, first, that by Mut'ah [not by nikāh] a man might marry any number of wives he pleased; and secondly, that Mut'ah marriages were allowed by Imām Mālik. The Shī'ahs, as was well known, loved children born in Mut'ah wedlock more than those born by nikāh wives, contrary to the Sunnīs and the Ahl-i Jamā'at.

"On the latter point also the discussion got rather lively, and I would refer the reader to my work entitled Najātu'r-rashīd [Vide note 2, p. 104], in which the subject is briefly discussed. But to make things worse, Naqīb Khān fetched a copy of the Muwaṭṭa of Imām Mālik, and pointed to a Tradition in the book, which the Imām had cited as a proof against the legality of Mut'ah marriages.

"Another night, Qāzī Ya'qūb, Shaykh Abū'l-Fazl, Hājī Ibrāhīm, and a few others were invited to meet His Majesty in the house near the Anūptalāo tank. Shaykh Abū'l-Fazl had been selected as the opponent, and laid before the emperor several traditions regarding Mut'ah marriages, which his father (Shaykh Mubārak) had collected, and the discussion commenced. His Majesty then asked me, what my opinion was on this subject. I said, "The conclusion which must be drawn from so many contradictory traditions and sectarian customs, is this:—Imām Mālik and the Shī'ahs are unanimous in looking upon Mut'ah marriages as legal; Imām Shāfi'ī and the Great Imām (Ḥanīfah) look upon Mut'ah marriages as illegal. But, should at any time a Qāzī of the Mālikī sect decide that Mut'ah is legal, it is legal, according to the common belief, even for Shāfi'īs and Ḥanafīs. Every other opinion on this subject is idle talk." This pleased His Majesty very much."

The unfortunate Shaykh Ya'qūb, however, went on talking about the extent of the authority of a Qāzī. He tried to shift the ground; but when he saw that he was discomfited, he said, "Very well, I have nothing else to say,—just as His Majesty pleases."

"The emperor then said, "I herewith appoint the Mālikī Qāzī Hasan 'Arab as the Qāzī before whom I lay this case concerning my wives, and you, Ya'qūb, are from to-day suspended." This was immediately obeyed, and Qāzī Hasan, on the spot, gave a decree which made Mut'ah marriages legal.

"The veteran lawyers, as Makhdūmu'l-Mulk, Qāzī Ya'qūb, and others, made very long faces at these proceedings.

"This was the commencement of 'their sere and yellow leaf.'

"The result was that, a few days later, Mawlānā Jalālu'd-Dīn of Multān a profound and learned man, whose grant had been transferred, [S. 184] was ordered from Āgra (to Fatḥpūr Sīkṛī,) and appointed Qāzī of the realm. Qāzī Ya'qūb was sent to Gaur as District Qāzī.

"From this day henceforth, 'the road of opposition and difference in opinion' lay open, and remained so till His Majesty was appointed Mujtahid of the empire." [Here follows the extract regarding the formula 'Allāhu Akbar, given on p. 166, note 3.]

"During this year [983], there arrived Hakīm Abū'l-Fatḥ, Hakīm Humāyūn (who subsequently changed his name to Humāyūn Qulī, and lastly to Hakīm Humām,) and Nūru'd-Dīn, who as poet is known under the name of Qarārī. They were brothers, and came from Gīlān, near the Caspian Sea. The eldest brother, whose manners and address were exceedingly winning, obtained in a short time great ascendancy over the Emperor; he flattered him openly, adapted himself to every change in the religious ideas of His Majesty, or even went in advance of them, and thus became in a short time, a most intimate friend of Akbar.

"Soon after there came from Persia Mullā Muḥammad of Yazd, who got the nickname of Yazīdī, and attaching himself to the emperor, commenced openly to revile the Ṣaḥābah (persons who knew Muḥammad, except the twelve Imāms), told queer stories about them, and tried hard to make the emperor a Shī'ah. But he was soon left behind by Bīr Baṛ—that bastard!—and by Shaykh Abū'l-Fazl, and Hakīm Abu'l-Fath, who successfully turned the emperor from the Islām, and led him to reject inspiration, prophetship, the miracles of the prophet and of the saints, and even the whole law, so that I could no longer bear their company.

"At the same time, His Majesty ordered Qāzī Jalālu'd-Dīn and several 'Ulamās to write a commentary on the Qur'ān; but this led to great rows among them.

"Deb Chand Rājah Manjholah—that fool—once set the whole court in laughter by saying that Allah after all had great respect for cows, else the cow would not have been mentioned in the first chapter (Sūratu'l-baqarah) of the Qur'ān.

"His Majesty had also the early history of the Islām read out to him, and soon commenced to think less of the Ṣaḥābah. Soon after, the observance of the five prayers and the fasts, and the belief in every thing connected with the prophet, were put down as taqlīdī, or religious blindness, and man's reason was acknowledged to be the basis of all religion. Portuguese priests also came frequently; and His Majesty enquired into the articles of their belief which are based upon reason." [S. 185]

"In the beginning of the next year [984], when His Majesty was at Dīpālpūr in Mālwah, Sharīf of Āmul arrived. This apostate had run from country to country, like a dog that has burnt its foot, and turning from one sect to the other, he went on wrangling till he became a perfect heretic. For some time he had studied Ṣūfic nonsense in the school of Mawlānā Muḥammad Zāhid of Balkh, nephew of the great Shaykh Ḥusain of Khwārazm, and had lived with derwishes. But as he had little of a derwish in himself, he talked slander, and was so full of conceit, that they hunted him away. The Mawlānā also wrote a poem against him, in which the following verse occurs:

There was a heretic, Sharīf by name,
Who talked very big, though of doubtful fame.

"In his wanderings he had come to the Dakhin, where he made himself so notorious, that the king of the Dakhin wanted to kill him. But he was only put on a donkey and shewn about in the city. Hindustān, however, is a nice large place, where anything is allowed, and no one cares for another, and people go on as they may. He therefore made for Mālwah, and settled at a place five kos distant from the Imperial camp. Every frivolous and absurd word he spoke, was full of venom, and became the general talk. Many fools, especially Persian heretics, (whom the Islām casts out as people cast out hairs which they find in dough—such heretics are called Nuqṭawīs, and are destined to be the foremost worshippers of Antichrist) gathered round him, and spread, at his order, the rumour that he was the restorer of the Millenium. The sensation was immense. As soon as His Majesty heard of him, he invited him one night to a private audience in a long prayer room, which had been made of cloth, and in which the emperor with his suite used to say the five daily prayers. Ridiculous in his exterior, ugly in shape, with his neck stooping forward, he performed his obeisance, and stood still with his arms crossed, and you could scarcely see how his blue eye (which colour is a sign of hostility to our prophet) shed lies, falsehood, and hypocrisy. There he stood for a long time, and when he got the order to sit down, he prostrated himself in worship, and sat down duzānū (vide p. 160, note 2), like an Indian camel. He talked privately to His Majesty; no one dared to draw near them, but I sometimes heard from a distance the word 'ilm (knowledge) because he spoke pretty loud. He called his silly views 'the truth of truths,' or 'the groundwork of things.' [S. 186]

A fellow ignorant of things external and internal,
From silliness indulging idle talk.
He is immersed in heresies infernal,
And prattles—God forbid!—of truth eternal.

"The whole talk of the man was a mere repetition of the ideas of Mahmūd of Basakhwān (a village in Gīlān), who lived at the time of Tīmūr. Mahmūd had written thirteen treatises of dirty filth, full of such hypocrisy, as no religion or sect would suffer, and containing nothing but tītāl, which name he had given to the 'science of expressed and implied language.' The chief work of this miserable wretch is entitled Baḥr o Kūza (the Ocean and the Jug), and contains such loathsome nonsense, that on listening to it one's ear vomits. How the devil would have laughed into his face, if he had heard it, and how he would have jumped for joy! And this Sharīf— that dirty thief—had also written a collection of nonsense, which he styled Tarashshuḥ-i Zuhūr, in which he blindly follows Mīr 'Abdu'l-Awwal. This book is written in loose, deceptive aphorisms, each commencing with the words mīfarmūdand (the master said), a queer thing to look at, and a mass of ridiculous, silly nonsense. But notwithstanding his ignorance, according to the proverb, 'Worthies will meet,' he has exerted such an influence on the spirit of the age, and on the people, that he is now [in 1004] a commander of One Thousand, and His Majesty's apostle for Bengal, possessing the four degrees of faith, and calling, as the Lieutenant of the emperor, the faithful to these degrees."

The discussions on Thursday evenings were continued for the next year. In 986, they became more violent, in as far as the elementary principles of the Islām were chosen as subject, whilst formerly the disputations had turned on single points. The 'Ulamās even in the presence of the emperor, often lost their temper, and called each other Kāfirs or accursed.

