Muntakhab al-tawarikh 61.10
Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 61.10
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61.10.1
Verse. These whom you see are not all human beings, Most of them are tailless oxen and asses. Some of the large mortars were of such a size that it took one or two thousand men, more or less, to drag each one. At this rate of speed they reached the Panjab in the course of seven days. Humayun Padshah in person, in accordance with certain advantageous plans he had formed, advanced as far as Banbhar, at the skirt of the mountain range to the north of the Kashmir frontier, and then returned towards Kabul. A short resume of these events will be given in its proper place if the Most High God so will it.
61.10.2
Islem Shah also upon hearing this tidings fled with all haste from Lahor to Gwaliar. In the course of his retreat arriving in the neighbourhood of the township of Anberi, he was occupied in hunting, when a band of ruffians, at the instigation of certain of the Amirs, blocked his path, and meditated doing him harm, but a messenger arrived who informed Islem Shah of this design, and he consequently entered the city by another road, and after putting to death a number of men, among whom were Baha-u-d-Din and Mahmud and Mada, who were the fountain heads of the rebellion attempted by the mutineers, imprisoned all persons against whom he entertained suspicion, afterwards putting them to death Then he threw open the doors of the treasury and issued a public order directing the issue of two years pay to the soldiery, and sent written despatches to the Amirs of five thousand and ten thousand to this effect Some of the troops received the pay, others did not At this very time the army of Fate, who is the most powerful of all powerful foes, made an onslaught upon him Verse, That man owned a single ass, but had no pack saddle, He found a pack saddle, but in the meantime the wolf had made off with the ass Among the forces which overthrew him was, it is said, a carbuncle which appeared in the neighbourhood of his seat, others assert that it was cancer
61.10.3
He was beside himself with pain and had himself bled, but without relief Whilst in this state of distress and prostration, he used from time to time to say, "I had no idea that God was so extremely powerful," and while in this condition, as long as he retained consciousness he ordered Daulat Khan to sit facing him, and would not cast a glance in any other direction save on his face alone Verse Mahmud gives not a soul to the Angel (of Death) Until he sees him in the form of Ayaz Notwithstanding the fact that he had lapsed into unconsciousness, he would now and then open his eyes, and these words would came to his lips 'Where is Ajyara.' They say also that although he found it excessively difficult to turn from one side to the other, yet he would not consent to their giving Daulat Khan the trouble of coming in front of him, but he would say, 'Please turn my face in his direction.' One day he saw that Daulat Khan was absent and asked 'where can he be?' They replied he has probably gone to the house of one of his relatives. Then he knew that to all appearance he was playing a time-serving part with others. At that moment Daulat Khan arrived and Islām Shāh quoted this verse:— Thou knowest my value, how faithful I am Stay! before thou seekest the companionship of other friends.
61.10.4
It is reported on excellent authority also that Islām Shāh had ordered the treasury-officer that he should give Daulat Khan every day for his personal expenses as much as a hēṭ of tankas, as a matter of course and unasked, but that if asked for a larger sum he should produce it for his use. At last seeing that his condition became more grave day by day, nay, hour by hour, his physicians despaired of relieving him. Verse. In one small detail the whole of the philosophers have been found wanting, For what can man do against the Eternal decree. When the natural causes of the pulse depart from the fundamental movement, The foot of Aflatun himself becomes fixed in the mire of helplessness. When the conduct of nature turns towards disorder, The Qanun of Bu 'Ali lies useless in the hand.
61.10.5
At last he left this world of regrets, wounded by countless sorrows, and abandoned his kingdom to the desire of his enemies. The duration of his reign was nine years. His body was taken to Sahsaram and buried by the side of his father. This event occurred in the year 961 H., and by a coincidence it happened that in the course of this (self same) year Sultan Mahmud of Gujrat, who had adorned the throne with justice and equity and the fear of God, drank the cup of martyrdom at the hands of his servant Burhan. Nizamu-l Mulk Bahri, the king of the Dakhan, also took his way to the ocean of non-existence, and Mir Saiyyid Na'matu-llah, whose poetical name was Rasuli, who was one of the incomparable learned men and a close companion of Islam Shah, wrote this chronogram: Verse. At one time came the decline of three emperors, Whose justice made Hindustan the abode of safety. One was Jamshed the... Who, like his empire, was lost in the sea of youth; The second was Sher Shah that of... Whose beloved was Kbrat; The third was Ghiyas-i-din... Who as Jupiter was on the throne of the... If you ask of me a truth for the deaths of these Emperors? I answer Zawal-i-shahana. Islam was not having a gift for poetry had many apt quotations in his memory, and being a clever critic, used constantly to practice the art of versification with Mir Saiyyid Niamat Tashfi, and used to compose many elegant verses and to enjoy listening to those of his fellow poets.
