Muntakhab al-tawarikh 78.45
Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 78.45
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78.45.1
Fire-worshippers also came from Nousari in Gujrat, proclaimed the religion of Zardusht as the true one, and declared reverence to fire to be superior to every other kind of worship. They also attracted the Emperor's regard, and taught him the peculiar terms, the ordinances, the rites and ceremonies of the Kaianians. At last he ordered that the sacred fire should be made over to the charge of Abu-l-Fazl, and that after the manner of the kings of Persia, in whose temples blazed perpetual fires, he should take care it was never extinguished night or day, for that it is one of the signs of God, and one light from the many lights of His creation. From early youth, in compliment to his wives, the daughters of rajahs of Hind, he had within the female apartments continued to burn the hom, which is a ceremony derived from sun-worship; but on the New-year of the 25th year after his accession he prostrated himself both before the sun, and before the fire in public, and in the evening the whole Court had to rise up respectfully when the lamps and candles were lighted.
78.45.2
On the festival of the eighth day after the Sun’s entering Virgo in this year he came forth to the public audience-chamber with his forehead marked like a Hindu, and he had jewelled strings tied on his wrists by Brahmans, by way of a blessing. The chiefs and nobles adopted the same practice in imitation of him, and presented on that day pearls and precious stones, suitable to their respective wealth and station. It became the current custom also to wear the rak'hi on the wrist, which means an amulet formed out of twisted linen rags. Every precept which was enjoined by the doctors of other religions he treated as manifest and decisive, in contradistinction to this Religion of ours, all the doctrines of which he set down to be senseless, and of modern origin, and the founders of it as nothing but poor Arabs, a set of scoundrels of highway-robbers, and the people of Islam as accursed. But in the course of time the truth of this verse in its hidden meaning developed itself: “Fain would they put out the light of God with their mouths! but, though the Infidels abhor it, God will perfect his light.” By degrees the affair was carried to such a pitch that proofs were no longer considered necessary for abolishing the precepts of Islam.
78.45.3
I remember, that in the early days of these discussions I had an argument with Shaikh Abu’-l-Fazl in the privy audience-chamber at Fathpur. He said: “It seems to me that there is a fair objection to be made to all writers [on such subjects] on two grounds. First—Why should they not have written as circumstantial histories of the old prophets, as they have done in the annals of their own Prophet (God bless him and his family, and give them peace!)?” I answered: “The stories of the prophets are numerous enough in all conscience!” He said: “Nay, they are too compendious, they ought to have been written more in detail.” I answered: “In times gone by just the amount now extant must have been thoroughly sifted by critics and historians, and the rest not authenticated.” He said: “This answer is not satisfactory. But secondly—There is no kind of handy-craft’s man, who is not mentioned in the tazkirat-ul-auliyá, and the nafaḥát-ul uns &c., but the people of the Prophet’s own family what fault have they committed that they are not mentioned therein? This is a great subject of wonder.” On this topic whatever the time allowed was said, but who will care to hear it! Afterwards I asked: “who will ever have a greater passion for all these notorious heresies, than yourself?” He said: “I wish to wander for a few days in the vale of infidelity for sport.” I said: “It will not be a bad thing if you eventually take the yoke of marriage, as they have said:—
78.45.4
He took upon him the yoke of the Law, by the help of God, From off the neck of the world, Peace be to his memory!” He smiled and went away, and as has been suggested by a man of the world:— “One favour of the Judge is better than a thousand witnesses” he fell boldly into disputation in religious matters with such imbecile old men as the Çadr, the Qáẓí, the Ḥakím-ul-mulk, and Makhdúm-ul-mulk, and had not the slightest hesitation in putting them to shame, at which the Emperor was pleased. They sent privately a message to Abu-l-Fazl by Áṣaf Khán, Bakhshí: “Why are you always falling foul of us?” He returned answer: “The fact of the matter is I am the servant of a mere mortal, and not of an egg-plant. By dint of his own exertions, and the assistance of his father, and the patronage of the Khalif of the age, and by the favour of fortune, he cast them all in a short space of time down to the ground of scorn and contempt, as we have already stated. And not one of the people of Islam, except Hakim Abu-l Fath and Mulla Muhammad Yazdi could keep pace with him in any of the discussions. When further enterprises and propositions were brought forward I retired into private life:— When the desire is great Difficulties become light I read the verse of flight, and fell altogether out of the Emperor’s notice, and all that friendship became estrangement. But thank God that I am as well off as I am!—
78.45.5
“My heart did not go gadding about, and a good thing it didn’t! It settled on nothing but thee, and a good thing it didn’t! Thou saidest, ‘I shall grieve if thine affair turn out well.’ Thou sawest that it did not turn out well, and a good thing it didn’t!” I did not consider myself a fit recipient of favour nor His Majesty a fit object of service, and I was quite content:— “Come that we may waive all ceremony, You shall not rise to me, I will not bow to you.” And at long intervals I used to come and prostrate myself in the ante-chamber, and was a witness to the truth of:— “Companionship will not arise, Where dispositions are not congenial.” And afterwards according to destiny “ I saw that seeing thy face from afar was pleasanter, I left thy companionship, I ceased to be a spectator.”