"Makhdūm also wrote a pamphlet against Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī, in which he accused him of the murder of Khizr Khān of Shirwān, who was suspected to have reviled the prophet, and of Mīr Habshī, whom he had ordered to be killed for heresy. But he also said in the pamphlet that it was wrong to say prayers with 'Abdu'n-Nabī, because he had been undutiful towards his father, and was, besides, afflicted with piles. Upon this, Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī called Makhdūm a fool, and cursed him. The 'Ulamās now broke up into two parties, like the Sibṭīs and Qibṭīs, gathering either round the Shaykh, or round Makhdūmu'l-Mulk; and the heretic innovators used this opportunity, to mislead the emperor [S. 187]  by their wicked opinions and aspersions, and turned truth into falsehood, and represented lies as truth.

"His Majesty till now [986] had shewn every sincerity, and was diligently searching for truth. But his education had been much neglected; and surrounded as he was by men of low and heretic principles, he had been forced to doubt the truth of the Islām. Falling from one perplexity into the other, he lost sight of his real object, the search of truth; and when the strong embankment of our clear law and our excellent faith had once been broken through, His Majesty grew colder and colder, till after the short space of five or six years not a trace of Muhammadan feeling was left in his heart. Matters then became very different."

"In 984, the news arrived that Shāh Ṭahmāsp of Persia had died, and Shāh Ismā'īl II. had succeeded him. The Tārīkh of his accession is given in the first letters of the three words

Shāh Ismā'īl gave the order that any one who wished to go to Makkah could have his travelling expenses paid from the royal exchequer. Thus thousands of people partook of the spiritual blessing of pilgrimage, whilst here you dare not now [1004] mention that word, and you would expose yourself to capital punishment, if you were to ask leave from court for this purpose."

"In 985, the news arrived that Shāh Ismā'īl, son of Shāh Ṭahmāsp had been murdered, with the consent of the grandees, by his sister Parī Jān Khānum. Mīr Ḥaidar, the riddle writer, found the Tārīkh of his accession in the words Shahinshāh-i rūi zamīn [984] 'a king of the face of the earth,' and the Tārīkh of his death in Shahinshāh-i zer-i zamīn [985] 'a king below the face of the earth.' At that time also there appeared in Persia the great comet which had been visible in India (p. 240), and the consternation was awful, especially as at the same time the Turks conquered Tabrīz, Shirwān, and Māzandarān. Sulṭān Muḥammad Khudābandah, son of Shāh Ṭahmāsp, but by another mother, succeeded; and with him ended the time of reviling and cursing the Ṣaḥābah.

"But the heretical ideas had certainly entered Hindustān from Persia." [S. 188]

BADĀONĪ'S SUMMARY OF THE REASONS WHICH LED AKBAR TO RENOUNCE THE ISLĀM.

[Bad. II, p. 256.]

The following are the principal reasons which led His Majesty from the right path. I shall not give all, but only some, according to the proverb, "That which is small, guides to that which is great, and a sign of fear in a man points him out as the culprit."

The principal reason is the large number of learned men of all denominations and sects that came from various countries to court, and received personal interviews. Night and day people did nothing but enquire and investigate; profound points of science, the subtleties of revelation, the curiosities of history, the wonders of nature, of which large volumes could only give a summary abstract, were ever spoken of. His Majesty collected the opinions of every one, especially of such as were not Muhammadans, retaining whatever he approved of, and rejecting everything which was against his disposition, and ran counter to his wishes. From his earliest childhood to his manhood, and from his manhood to old age, His Majesty has passed through the most various phases, and through all sorts of religious practices and sectarian beliefs, and has collected every thing which people can find in books, with a talent of selection peculiar to him, and a spirit of enquiry opposed to every [Islāmitic] principle. Thus a faith based on some elementary principles traced itself on the mirror of his heart, and as the result of all the influences which were brought to bear on His Majesty, there grew, gradually as the outline on a stone, the conviction in his heart that there were sensible men in all religions, and abstemious thinkers, and men endowed with miraculous powers, among all nations. If some true knowledge was thus everywhere to be found, why should truth be confined to one religion, or to a creed like the Islām, which was comparatively new, and scarcely a thousand years old; why should one sect assert what another denies, and why should one claim a preference without having superiority conferred on itself.

Moreover Sumanīs and Brahmins managed to get frequent private interviews with His Majesty. As they surpass other learned men in their treatises on morals, and on physical and religious sciences, and reach a high degree in their knowledge of the future, in spiritual power and human perfection, they brought proofs, based on reason and testimony, [S. 189] for the truth of their own, and the fallacies of other religions, and inculcated their doctrines so firmly, and so skilfully represented things as quite self-evident which require consideration, that no man, by expressing his doubts, could now raise a doubt in His Majesty, even if mountains were to crumble to dust, or the heavens were to tear asunder.

Hence His Majesty cast aside the Islāmitic revelations regarding resurrection, the day of judgment, and the details connected with it, as also all ordinances based on the tradition of our prophet. He listened to every abuse which the courtiers heaped on our glorious and pure faith, which can be so easily followed; and eagerly seizing such opportunities, he shewed in words and gestures, his satisfaction at the treatment which his original religion received at their hands.

How wise was the advice which the guardian gave a lovely being,
"Do not smile at every face, as the rose does at every zephyr."
When it was too late to profit by the lesson,
She could but frown, and hang down the head.

For some time His Majesty called a Brahmin, whose name was Purukhotam author of a commentary on the .., whom he asked to invent particular Sanscrit names for all things in existence. At other times, a Brahmin of the name of Debī was pulled up the wall of the castle, sitting on a chārpāi, till he arrived near a balcony where the emperor used to sleep. Whilst thus suspended, he instructed His Majesty in the secrets and legends of Hinduism, in the manner of worshipping idols, the fire, the sun and stars, and of revering the chief gods of these unbelievers, as Brahma, Mahādev, Bishn, Kishn, Rām, and Mahāmāī, who are supposed to have been men, but very likely never existed, though some, in their idle belief, look upon them as gods, and others as angels. His Majesty, on hearing further how much the people of the country prized their institutions, commenced to look upon them with affection. The doctrine of the transmigration of souls especially took a deep root in his heart, and he approved of the saying, —"There is no religion in which the doctrine of transmigration has not taken firm root." Insincere flatterers composed treatises, in order to fix the evidence for this doctrine; and as His Majesty relished enquiries into the sects of these infidels (who cannot be counted, so numerous they are, and who have no end of [S. 190] revealed books, but nevertheless, do not belong to the Ahl-i Kitāb (Jews, Christians, and Muhammadans), not a day passed, but a new fruit of this loathsome tree ripened into existence.

Sometimes again, it was Shaykh Tāju'd-Dīn of Dihlī, who had to attend the emperor. This Shaykh is the son of Shaykh Zakariyā of Ajodhan. The principal 'Ulamās of the age call him Tāju'l-'Ārifīn, or crown of the Ṣūfīs. He had learned under Shaykh Zamān of Pānīpat, author of a commentary on the Lawā'iḥ, and of other very excellent works, was in Ṣūfism and pantheism second only to Shaykh Ibn 'Arabī, and had written a comprehensive commentary on the Nuzhatu'l-ArwāH. Like the preceding he was drawn up the wall of the castle. His Majesty listened whole nights to his Ṣūfic trifles. As the Shaykh was not overstrict in acting according to our religious law, he spoke a great deal of the pantheistic presence, which idle Ṣūfīs will talk about, and which generally leads them to denial of the law and open heresy. He also introduced polemic matters, as the ultimate salvation by faith of Pharaoh—God's curse be upon him!— which is mentioned in the Fuṣūṣu'l-Ḥikam, or the excellence of hope over fear, and many other things to which men incline from weakness of disposition, unmindful of cogent reasons, or distinct religious commands, to the contrary. The Shaykh is therefore one of the principal culprits, who weakened His Majesty's faith in the orders of our religion. He also said that infidels would, of course, be kept for ever in hell, but it was not likely, nor could it be proved, that the punishment in hell was eternal. His explanations of some verses of the Qur'ān, or of the Tradition of our prophet, were often far-fetched. Besides, he mentioned that the phrase 'Insān-i Kāmil (perfect man) referred to the ruler of the age, from which he inferred that the nature of a king was holy. In this way, he said many agreeable things to the emperor, rarely expressing the proper meaning, but rather the opposite of what he knew to be correct. Even the sijdah (prostration), which people mildly call zamīnbos (kissing the ground,) he allowed to be due to the Insān-i Kāmil; he looked upon the respect due to the king as a religious command, and called the face of the king Ka'ba-yi Murādāt, the sanctum of desires, [S. 191] and Qibla-yi ḥājāt, the cynosure of necessities. Such blasphemies other people supported by quoting stories of no credit, and by referring to the practice followed by disciples of some heads of Indian sects. And after this, when.…

Other great philosophical writers of the age also expressed opinions, for which there is no authority. Thus Shaykh Ya'qūb of Kashmīr, a well known writer, and at present the greatest authority in religious matters, mentioned some opinions held by 'Ainu'l-Quzāt of Hamadān, that our prophet Muḥammad was a personification of the divine name of Al-hādī (the guide), and the devil was the personification of God's name of Al-muzill (the tempter), that both names, thus personified, had appeared in this world, and that both personifications were therefore necessary.