61.10.6
Moreover he was highly esteemed by the learned and religious men of his time. They say that when he reached Alwar on his way to the Panjab he one day caught sight of Mulla 'Abdu-llah of Sultanpur who was at some distance coming towards him; addressing his attendants he said: "Have you any idea who this is who is approaching." They replied: "Who is it, please inform us." He said: "Babar Padshah had five sons, of whom four left Hindustan and one remained." They said "and who is that one?" He replied: "This Mulla who is approaching." Sarmast Khan said: "What is the use of keeping up connection with such a vicious person?" He replied: "What can I do, when I can find no better than he?" And when Mulla 'Abdu-llah came up he ordered him to sit upon his own throne, and bestowed upon him a bead-roll of pearls, valued at twenty thousand rupees, which had at that moment arrived as mimicry to the eye of great and small : and he had made arrows tipped with gold of a money value of five hundred tankahs and used to throw them. Whatever poor person's house they used to fall at, he then bestowed that amount in money upon him and used to take back the arrow-head, this fitful habit however quickly came to an end after a few days. Verse. Inorganic matter is one thing : spontaneous growth is another. Verse. If the tears flow down upon the cheeks, True weeping is easily distinguished from false.
61.10.7
The rank of Vazir and Vakil was bestowed upon one Shamsher Khan, a slave who was the younger brother of Khawas Khan and Daulat Khan, the "new-Muslim," a protege of the Lohani faction. He also gave uncontrolled authority to Himun the greengrocer, of the township of Rewari in Mewat, whom Islam Shah had gradually elevated from the position of police-superintendent of the bazars and confirmer of punishments, and had by degrees made into a trusted confidant. He now gave him the superintendence of all important affairs both military and civil. Inasmuch as 'Adli had originally been accustomed to the profession of music and dancing, and was fond of a life of ease and luxury, and was otiose in his habits, he was by no means fitted for the conduct of military affairs, or the duties of civil administration ; superadded to this was the murder of Firuz Khan and his unbounded confidence in Himun. Accordingly those Amirs who were of true Afghan descent, evinced a great repugnance to obey him, and aroused such widespread feelings of shows, that hardly had a month passed since his accession, when on all sides rebellions arose sleep that they will never awake till the morn of the great assembly, and certain others remained so intoxicated that they spend the remainder of their lives in recovering from it. Verse. Thine eye which was wonderful in slaying thy lovers Would step out and cast its glance upon another.
61.10.8
It was currently reported that from the time when the dagger was first invented in Hindūstān no person can have ever used it in the way that Sikandar Khān did. A tumult arose among the people, and ‘Adilī fled and entered the women’s quarters and put up the chain on the inside. Sikandar after that he had killed some and wounded others, at last made towards ‘Adilī and aimed a blow at him with a sword which however struck a plank of the door; had he attacked him in the entrance he would have despatched him. The Amīrs of ‘Adilī’s party shewed themselves in their true colours that day, as most of them cast away their swords and took to flight, and were going about distractedly, till at last, after Sikandar had done as much mischief as salt in the yeast they attacked him simultaneously from all sides. This contest went on for three or four hours, when Sikandar fell to a blow from the sword of Ibrāhīm Khān Sūr, sister’s husband to ‘Adilī, and Shāh Muḥammad was struck down by the sword of Daulat Khān Lūhānī, both of them taking their way to the city of non-existence. It so happened that on that day before the assembly of that meeting Tāj Khān Karrānī, the brother of ‘Amad and Sulaiman, who eventually became the autocratic ruler of the province of Bengal, and gave himself the titled of Hazrat A‘ala, having left the audience hall of ‘Adli was going outside the fort, when on his way he met with Shah Muhammad Farmuli.
61.10.9
They asked after each other’s affairs, and Taj Khan said: “I see signs of mischief, and consequently I am removing my manly footsteps outside this circle, and am outside. Do you too come with me and follow my lead, for the scale has turned.