The Institutes of Akbar 2.8
The Áín i Akbari (Blochmann, Jarrett) 2.8
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- English
2.8.1
(2) The Maktúbát i ’Allámí, also called Inshái Abul Fazl. This book contains letters written by Abul Fazl to kings and chiefs. Among them are the interesting letters written to the Portuguese priests, and to ’Abdullah of Bukhárá, in reply to his question whether Akbar had renounced Islám. Besides, there are prefaces and reviews, a valuable essay on the progress of the art of writing, portions of which are given in the Ain, &c. The collection was made after Abul Fazl’s death by ’Abduccamad, son of Afzal Muhammad, who says that he was a son of Abul Fazl’s sister and also his son-in-law. The book, as above remarked, is frequently read in Madrasahs, and there exist many lithographed editions. In all of them, the contents constitute three books; but Amir Haidar Husaini of Bilgrim says in the preface to his ‘Sawdnih i Akbari’ that he had a collection of four books, remarking at the same time that MSS. of the fourth are very rare. It looks, indeed, as if Amir Haidar’s copy was unique. (3) The Ayár Danish, which is mentioned on p. 106.
2.8.2
Besides, I have seen in different books that Abul Fazl also wrote a Risálah i Munáját, or ‘Treatise on Prayers’; a Jami’ullughat, a lexicographical work; and a ‘Kashkol’. The last word means a ‘beggar’s cup,’ or rather the small basket or bowl in which beggars in the East collect rice, dates, &c., given as alms, and hence the term is often applied to collections of anecdotes or short stories. But I have seen no copies of these works. It was also mentioned above that Abul Fazl presented, on his introduction at Court, two commentaries, of which no MSS. seem to exist at present. Nor need I again refer to the part which he took in the translations from Sanskrit and the compilation of the Tarikh i Alfi. The ‘Durar ul Manshúr’, a modern Tazkirah by Muhammad ’Askari Husainí of Bilgrám, selects the following inscription written by Abul Fazl for a temple in Kashmir as a specimen both of Abul Fazl’s writing and of his religious belief. It is certainly very characteristic, and is easily recognized as Abul Fazl’s composition. O God, in every temple I see people that seek Thee, and in every language I hear spoken, people praise Thee ! Polytheism and Islam feel after Thee, Each religion says, ‘Thou art one, without equal.’ If it be a mosque, people murmur the holy prayer, and if it be a Christian Church, people ring the bell from love to Thee. Sometimes I frequent the Christian cloister, and sometimes the mosque, But it is Thou whom I search from temple to temple.
2.8.3
Thy elect have no dealings with either heresy or orthodoxy ; for neither of them stands behind the screen of Thy truth. Heresy to the heretic, and religion to the orthodox, But the dust of the rosepetal belongs to the heart of the perfume-seller. This temple was erected for the purpose of binding together the hearts of the Unitarians in Hindūstān, and especially those of His worshippers that live in the province of Kashmīr, By order of the Lord of the throne and the crown, the lamp of creation, Shāh Akbar, In whom the seven minerals find uniformity, in whom the four elements attain perfect mixture. He who from insincere motives destroys this temple, should first destroy his own place of worship; for if we follow the dictates of the heart, we must bear up with all men, but if we look to the external, we find everything proper to be destroyed. O God, Thou art just and judgest an action by the motive; Thou knowest whether a motive is sublime, and tellest the king What motives a king should have. I have a few notes on Abul Fazl’s family, which may form the conclusion of this biographical notice. The Āīn gives the following list of Shaikh Mubārak’s sons. 1. Shaikh Abul Faiz, better known under his poetical name of Faizī. He was born in A. H. 954 (A. D. 1547), and seems to have died childless. 2. Shaikh Abul Fazl, born 14th January, 1551, murdered 12th August, 1602.