Mullā Muḥammad of Yazd, too, was drawn up the wall of the castle, and uttered unworthy, loathsome abuse against the first three Khalīfahs, called the whole Ṣahābah, their followers and next followers, and the saints of past ages, infidels and adulterers, slandered the Sunnīs and the Ahl i Jamā'at, and represented every sect, except the Shī'ah, as damned and leading men into damnation.

The differences among the 'Ulamās, of whom one called lawful what the other called unlawful, furnished His Majesty with another reason for apostacy. The emperor also believed that the 'Ulamās of his time were superior in dignity and rank to Imām-i Ghazzālī and Imām-i Rāzī, and knowing from experience the flimsiness of his 'Ulamās, he judged those great men of the past by his contemporaries, and threw them aside.

Abb.: Akbar mit Jesuiten / von Nar Singh, 1605
[Bildquelle: Wikipedia, Üublic domain]

Learned monks also came from Europe, who go by the name of Pādre. They have an infallible head, called Pāpā. He can change any religious ordinances as he may think advisable, and kings have to submit to his authority. These monks brought the gospel, and mentioned to the emperor their proofs for the Trinity. His Majesty firmly believed in the truth of the Christian religion, and wishing to spread the doctrines of [S. 192] Jesus, ordered Prince Murād to take a few lessons in Christianity by way of auspiciousness, and charged Abū'l-Fazl to translate the Gospel. Instead of the usual Bismi'llāhi'r-rahmāni'r-rahīmi, the following lines were used—

Ay nām-i tu Jesus o Kiristū
(O thou whose names are Jesus and Christ)

which means, 'O thou whose name is gracious and blessed;' and Shaykh Faizī added another half, in order to complete the verse

Subhāna-ka lā siwā-ka Yā hū.
(We praise Thee, there is no one besides Thee, O God!)

These accursed monks applied the description of cursed Satan, and of his qualities, to Muḥammad, the best of all prophets—God's blessings rest on him and his whole house!—a thing which even devils would not do.

Bīr Baṛ also impressed upon the emperor that the sun was the primary origin of every thing. The ripening of the grain on the fields, of fruits and vegetables, the illumination of the universe, and the lives of men, depended upon the Sun. Hence it was but proper to worship and reverence this luminary; and people in praying should face towards the place where he rises, instead of turning to the quarter where he sets. For similar reasons, said Bīr Baṛ, should men pay regard to fire and water, stones, trees, and other forms of existence, even to cows and their dung, to the mark on the forehead and the Brahminical thread.

Philosophers and learned men who had been at Court, but were in disgrace, made themselves busy in bringing proofs. They said, the sun was 'the greatest light,' the source of benefit for the whole world, the nourisher of kings, and the origin of royal power.

This was also the cause why the Nawrūz-i Jalālī was observed, on which day, since His Majesty's accession, a great feast was given. His Majesty also adopted different suits of clothes of seven different colours, [S. 193] each of which was worn on a particular day of the week in honour of the seven colours of the seven planets.

The emperor also learned from some Hindus formulae, to reduce the influence of the sun to his subjection, and commenced to read them mornings and evenings as a religious exercise. He also believed that it was wrong to kill cows, which the Hindus worship; he looked upon cow-dung as pure, interdicted the use of beef, and killed beautiful men (?) instead of cows. The doctors confirmed the emperor in his opinion, and told him, it was written in their books that beef was productive of all sorts of diseases, and was very indigestible.

Fire-worshippers also had come from Nausārī in Gujrāt, and proved to His Majesty the truth of Zoroaster's doctrines. They called fire-worship 'the great worship,' and impressed the emperor so favourably, that he learned from them the religious terms and rites of the old Pārsīs, and ordered Abū'l-Fazl to make arrangements, that sacred fire should be kept burning at court by day and by night, according to the custom of the ancient Persian kings, in whose fire-temples it had been continually burning; for fire was one of the manifestations of God, and 'a ray of His rays.'

His Majesty, from his youth, had also been accustomed to celebrate the Hom (a kind of fire-worship), from his affection towards the Hindu princesses of his Harem.

From the New Year's day of the twenty-fifth year of his reign [988], His Majesty openly worshipped the sun and the fire by prostrations; and the courtiers were ordered to rise, when the candles and lamps were lighted in the palace. On the festival of the eighth day of Virgo, he put on the mark on the forehead, like a Hindu, and appeared in the Audience Hall, when several Brahmins tied, by way of auspiciousness, a string with jewels on it round his hands, whilst the grandees countenanced these proceedings by bringing, according to their circumstances, pearls and jewels as presents. The custom of Rāk'hī (or tying pieces of clothes round the wrists as amulets) became quite common.

When orders, in opposition to the Islām, were quoted by people of other religions, they were looked upon by His Majesty as convincing, whilst Hinduism is in reality a religion, in which every order is nonsense. The Originator of our belief, the Arabian Saints, all were said to be adulterers, and highway robbers, and all the Muhammadans were declared worthy of reproof, till at length His Majesty belonged to those of whom the Qur'ān says (Sūr. 61, 8:) "They seek to extinguish God's light with their mouths: but God will perfect his light, though the infidels be averse [S. 194] thereto." In fact matters went so far, that proofs were no longer required when anything connected with the Islām was to be abolished."

Akbar publicly assumes the spiritual leadership of the nation.

[Bad. II, p. 268.]

In this year [987], His Majesty was anxious to unite in his person the powers of the state and those of the Church; for he could not bear to be subordinate to any one. As he had heard that the prophet, his lawful successors, and some of the most powerful kings, as Amīr Tīmūr Ṣāhib-qirān, and Mīrzā Ulugh Beg-i Gurgān, and several others, had themselves read the Khuṭbah (the Friday prayer), he resolved to do the same, apparently in order to imitate their example, but in reality to appear in public as the Mujtahid of the age. Accordingly, on Friday, the first Jumāda'l-awwal 987, in the Jāmi' Masjid of Fatḥpūr, which he had built near the palace, His Majesty commenced to read the Khuṭbah. But all at once he stammered and trembled, and though assisted by others, he could scarcely read three verses of a poem, which Shaykh Faizī had composed, came quickly down from the pulpit, and handed over the duties of the Imām (leader of the prayer) to Hāfiz Muḥammad Amīn, the Court Khaṭīb. These are the verses—

The Lord has given me the empire,
And a wise heart, and a strong arm,
He has guided me in righteousness and justice,
And has removed from my thoughts everything but justice.
His praise surpasses man's understanding,
Great is His power, Allāhu Akbar!"

"As it was quite customary in those days to speak ill of the doctrine and orders of the Qur'ān, and as Hindu wretches and Hinduizing Muhammadans openly reviled our prophet, irreligious writers left out in the prefaces to their books the customary praise of the prophet, and after saying something to the praise of God, wrote eulogies of the emperor instead. It was impossible even to mention the name of the prophet, because these liars (as Abū'l-Fazl, Faizī, &c.) did not like it. This wicked innovation gave general offence, and sowed the seed of evil throughout the country; but notwithstanding this, a lot of low and mean fellows [S. 195] put piously on their necks the collar of the Divine Faith, and called themselves disciples, either from fear, or hope of promotion, though they thought it impossible to say our creed."

"In the same year [987], a document made its appearance, which bore the signatures and seals of Makhdūmu'l-Mulk, of Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī, ṣadru'ṣ-ṣudūr, of Qāzī Jalālu'd-Dīn of Multān, Qāzīyu'l-quzāt, of Ṣadr Jahān, the muftī of the empire, of Shaykh Mubārak, the deepest writer of the age, and of Ghāzī Khān of Badakhshān, who stood unrivalled in the various sciences.The object of the document was to settle the superiority of the Imām-i 'ādil (just leader) over the Mujtahid, which was proved by a reference to an ill-supported authority. The whole matter is a question, regarding which people differ in opinion; but the document was to do away with the possibility of disagreeing about laws, whether political or religious, and was to bind the lawyers in spite of themselves. But before the instrument was signed, a long discussion took place as to the meaning of ijtihād, and as to whom the term Mujtahid was applicable, and whether it really was the duty of a just Imām who, from his acquaintance with politics, holds a higher rank than the Mujtahid, to decide, according to the requirements of the times, and the wants of the age, all such legal questions on which there existed a difference of opinion. At last, however, all signed the document, some willingly, others against their convictions.

I shall copy the document verbatim.