78.45.6
Since the account of those trifles and particulars, and the stringing of all these events in chronological order is of the number of impossibilities, thus much must be deemed sufficient, and my refuge is in the mercy of God (He is exalted!), who in all cases is the defender and protector of his servants, in fulfilment of the promise:— “Shall not verily the party of God have the upper hand, is not God sufficient for his servants ? ” I have made bold to chronicle these events, a course very far removed from that of prudence and circumspection. But God (He is glorious and honoured !) is my witness, and sufficient is God as a witness, that the inducement to write this has been nothing but sorrow for the faith and heart-burning for the deceased Religion of Islam, which ‘Anqa-like turning its face to the Qāf of exile, and withdrawing the shadow of its wings from the dwellers in the dust of this lower world, thenceforth became a nonentity, and still is so. And to God I look for refuge from reproach, and hatred, and envy, and religious prosecution “ I am content with what God has decreed for me, And I commit my affairs to my Creator. God has indeed been good in what is past, So will He be good in what is to come.” In this year a certain hakīm came to Fathpur, who said that he could construct a house having all its four sides in the water. And that he could plunge into the water and enter the house without the water’s penetrating it.
78.45.7
With a view to this they made a tank in the courtyard of the palace twenty by twenty gaz, and three gaz deep. In this they built a stone cell, and on the i roof of it they built a high tower, and on all four sides of the cell they left steps. But the pretensions of the hakim, like his medicines, proved a lie, and he fled and was seen no more. But Hakim 'Ali of Gilan some seventeen years later did construct such a pond at Lahor, and Mir Haidar a riddle-maker found "The pond of Hakim 'Ali" to give the date. And that pond the Emperor filled brimful of copper coins, which amounted to as much as 20 kror. One day he had an interview with one Shaikh Banj’hu by name, a singer with a sweet voice, and of Çufi tendencies, one of the disciples of Shaikh Adhan of Jonpur (whose name gives the date of his death), and had a very agreeable time of it. Then he sent for Miyan Tansen, and other unequalled singers of Hind; but he preferred him to any of them, and ordered that Shaikh Banj’hu should carry off the whole of that sum of money. But his strength was unequal to carrying it, so he asked for a little gold instead. The Emperor, accordingly, presented him with nearly 1,000 rupees in exchange. And the rest of that money the Emperor in the course of three years, more or less, got rid of by means of various expenses. About this time he received from Shaikh Mubarak a lecture on his extravagant expenditure.
78.45.8
Before that, at the time of the [musical] exhibitions, Shaikh Faizi had said: "Our Shaikh is not much of a courtier", "No," replied the Emperor, "he has left all those extravagancies to you". He sent Shaikh Banj’hu, and Miyan Tansen, and all the musicians to the Shaikh that he might tell him what they were worth as musicians. He said to Miyan Tansen: "I have heard that you can sing a bit." At last he compared his singing to the noise of beasts, and allowed it no superiority over it.