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3. Shaikh Abul Barakāt, born 17th Shawwāl, 960 (1552). “Though he has not reached a high degree of learning, he knows much, is a practical man, and well versed in fencing. He is good-natured and fond of dervishes.” He served under Abul Fazl in Khāndesh. 4. Shaikh Abul Khair, born 22nd Jumāda I, 967. “He is a well informed young man, of a regulated mind.” He, too, must have entered the Imperial service; for he is mentioned in the Akbarnāmah as having been sent by the emperor to the Dak’hin to fetch Prince Dānyāl. 5. Shaikh Abul Makārim, born 23rd Shawwāl, 976. He was wild at first, but guided by his father he learned a good deal. He also studied under Shāh Abul Fath Shīrāzī. The above five sons were all by the same mother, who, as remarked above, died in 998. 6. Shaikh Abu Turāb, born 23rd Zil Hijjah, 988. “Though his mother is another one, he is admitted ‘at Court, and is engaged in self-improvement.” Besides the above, Abul Fazl mentions two posthumous sons by surriyyahs, or concubines, viz. Shaikh Abul Hamid, born 3rd Rabi’ II, 1002, and Shaikh Abú Rashid, born 1st Jumádal, 1002, “They resemble their father.” Of Mubárak’s daughters, I find four mentioned in the histories— 1. One married to Khudáwand Khán Dak’hiní; vide p. 442. Badáoní calls her husband a Ráfizí, i. e., a Shí'ah, and says he died in Karí in Gujarát. 2. One married to Husámuddín; vide p. 441.
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3. One married to a son of Rájah ’Alí Khán of Khándesh. Their son Safdar Khán was made, in the 45th year of Akbar’s reign, a commander of one thousand. 4. Ládli Begum, married to Islám Khán; vide p. 493, note 1. Mr. T. W. Beale of Agrah, the learned author of the Miftáh uttawáríkh, informs me that Ládli Begum died in 1017, or five years before the death of her husband. Her mausoleum, called the ‘Rauzah i Ládli Begum,’ is about two miles to the east of Akbar’s mausoleum at Sikandrah, near Agrah. The interior was built of marble, and the whole was surrounded by a wall of red Fathpúr sandstone. It was completed in 1004. In 1843, Mr. Beale saw in the Rauzah several tombs without inscriptions, and a few years ago the place was sold by government to a wealthy Hindú. The new owner dug up the marble stones, sold them, and destroyed the tombs, so that of the old Rauzah nothing exists now-a-days but the surrounding wall. Mr. Beale thinks that the bodies of Shaikh Mubárak, Faizí, and Abul Fazl were likewise buried there, because over the entrance the following verses in Tughrá characters may still be seen— ayes) De a gate Loyd) soo # Add bo y io crys] LUT pany ityled] ys? BS BS, JF 8 au yd AL) shave get pyle wis sg ee py ds] auth, Jota} Les) do UB O65 ged Al glu Saag; it glad ad} ola ay Le sla uy, +5) ae 3 Lai] ia ar! 5) ‘oo H} wnb!] ey) diay ar cob wll us?! Cd gledaly Adib
2.8.6
In the name of God the merciful, the clement, in whom I trust! This mausoleum was erected for the divine scholar, the sage of the eternal, the gatherer of knowledge, Shaikh Mubarak ullah (may his secret be sanctified !), in filial piety by the ocean of sciences, Shaikh Abul Fazl—may God Almighty preserve him!—in the shadow of the majesty of the just king, whom power, auspiciousness, and generosity follow, Jalaluddunyá waddin Akbar Pádisháh i Gházi,—may God Almighty perpetuate the foundations of his kingdom !—under the superintendence of Abul Barakát, in 1004 [A. D. 1595-96]. Thus it will appear that the Rauzah was built in the year in which Faizi died. Shaikh Mubarak, as was mentioned above, died in 1593 A. D. It seems, however, as if Shaikh Mubarak and Faizi had been buried at a place opposite to Agrah, on the left bank of the Jamuna, where he first settled in 1551; for Abul Fazl says in his description of Agrah in the Ain—“On the other side of the river is the Char Bagh Villa, built by Firdaus Makani [the emperor Babar]. There the author was born, and there are the resting places of his father and his elder brother. Shaikh ’Aláuddin Majzúb and Mir Rafi’uddin Safawi and other worthies are also buried there.” We have no information regarding a removal of the bodies to the other side of the Jamuná, though Abul Fazl’s inscription no doubt shews that such a removal was intended. It is a pity, however, that the Rauzah was sold and destroyed. Abul Fazl’s son is the wellknown