'Whereas Hindūstān has now become the centre of security and peace, and the land of justice and beneficence, a large number of people, especially learned men and lawyers, have immigrated and chosen this country for their home. Now we, the principal 'Ulamās, who are not only well versed in the several departments of the law and in the principles of jurisprudence, and well-acquainted with the edicts which rest on reason or testimony, but are also known for our piety and honest intentions, have duly considered the deep meaning,

1. first, of the verse of the Qur'ān (Sūr. IV, 62,) "Obey God, and obey the prophet, and those who have authority among you," and
2. secondly, of the genuine tradition, "Surely, the man who is dearest to God on the day of judgment, is the Imām i 'Ādil: whosoever obeys the Amīr, obeys Me; and whosoever rebels against him, rebels against Me," and
3. thirdly, of several other proofs based on reasoning or testimony;

and we have agreed that the rank of a Sulṭān-i 'Ādil (a just ruler) is higher [S. 196] in the eyes of God than the rank of a Mujtahid. Further we declare that the king of the Islām, Amīr of the Faithful, shadow of God in the world, Abdu'l-Fatḥ Jalālu'd-Dīn Muḥammad Akbar Pādishāh-i ghāzī, whose kingdom God perpetuate, is a most just, a most wise, and a most God-fearing king. Should therefore, in future, a religious question come up, regarding which the opinions of the Mujtahids are at variance, and His Majesty, in his penetrating understanding and clear wisdom, be inclined to adopt, for the benefit of the nation and as a political expedient, any of the conflicting opinions which exist on that point, and issue a decree to that effect, we do hereby agree that such a decree shall be binding on us and on the whole nation.

Further, we declare that, should His Majesty think fit to issue a new order, we and the nation shall likewise be bound by it, provided always that such an order be not only in accordance with some verse of the Qur'ān, but also of real benefit for the nation; and further, that any opposition on the part of the subjects to such an order as passed by His Majesty, shall involve damnation in the world to come, and loss of religion and property in this life.

This document has been written with honest intentions, for the glory of God, and the propagation of the Islām, and is signed by us, the principal 'Ulamās and lawyers, in the month of Rajab of the year 987 of the Hijrah.'

The draft of this document when presented to the emperor, was in the handwriting of Shaykh Mubārak. The others had signed it against their will, but the Shaykh had added at the bottom that he had most willingly signed his name; for this was a matter, which, for several years, he had been anxiously looking forward to.

No sooner had His Majesty obtained this legal instrument, than the road of deciding any religious question was open; the superiority of intellect of the Imām was established, and opposition was rendered impossible. All orders regarding things which our law allows or disallows, were abolished, and the superiority of intellect of the Imām became law.

But the state of Shaykh Abū'l-Fazl resembled that of the poet Ḥairatī of Samarqand, who after having been annoyed by the cool and sober people of Māwara'n-nahr (Turkistān), joined the old foxes of Shī'itic Persia, and chose 'the roadless road.' You might apply the proverb to him, 'He prefers hell to shame on earth.' [S. 197]

On the 16th Rajab of this year, His Majesty made a pilgrimage to Ajmīr. It is now fourteen years that His Majesty has not returned to that place. On the 5th Sha'bān, at the distance of five kos from the town, the emperor alighted, and went on foot to the tomb of the saint (Mu'īnu'd-Dīn). But sensible people smiled, and said, it was strange that His Majesty should have such a faith in the Khwājah of Ajmīr, whilst he rejected the foundation of everything, our prophet, from whose 'skirt' hundreds of thousands of saints of the highest degree had sprung."

"After Makhdūmu'l-Mulk and Shaykh 'Abdu'n-Nabī had left for Makkah (987), the emperor examined people about the creation of the Qur'ān, elicited their belief, or otherwise, in revelation, and raised doubts in them regarding all things connected with the prophet and the imāms. He distinctly denied the existence of Jinns, of angels, and of all other beings of the invisible world, as well as the miracles of the prophet and the saints; he rejected the successive testimony of the witnesses of our faith, the proofs for the truths of the Qur'ān as far as they agree with man's reason, the existence of the soul after the dissolution of the body, and future rewards and punishments in as far as they differed from metempsychosis.

Some copies of the Qur'ān, and a few old graves
Are left as witnesses for these blind men.
The graves, unfortunately, are all silent,
And no one searches for truth in the Qur'ān.
An 'Īd has come again, and bright days will come—like the face of the bride.
And the cupbearer will again put wine into the jar—red like blood.
The reins of prayer and the muzzle of fasting—once more
Will fall from these asses—alas, alas!

His Majesty had now determined publicly to use the formula, 'There is no God but God, and Akbar is God's representative.' But as this led to commotions, he thought better of it, and restricted the use of the formula to a few people in the Harem. People expressed the date of this event by the words fitnahā-yi ummat, the ruin of the Church (987). The emperor tried hard to convert Quṭbu'd-Dīn Muḥammad Khān and Shahbāz Khān (vide List of grandees, IId book, Nos. 28 and 80), and several others. But they staunchly objected. Quṭbu'd-Dīn said, "What would the kings of the West, as the Sulṭān of Constantinople, say, if he [S. 198]  heard all this. Our faith is the same, whether a man hold high or broad views." His Majesty then asked him, if he was in India on a secret mission from Constantinople, as he shewed so much opposition; or if he wished to keep a small place warm for himself, should he once go away from India, and be a respectable man there: he might go at once. Shahbāz got excited, and took a part in the conversation; and when Bīr Bar—that hellish dog— made a sneering remark at our religion, Shahbāz abused him roundly, and said, "You cursed infidel, do you talk in this manner? It would not take me long to settle you." It got quite uncomfortable, when His Majesty said to Shahbāz in particular, and to the others in general, "Would that a shoefull of excrements were thrown into your faces."

"In this year the Tamghā (inland tolls) and the Jazya (tax on infidels), which brought in several krors of dāms, were abolished, and edicts to this effect were sent over the whole empire."

In the same year a rebellion broke out at Jaunpūr, headed by Muḥammad Ma'ṣūm of Kābul, Muḥammad Ma'ṣūm Khān, Mu'izzu'l_Mulk, 'Arab Bahādur, and other grandees. They objected to Akbar's innovations in religious matters, in as far as these innovations led to a withdrawal of grants of rent-free land. The rebels had consulted Mullā Muḥammad of Yazd (vide above, pp. 175, 182), who was Qāziyu-l-quzāt at Jaunpūr; and on obtaining his opinion that, under the circumstances, rebellion against the king of the land was lawful, they seized some tracts of land, and collected a large army. The course which this rebellion took, is known from general histories; vide Elphinstone, p. 511. Mullā Muḥammad of Yazd, and Mu'izzu'l-Mulk, in the beginning of the rebellion, were called by the emperor to Āgra, and drowned, on the road, at the command of the emperor, in the Jamnā.

In the same year the principal 'Ulamās, as Makhdūmu'l-Mulk, Shaykh Munawwar, Mullā 'Abdu'sh-Shukūr, &c., were sent as exiles to distant provinces.

"Hājī Ibrāhīm of Sarhind (vide above, p. 105) brought to court an old, worm-eaten MS. in queer characters, which, as he pretended, was written by Shaykh Ibn 'Arabī. In this book, it was said that the Ṣāhib-i Zamān was to have many wives, and that he would shave his beard. Some of the characteristics mentioned in the book as belonging to him, [S. 199] were found to agree with the usages of His Majesty. He also brought a fabricated tradition that the son of a Ṣahābī (one who knew Muḥammad) had once come before the prophet with his beard cut off, when the prophet had said that the inhabitants of Paradise looked like that young man. But as the Hājī during discussions, behaved impudently towards Abū'l-Fazl, Hakīm Abu'l-Fatḥ, and Shāh Fatḥu'llāh, he was sent to Rantanbhūr, where he died in 994.

Farmāns were also sent to the leading Shaykhs and 'Ulamās of the various districts to come to Court, as His Majesty wished personally to enquire into their grants (vide 2nd book, Ā'īn 19) and their manner of living. When they came, the emperor examined them singly, giving them private interviews, and assigned to them some lands, as he thought fit. But when he got hold of one who had disciples, or held spiritual soirées, or practised similar tricks, he confined them in forts, or exiled them to Bengal or Bhakkar. This practice become quite common.  The poor Shaykhs who were, moreover, left to the mercies of Hindu Financial Secretaries, forgot in exile their spiritual soirées, and had no other place where to live, except mouseholes."

"In this year (988) low and mean fellows, who pretended to be learned, but were in reality fools, collected evidences that His Majesty was the Ṣāhib-i Zamān, who would remove all differences of opinion among the seventy-two sects of the Islām. Sharīf of Āmul brought proofs from the writings of Mahmūd of Basakhwān (vide above, p. 177), who had said that, in 990, a man would rise up who would do away with all that was wrong . And Khwājah Mawlānā of Shīrāz, the heretical wizard, came with a pamphlet by some of the Sharīfs of Makkah, in which a tradition was quoted that the earth would exist for 7,000 years, and as that time was now over, the promised appearance of Imām Mahdī would immediately take place. The Mawlānā also brought a pamphlet written by himself on the subject. The Shī'ahs mentioned similar nonsense connected with 'Alī, and some quoted the following Rubā'ī, which is said to have been composed by Nāṣir-i Khusraw, or, according to some, by another poet:—

All this made His Majesty the more inclined to claim the dignity of a prophet, perhaps I should say, the dignity of something else."

[p. 291.]

"At one of the meetings, the emperor asked those who were present, to mention each the name of man who could be considered the wisest man of the age; but they should not mention kings, as they formed an exception. Each then mentioned that man in whom he had confidence. Thus Hakīm Humām (vide above, p. 175) mentioned himself, and Shaykh Abū'l-Fazl his own father.

"During this time, the four degrees of faith in His Majesty were defined. The four degrees consisted in readiness to sacrifice to the Emperor property, life, honour, and religion. Whoever had sacrificed these four things, possessed four degrees; and whoever had sacrificed one of these four, possessed one degree.

"All the courtiers now put their names down as faithful disciples of the throne."

"At this time (end of 989), His Majesty sent Shaykh Jamāl Bakhtyār to bring Shaykh Quṭbu'd-Dīn of Jalesar who, though a wicked man, pretended to be 'attracted by God.' When Quṭbu'd-Dīn came, the emperor brought him to a conference with some Christian priests, and rationalists, and some other great authorities of the age. After a discussion, the Shaykh exclaimed, 'Let us make a great fire, and in the presence of His Majesty I shall pass through it. And if any one else gets safely through, he proves by it the truth of his religion." The fire was made. The Shaykh pulled one of the Christian priests by the coat, and said to him, "Come on, in the name of God!" But none of the priests had the courage to go.

Soon after the Shaykh was sent into exile to Bhakkar, together with other faqīrs, as His Majesty was jealous of his triumph.

A large number of Shaykhs and Faqīrs were also sent to other places, mostly to Qandahār, where they were exchanged for horses. About the same time, the emperor captured a sect consisting of Shaykhs and disciples, and known under the name of Ilāhīs. They professed all sorts of nonsense, and practised deceits. His Majesty asked them whether they repented of their vanities. They replied, "Repentance is our Maid." And so they had invented similar names for the laws and religious commands of the Islām, and for the fast. At the command of His Majesty, [S. 201] they were sent to Bhakkar and Qandahār, and were given to merchants in exchange for Turkish colts."

"His Majesty was now (990) convinced that the Millennium of the Islāmitic dispensation was drawing near. No obstacle, therefore, remained to promulgating the designs which he had planned in secret. The Shaykhs and 'Ulamās who, on account of their obstinacy and pride, had to be entirely discarded, were gone, and His Majesty was free to disprove the orders and principles of the Islām, and to ruin the faith of the nation by making new and absurd regulations. The first order which was passed was, that the coinage should shew the era of the Millennium, and that a history of the one thousand years should be written, but commencing from the death of the prophet. Other extraordinary innovations were devised as political expedients, and such orders were given that one's senses got quite perplexed. Thus the sijdah, or prostration, was ordered to be performed as being proper for kings; but instead of sijdah, the word zamīnbos was used. Wine also was allowed, if used for strengthening the body, as recommended by doctors; but no mischief or impropriety was to result from the use of it, and strict punishments were laid down for drunkenness, or gatherings, and uproars. For the sake of keeping everything within proper limits, His Majesty established a wine-shop near the palace, and put the wife of the porter in charge of it, as she belonged to the caste of wine-sellers. The price of wine was fixed by regulations, and any sick persons could obtain wine on sending his own name and the names of his father and grandfather to the clerk of the shop. Of course, people sent in fictitious names, and got supplies of wine; for who could strictly enquire into such a matter? It was in fact nothing else but licensing a shop for drunkards. Some people even said that pork formed a component part of this wine! Notwithstanding all restrictions, much mischief was done, and though a large number of people were daily punished, there was no sufficient check.

"Similarly, according to the proverb, 'Upset, but don't spill,' the prostitutes of the realm (who had collected at the capital, and could scarcely be counted, so large was their number), had a separate quarter of the town assigned to them, which was called Shaiṭānpūra, or Devilsville. [S. 202] A Dārogah and a clerk also were appointed for it, who registered the names of such as went to prostitutes, or wanted to take some of them to their houses. People might indulge in such connexions, provided the toll collectors knew of it. But without permission, no one was allowed to take dancing girls to his house. If any well-known courtier wanted to have a virgin, they should first apply to His Majesty, and get his permission. In the same way, boys prostituted themselves, and drunkenness and ignorance soon led to bloodshed. Though in some cases capital punishment was inflicted, certain privileged courtiers walked about proudly and insolently doing what they liked.

"His Majesty himself called some of the principal prostitutes and asked them who had deprived them of their virginity. After hearing their replies, some of the principal and most renowned grandees were punished or censured, or confined for a long time in fortresses. Among them, His Majesty came across one whose name was Rājah Bīr Baṛ, a member of the Divine Faith, who had gone beyond the four degrees, and acquired the four cardinal virtues. At that time he happened to live in his jāgīr in the Pargana of Karah; and when he heard of the affair, he applied for permission to turn Jogī; but His Majesty ordered him to come to Court, assuring him that he need not be afraid.

"Beef was interdicted, and to touch beef was considered defiling. The reason of this was that, from his youth, His Majesty had been in company with Hindu libertines, and had thus learnt to look upon a cow—which in their opinion is one of the reasons why the world still exists—as something holy. Besides, the Emperor was subject to the influence of the numerous Hindu princesses of the Harem, who had gained so great an ascendancy over him, as to make him forswear beef, garlic, onions, and the wearing of a beard, which things His Majesty still avoids. He had also introduced, though modified by his peculiar views, Hindu customs and heresies into the court assemblies, and introduces them still, in order to please and win the Hindus and their castes; he abstained from everything which they think repugnant to their nature, and looked upon shaving the beard as the highest sign of friendship and affection for him. Hence this custom has become very general. Pandering pimps also expressed the opinion that the beard takes its nourishment from the testicles; for no eunuch had a beard; and one could not exactly see of what merit or [S. 203] importance it was to cultivate a beard. Moreover, former ascetics had looked upon carelessness in letting the beard grow, as one way of mortifying one's flesh, because such carelessness exposed them to the reproach of the world; and as, at present, the silly lawyers of the Islām looked upon cutting down the beard as reproachful, it was clear that shaving was now a way of mortifying the flesh, and therefore praiseworthy, but not letting the beard grow. (But if any one considers this argument calmly, he will soon detect the fallacy.) Lying, cheating Muftīs also quoted an unknown tradition, in which it was stated that 'some Qāzīs' of Persia had shaved their beards. But the words ka-mā yaf'al-ūu ba'zu'l-quzāti (as some Qāzīs have done), which occur in this tradition, are based upon a corrupt reading, and should be ka-mā yaf'alū ba'zu'l-uṣāt (as some wicked men have done).   

"The ringing of bells as in use with the Christians, and the showing of the figure of the cross, and…….., and other childish playthings of theirs, were daily in practice. The words Kufr shāyi' shud, or 'heresy became common ', express the Tārīkh (985). Ten or twelve years after the commencement of these doings, matters had gone so far that wretches like Mīrzā Jānī, chief of Tattah, and other apostates, wrote their confessions on paper as follows:—'I, such a one, son of such a one, have willingly and cheerfully renounced and rejected the Islām in all its phases, whether low or high, as I have witnessed it in my ancestors, and have joined the Divine Faith of Shāh Akbar, and declare myself willing to sacrifice to him my property and life, my honour and religion.' And these papers—there could be no more effective letters of damnation—were handed over to the Mujtahid (Abū'l-Fazl) of the new Creed, and were considered a source of confidence or promotion. The Heavens might have parted asunder, and earth might have opened her abyss, and the mountains have crumbled to dust!

"In opposition to the Islām, pigs and dogs were no longer looked upon as unclean. A large number of these animals was kept in the Harem, and in the vaults of the castle, and to inspect them daily, was considered a religious exercise. The Hindus, who believe in incarnations, said that the boar belonged to the ten forms which God Almighty had once assumed.

"The saying of some wise men that a dog had ten virtues, and that a man, if he possess one of them, was a saint, was also quoted as a proof. Certain courtiers and friends of His Majesty, who were known for their [S. 204] excellence in every department, and proverbial as court poets, used to put dogs on a tablecloth and feed them, whilst other heretical poets, Persians and Hindustānīs, followed this example, even taking the tongues of dogs into their own mouths, and then boasting of it.

"A dog runs about in front of the house; don't make him a messmate.

"The ceremonial ablution after emission of semen was no longer considered binding, and people quoted as proof that the essence of man was the sperma genitale, which was the origin of good and bad men. It was absurd that voiding urine and excrements should not require ceremonial ablutions, whilst the emission of so tender a fluid should necessitate ablution; it would be far better, if people would first bathe, and then have connexion.

"Further, it was absurd to prepare a feast in honour of a dead person; for the corpse was mere matter, and could derive no pleasure from the feast. People should therefore make a grand feast on their birth-days. Such feasts were called Āsh-i ḥayāt, food of life.

"The flesh of the wild boar and the tiger was also permitted, because the courage which these two animals possess, would be transferred to any one who fed on such meat.

"It was also forbidden to marry one's cousins or near relations, because such marriages are destructive of mutual love. Boys were not to marry before the age of 16, nor girls before 14, because the offspring of early marriages was weakly. The wearing of ornaments and silk dresses at the time of prayer was made obligatory.   

"The prayers of the Islām, the fast, nay even the pilgrimage, were henceforth forbidden. Some bastards, as the son of Mullā Mubārak, a worthy disciple of Shaykh Abū'l-Fazl, wrote treatises, in order to revile and ridicule our religious practices, of course with proofs. His Majesty liked such productions, and promoted the authors.

"The era of the Hijrah was now abolished, and a new era was introduced, of which the first year was the year of the emperor's accession (963). The months had the same names as at the time of the old Persian kings, and as given in the Niṣābu'ṣ-ṣibyān. Fourteen festivals also were [S. 205] introduced corresponding to the feasts of the Zoroastrians; but the feasts of the Musalmāns and their glory were trodden down, the Friday prayer alone being retained, because some old, decrepit, silly people used to go to it. The new era was called Tārīkh-i Ilāhī, or 'Divine Era.' On copper coins and gold muhurs, the era of the Millenium was used, as indicating that the end of the religion of Muḥammad, which was to last one thousand years, was drawing near. Reading and learning Arabic was looked upon as a crime; and Muhammedan law, the exegesis of the Qur'ān, and the Tradition, as also those who studied them, were considered bad and deserving of disapproval. Astronomy, philosophy, medicine, mathematics, poetry, history, and novels, were cultivated and thought necessary. Even the letters which are peculiar to the Arabic language, as the ض ص ح ع ث, and ظ, were avoided. Thus for

"All this pleased His Majesty. Two verses from the Shāhnāma, which Firdausī gives as part of a story, were frequently quoted at court—

From eating the flesh of camels and lizards
The Arabs have made such progress,
That they now wish to get hold of the kingdom of Persia.
Fie upon Fate! Fie upon Fate!

"Similarly other verses were eagerly seized, if they conveyed a calumny, as the verses from the ……, in which the falling out of the teeth of our prophet is alluded to.

"In the same manner, every doctrine and command of the Islām, whether special or general, as the prophetship, the harmony of the Islām with reason, the doctrines of Ru'yat, Taklīf, and Takwīn, the details of the day of resurrection and judgment,—all were doubted and ridiculed. [S. 206] And if any one did object to this mode of arguing, his answer was not accepted. But it is well known how little chance a man has who cites proofs against one who will reject them, especially when his opponent has the power of life and death in his hands; for equality in condition is a sine qua non in arguing.

A man who will not listen, if you bring the Qur'ān and the Tradition,
Can only be replied to by not replying to him.

"Many a family was ruined by these discussions. But perhaps 'discussions ' is not the correct name; we should call them meetings for arrogance and defamation. People who sold their religion, were busy to collect all kinds of exploded errors, and brought them to His Majesty, as if they were so many presents. Thus Laṭīf Khwājah, who came from a noble family in Turkistān, made a frivolous remark on a passage in Tirmizī's Shamā'il, and asked how in all the world the neck of the prophet could be compared to the neck of an idol. Other remarks were passed on the straying camel. Some again expressed their astonishment, that the prophet, in the beginning of his career, plundered the caravans of Quraysh; that he had fourteen wives; that any married woman was no longer to belong to her husband, if the prophet thought her agreeable, &c.  At night, when there were social assemblies, His Majesty told forty courtiers to sit down as 'The Forty', and every one might say or ask what he liked. If then any one brought up a question connected with law or religion, they said, "You had better ask the Mullās about that, as we only settle things which appeal to man's reason." But it is impossible for me to relate the blasphemous remarks which they made about the Ṣahābah, when historical books happened to be read out, especially such as contained the reigns of the first three Khalīfahs, and the quarrel about Fadak, the war of Ṣiffīn, &c.,—would that I were [S. 207] deaf! The Shī'ahs, of course, gained the day, and the Sunnīs were defeated; the good were in fear, and the wicked were secure. Every day a new order was given, and a new aspersion or a new doubt came up; and His Majesty saw in the discomfiture of one party a proof for his own infallibility, entirely forgetful of the proverb, 'Who slanders others, slanders himself.'   The ignorant vulgar had nothing on their tongues but 'Allāhu Akbar', and they looked upon repeating this phrase, which created so much commotion, as a daily religious exercise. Mullā Sherī, at this time, composed a qiṭ'ah of ten verses, in which the following occur:—

It is madness to believe with the fool that love towards our prophet
Will ever vanish from the earth.
I smile, if I think that the following verse, in all its silliness,
Will be repeated at the feast of the rich, and as a prayer by the poor:

'This year the emperor has claimed prophetship,
Next year, if God will, he will be God.'

"At the new year's day feasts, His Majesty forced many of the 'Ulamās and the pious, nay even the Qāzīs and the Muftī of the realm, to drink wine.  And afterwards the Mujtahids of the Divine Faith, especially Faizī, called out, "Here is a bumper to the confusion of the lawyers!" On the last day of this feast, when the sun enters the nineteenth degree of Aries (a day called Sharafu'sh-sharaf, and considered particularly holy by His Majesty), the grandees were promoted, or received new jāgīrs, or horses, or dresses of honour, according to the rules of hospitality, or in proportion of the tribute they had brought."

"In this year Gulbadan Begum [Akbar's aunt] and Salīmah Sulṭān Begum returned from a pilgrimage to Makkah. Soon after Shāh Abū Turāb also, and I'timād Khān of Gujrāt, returned from the pilgrimage, and brought an immense stone with them, which had to be transported on an elephant. The stone contained, according to Abū Turāb, an impression of the foot of the prophet. Akbar—though it is difficult to guess the motive—went four kos to meet it, and the grandees were ordered to carry the stone themselves by turns, and thus it was brought to town.

"In this year, Shaykh Mubārak of Nāgor said in the presence of the emperor to Bīr Baṛ, "Just as there are interpolations in your holy books, so there are many in ours (Qur'ān); hence it is impossible to trust either."

"Some shameless and ill-starred wretches also asked His Majesty, why [S. 208]  at the approaching close of the Millennium, he did not make use of the sword, 'the most convincing proof,' as Shāh Ismā'īl of Persia had done. But His Majesty, at last, was convinced that confidence in him as a leader was a matter of time and good counsel, and did not require the sword. And indeed, if His Majesty, in setting up his claims, and making his innovations, had spent a little money, he would have easily got most of the courtiers, and much more the vulgar, into his devilish nets.

"The following Rubā'ī of Nāṣir-i Khusraw was often quoted at court —

I see in 992 two conjunctions,
I see the sign of Mahdī and that of Antichrist:
Either politics must change or religion.
I clearly see the hidden secret.

"At a council meeting for renovating the religion of the empire, Rājah Bhagawān said, "I would willingly believe that Hindus and Musalmāns have each a bad religion; but only tell us where the new sect is, and what opinion they hold, so that I may believe." His Majesty reflected a little, and ceased to urge the Rājah. But the alteration of the orders of our glorious faith was continued. The Tārīkh was found in the words Idās-i bid''t, the innovation of heresy (990).

"During those days also the public prayers and the azān, which was chanted five times a day for assembly to prayer in the state hall, were abolished. Names like Amad, Muḥammad, Muṣṭafa, &c., became offensive to His Majesty, who thereby wished to please the infidels outside, and the princesses inside, the Harem, till, after some time, those courtiers who had such names, changed them; and names as Yār Muḥammad, Muḥammad Khān, were altered to Ramat. To call such ill-starred wretches by the name of our blessed prophet would indeed be wrong, and there was not only room for improvement by altering their names, but it was even necessary to change them, according to the proverb, 'It is wrong to put fine jewels on the neck of a pig.'

"And this destructive fire broke all out in Āgra, burnt down great and small families, and did not even spare their family tombs—May God forsake these wretches!"

[p. 315.]

"In Rabīu's-sānī 990, Mīr Fathāh came from the Dakhin (vide above p. 33).    As he had been an immediate pupil of Mīr Ghiāsu'd-Dīn Manṣūr of Shīrāz, who had not been overstrict in religious matters, His Majesty thought that Fathu'llāh would only be too glad to enter into his religious scheme. But Fathu'llāh was such a stanch Shī'ah, and at [S. 209] the same time such a worldly office-hunter, and such a worshipper of mammon and of the nobility, that he would not give up a jot of the tittles of bigoted Shī'ism. Even in the statehall he said, with the greatest composure, his Shī'ah prayers—a thing which no one else would have dared to do. His Majesty, therefore, put him among the class of the bigots; but he connived at his practices, because he thought it desirable to encourage a man of such attainments and practical knowledge. Once the emperor, in Fathu'llāh's presence, said to Bīr Baṛ, "I really wonder how any one in his senses can believe that a man, whose body has a certain weight, could, in the space of a moment, leave his bed, go up to heaven, there have 90,000 conversations with God, and yet on his return find his bed still warm?" So also was the splitting of the moon ridiculed. "Why," said His Majesty, lifting up one foot, "it is really impossible for me to lift up the other foot! What silly stories men will believe." And that wretch (Bīr Baṛ) and some other wretches—whose names be forgotten—said, "Yea, we believe! Yea, we trust!" This great foot-experiment was repeated over and over again. But Fathu'llāh—His Majesty had been every moment looking at him, because he wanted him to say something; for he was a new-comer—looked straight before himself, and did not utter a syllable, though he was all ear."

Here Badāonī mentions the translations from Sanscrit into Persian, which have been alluded to above, p. 104. It is not quite certain whether the translations were made from Sanscrit, or from Hindī translations, or from both. Badāonī clearly states that for some translations, as as the Atharban, Hindus were used as interpreters. For other works as the Mahābhārat, there may have been Hindī translations or extracts, because Akbar himself (vide p. 105, note 1) translated passages to Naqīb Khān. Abū'l-Fazl also states that he was assisted by Paṇḍits when writing the fourth book of the Ā'īn. Compare Sir H. Elliott's Index to the Historians of India, p. 259.

"In these days (991) new orders were given. The killing of animals on certain days was forbidden, as on Sundays, because this day is sacred to the Sun; during the first eighteen days of the month of Farwardīn; the whole month of Ābān (the month in which His Majesty was born); and on several other days, to please the Hindus. This order was extended over the whole realm, and capital punishment was inflicted on every one [S. 210] who acted against the command. Many a family was ruined. During the time of these fasts, His Majesty abstained altogether from meat, as a religious penance, gradually extending the several fasts during a year over six months and even more, with the view of eventually discontinuing the use of meat altogether.

"A second order was given that the Sun should be worshipped four times a day, in the morning and evening, and at noon and midnight. His Majesty had also one thousand and one Sanscrit names of the Sun collected, and read them daily, devoutly turning towards the sun; he then used to get hold of both ears, and turning himself quickly round about, used to strike the lower ends of the ears with his fists. He also adopted several other practices connected with sun-worship. He used to wear the Hindu mark on his forehead, and ordered the band to play at midnight and at break of day. Mosques and prayer-rooms were changed into store rooms, or given to Hindu Chaukīdārs. For the word jamā'at (public prayer), His Majesty used the term jimā' (copulation), and for hayya ala, he said yalalā talalā.

"The cemetry within the town was ordered to be sequestered."

"In the same year (991), His Majesty built outside the town two places for feeding poor Hindus and Muhammadans, one of them being called Khayr-pūrah, and the other Dharmpūrah. Some of Abū'l-Fazl's people were put in charge of them. They spent His Majesty's money in feeding the poor. As an immense number of Jogīs also flocked to this establishment, a third place was built, which got the name of Jogīpūrah. His Majesty also called some of the Jogīs, and gave them at night private interviews, enquiring into abstruse truths; their articles of faith; their occupations; the influence of pensiveness; their several practices and usages; the power of being absent from the body; or into alchemy, physiognomy, and the power of omnipresence of the soul. His Majesty even learned alchemy, and shewed in public some of the gold made by him. Once a year also during a night called Sīvrāt, a great meeting was held of all Jogīs of the empire, when the emperor ate and drank with the principal Jogīs, who promised him that he should live three and four times as long as ordinary men. His Majesty fully believed it, and connecting their promises with other inferences he had drawn, he got quite convinced of it. Fawning court doctors, wisely enough, found proofs [S. 211] for the longevity of the emperor, and said that the cycle of the moon, during which the lives of men are short, was drawing to its close, and that the cycle of Saturn was at hand, with which a new cycle of ages, and consequently the original longevity of mankind, would again commence. Thus they said, it was mentioned in some holy books that men used to live up to the age of one thousand years, whilst in Sanscrit books the ages of some men were put down as ten thousand years; and in Thibet, there were even now a class of Lāmās, or Mongolian devotees, and recluses, and hermits, that live two hundred years, and more. For this reason, His Majesty, in imitation of the usages of these Lāmās, limited the time he spent in the Harem, curtailed his food and drink, but especially abstained from meat. He also shaved the hair of the crown of his head, and let the hairs at the sides grow, because he believed that the soul of perfect beings, at the time of death, passes out by the crown (which is the tenth opening of the human body) under a noise resembling thunder, which the dying man may look upon as a proof of his happiness and salvation from sin, and as a sign that his soul, by metempsychosis, will pass into the body of some grand and mighty king.

"His Majesty gave his religious system the name of Tawḥīd-i Ilāhī, or 'Divine Monotheism.'

"He also called, according to the manner of the Jogīs, a number of special disciples Chelās (slaves). A lot of vile, swindling, wicked birds, who were not admitted to the palace, stood every morning opposite to the window, near which His Majesty used to pray to the sun, and declared, they had made vows not to rinse their mouths, nor to eat and drink, before they had seen the blessed countenance of the emperor; and every evening, there was a regular court assembly of needy Hindus and Muhammadans, all sorts of people, men and women, healthy and sick, a queer gathering, and a most terrible crowd. No sooner had His Majesty finished saying the 1001 names of the 'Greater Luminary', and stepped out into the balcony, than the whole crowd prostrated themselves. Cheating, thieving Brahmins collected another set of 1001 [S. 212] names of 'His Majesty the Sun,' and told the emperor that he was an incarnation, like Rām, Kishn, and other infidel kings; and though Lord of the world, he had assumed his shape, in order to play with the people of our planet. In order to flatter him, they also brought Sanscrit verses, said to have been taken from the sayings of ancient sages, in which it was predicted that a great conqueror would rise up in India, who would honour Brahmins and cows, and govern the earth with justice. They also wrote this nonsense on old looking paper, and shewed it to the emperor, who believed every word of it.

"In this year also, in the state hall of Fatḥpūr, the ten cubit square of the Ḥanafīs and the Qullatayn of the Shāfi'īs and Shī'ahs were compared. The fluid quantum of the Ḥanafīs was greater than that of the others.

"His Majesty once ordered that the Sunnīs should stand separately from the Shī'ahs, when the Hindustānīs, without exception, went to the Sunnī side, and the Persians to the Shī'ah side."

"During this year [992], Mullā Ilāhdād of Amrohah and Mullā Sherī attended at Court, in order to flatter the emperor; for they had been appointed to Ṣadrships in the Duāb of the Panjāb. Mullā Sherī presented to His Majesty a poem made by him, entitled Hazār Shuā', or 'The Thousand Rays,' which contained 1,000 qiṭa's in praise of the Sun. His Majesty was much pleased."

"At the feast of the emperor's accession in 992, numerous conversions took place. [Bad. II. p. 338.]

"They were admitted as disciples in sets of twelve, one set at a time, and declared their willingness to adopt the new principles, and to follow the new religion. Instead of the usual tree, His Majesty gave his likeness, upon which the disciples looked as a symbol of faith and the advancement of virtue and prosperity. They used to wrap it up in cloth studded with jewels, and wore it on the top of their turbans. The phrase 'Allāhu Akbar' was ordered to be used as the heading in all writings. Playing with dice, and taking interest, were allowed, and so in fact was every thing else admitted which is forbidden in the Islām. A play-house was even [S. 213] built at Court, and money from the exchequer was lent to the players on interest (vide Second book, Ā'īn 15). Interest and shatal (money given at the end of the play to the by-standers) were looked upon as very satisfactory things.

"Girls before the age of fourteen, and boys before sixteen, were not to marry, and the story of the marriage night of the Prophet with Ṣiddīqa was totally disapproved of. But why should I mention other blasphemies— May the attention which any one pays to them run away like Quicksilver— really I do not know what human ears cannot bear to hear!

"The sins which all prophets are known to have committed, were cited as a reason, why people should not believe the words of the prophets. So especially in the case of David and the story of Uriah. And if any one dared to differ from the belief of these men, he was looked upon as fit to be killed, or as an apostate and everlastingly damned, or he was called a lawyer and enemy of the emperor. But according to the proverb, 'What people sow, that they shall reap,' they themselves became notorious in the whole world as the greatest heretics by their damnable innovations, and 'the infallible authority' got the nick name of Abū-jahl. Yes, 'If the king is bad, the Vizier is worse.' Looking after worldly matters was placed before religious concerns; but of all things, these innovations were the most important, and every thing else was accessory.

"In order to direct another blow at the honour of our religion, His Majesty ordered that the stalls of the Fancy bāzārs, which are held on New year's-day, should, for a stated time, be given up for the enjoyment of the Begums and the women of the Harem, and also for any other married ladies. On such occasions, His Majesty spent much money; and the important affairs of Harem people, marriage-contracts, and betrothals of boys and girls, were arranged at such meetings.

"The real object of those who became disciples was to get into office; [S. 214] and though His Majesty did everything to get this out of their heads, he acted very differently in the case of Hindus, of whom he could not get enough; for the Hindus, of course, are indispensible; to them belongs half the army and half the land. Neither the Hindūstānīs nor the Moghuls can point to such grand lords as the Hindus have among themselves. But if others than Hindus came, and wished to become disciples at any sacrifice, His Majesty reproved or punished them. For their honour and zeal he did not care, nor did he notice whether they fell in with his views or not."

"In this year Sulṭān Khwājah died. He also belonged to the elect disciples of His Majesty. After burying him, they laid down a new rule. They put a grate over his grave in such a manner that the light of the rising sun, which cleanses from all sins, could shine on the face of the corpse. People said, they had seen fiery tongues resting over his mouth, but God knows best."

During the month of Ṣafar (the second month of the year) 994, Akbar's troops were defeated by the Yūsuf-zaīs. Badāonī says (p. 350):

"Nearly 8,000 men, perhaps even more, were killed. Bīr Baṛ also, who had fled from fear of his life, was slain, and entered the row of the dogs in hell, and thus got something for the abominable deeds he had done during his lifetime. During the last night attack, many grandees and persons of renown were killed, as Hasān Khān, and Khwājah 'Arab, paymaster (colonel) of Khān Jahān, and Mullā Sherī, the poet, and many others whose names I cannot specify. The words az Khwājah 'Arab ḥayf express the Tārīkh of the defeat, by one less. Hakīm Abu'l-Fath and Zain Khān, on the 5th Rabī'u'l-awwal, reached with their defeated troops the fort of Āṭak. ...  But His Majesty cared for the death of no grandee more than for that of Bīr Baṛ. He said, "Alas! they could not even get his body out of the pass, that it might have been burned;" but at last, he consoled himself with the thought, that Bīr Baṛ was now free and independent of all earthly fetters, and as the rays of the sun were sufficient for him, there was no necessity that he should be cleansed by fire."

New orders were given in the beginning of 995. [Page 356.]

"No one was to marry more than one wife, except in cases of barrenness; but in all other cases the rule was, 'One God, and one wife.' Women, [S. 215] on reaching the limit of their period of fertility, when their courses stop, should no longer wish for the husband. If widows liked to re-marry, they might do so, though this was against the ideas of the Hindus. A Hindu girl, whose husband had died before the marriage was consummated, should not be burnt. If, however, the Hindus thought this a hardship, they should not be prevented (from burning the girl); but then a Hindu widow should take the girl……

"Again, if disciples meet each other, one should say 'Allāhu Akbar,' and the other should respond 'Jalla Jalāluhu.' These formulas were to take the place of our salām, and the answer to the salām. The beginning of counting Hindu months should be the 28th day, and not the 16th, because the latter was the invention and innovation of Bikramājīt. The Hindu feasts, likewise, were to take place in accordance with this rule. But the order was not obeyed, though farmāns to that effect, as early as 990, had been sent to Gujrāt and Bengal.

"Common people should no longer learn Arabic, because such people were generally the cause of much mischief. Cases between Hindus should be decided by learned Brahmins, and not by Musalmān Qāzīs. If it were necessary to have recourse to oaths, they should put heated irons into the hands of the accused, who was guilty if his hands were burnt, but innocent if not; or they should put the hands of the accused into hot, liquid butter; or the accused should jump into water, and if he came to the surface before an arrow had returned to the ground, which had been shot off when the man jumped into the water, he was guilty.

"People should be buried with their heads towards the east, and their feet towards the west. His Majesty even commenced to sleep in this position."

"In the same year the prohibition of the study of Arabic was extended to all. People should learn Astronomy, Mathematics, Medicine, and Philosophy. The Tārīkh of this order is Fasād-i fazl (995).

"On the 10th day of Muharram 996, His Majesty had invited the Khān Khānān, and Mān Singh (who had just been appointed governor of Bahār, Ḥājīpūr and Patna); and whilst they were drinking, His Majesty commenced to talk about the Divine Faith, in order to test Mān Singh. He said without reserve, "If Your Majesty mean by the [S. 216] term of membership, willingness to sacrifice one's life, I have given pretty clear proofs, and Your Majesty might dispense with examining me; but if the term has another meaning, and refers to religion, surely I am a Hindu. And if I am to become a Muhammadan, Your Majesty ought to say so— but besides Hinduism and Islām, I know of no other religion." The emperor then gave up urging him.

"During the month of Ṣafar 996, Mīrzā Fūlād Beg Barlās managed to get one night Mullā Aḥmad of Thathah, on some pretext, out of his house, and stabbed at him, because the Mullā openly reviled [as Shī'ahs do] the companions of the prophet. The Tārīkh of this event is expressed by the words Zihe khanjar-i Fūlād, 'Hail, steel of Fūlād,' or by Khūk-i saqarī, 'hellish hog!' And really, when this dog of the age was in his agony, I saw that his face looked just like the head of a pig, and others too witnessed it—O God! we take refuge with Thee against the evil which may befall us! His Majesty had Mīrzā Fūlād tied to the foot of an elephant and dragged through the streets of Lāhor; for when Hakīm Abū-Fatḥ, at the request of the emperor, had asked the Mīrzā, whether he had stabbed at the Mullā from religious hatred, he had said, "If religious hatred had been my motive, it would have been better to kill a greater one than the Mullā." The Hakīm reported these words to His Majesty, who said, "This fellow is a scoundrel; he must not be allowed to remain alive," and ordered his execution, though the people of the Harem asked the emperor to spare him for his general bravery and courage. The Mullā outlived the Mīrzā three or four days. The Shī'ahs, at the time of washing his corpse, say that, in conformity with their religion, they put a long nail into the anus, and plunged him several times into the river. After his burial, Shaykh Faizī and Shaykh Abū'l-Fazl put guards over his grave; but notwithstanding all precaution, during the year His Majesty went to Kashmīr, the people of Lāhor, one night, took the hideous corpse of the Mullā from the grave, and burned it."

"In 999, the flesh of oxen, buffaloes, goats, horses, and camels, was forbidden. If a Hindu woman wished to be burnt with her husband, they should not prevent her; but she should not be forced. Circumcision was [S. 217] forbidden before the age of twelve, and was then to be left to the will of the boys. If any one was seen eating together with a butcher, he was to lose his hand, or if he belonged to the butcher's relations, the fingers which he used in eating.

"In 1000, the custom of shaving off the beard was introduced."

"In 1002, special orders were given to the kotwāls to carry out Akbar's commands. They will be found in the Third book of the Ā'īn, Ā'īn 5. The following are new:

"If any of the darsaniyyah disciples died, whether man or woman, they should hang some uncooked grains and a burnt brick round the neck of the corpse, and throw it into the river, and then they should take out the corpse, and burn it at a place where no water was. But this order is based upon a fundamental rule, which His Majesty indicated, but which I cannot here mention.

"If a woman was older than her husband by twelve years, he should not lie with her, and if a young girl was found running about town, whether veiled or not, or if a woman was bad, or quarrelled with her husband, she should be sent to the quarter of the prostitutes, to do there what she liked."

"At the time of famines and distress, parents were allowed to sell their children, but they might again buy them, if they acquired means to repay their price. Hindus who, when young, had from pressure become Musalmāns, were allowed to go back to the faith of their fathers. No man should be interfered with on account of his religion, and every one should be allowed to change his religion, if he liked. If a Hindu woman fall in love with a Muhammadan, and change her religion, she should be taken from him by force, and be given back to her family. People should not be molested, if they wished to build churches and prayer rooms, or idol temples, or fire temples."

"In this year A'zam Khān returned from Makkah, where he had suffered much harm at the hands of the Sharīfs, and throwing away the blessing which he had derived from the pilgrimage, joined, immediately on his return, the Divine Faith, performing the sijdah and following all other rules of discipleship; he cut off his beard, and was very forward at social meetings and in conversation. He learnt the rules of the new faith [S. 218] from the Reverend Master Abū'l-Fazl, and got Ghāzīpūr and Hājīpūr as jāgīr."

"During the Muharram of 1004, Ṣadr Jahān, muftī of the empire, who had been promoted to a commandership of One Thousand, joined the Divine Faith, as also his two over-ambitious sons; and having taken the Shaṣt of the new religion, he ran into the net like a fish, and got his Hazārīship. He even asked His Majesty what he was to do with his beard, when he was told to let it be. On the same day, Mullā Taqī of Shushtar joined, who looks upon himself as the learned of all learned, and is just now engaged in rendering the Shāhnāmah into prose, according to the wishes of the emperor, using the phrase jallat 'azmatu-hu wa 'azza shānu-hu, wherever the word Sun occurs. Among others that joined were Shaykhzāda Gosāla Khān of Banāras; Mullā Shāh Muḥammad of Shāhābād; and Ṣūfī Aḥmad, who claimed to belong to the progeny of the famous Muḥammad Ghaws. They all accepted the four degrees of faith, and received appointments as Commanders from One Hundred to Five Hundred, gave up their beards agreeably to the rules, and thus looked like the youths in Paradise. The words mū-tarāsh-i chand, or 'several shavers', express the tārīkh of this event (1004). The new candidates behaved like Hindus that turn Muhammadan, or like those who are dressed in red clothes, and look in their joy towards their relations, who say to them, "My dear little man, these rags will be old to-morrow, but the Islām will still remain on your neck. This Aḥmad, 'the little Ṣūfī', is the same who claimed to be the pupil, or rather the perfect successor, of Shaykh Aḥmad of Egypt. He said that at the express desire of that religious leader of the age, he had come to India, and the Shaykh had frequently told him, to assist the Sulṭān of India, should he commit an error, and lead him back from everlasting damnation. But the opposite was the case."

So far Badāonī.

Zu: 9. Zum Beispiel: 'Alī Ibrāhīm Khān: Tārīkh-i Ibrāhīm Khān (A.D. 1786) <Auszüge>