[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Dark Ages](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages) › [General histories](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general) › [Muntakhab al-tawārīkh](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh) › [Muntakhabu-t-tawarikh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig) › 78.46 # Muntakhab al-tawarikh 78.46 Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 78.46 - **Language:** English ### [78.46.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46.1) In this year Ma'sum Khan, foster-brother of Mirza Hakim, who was a brave youth, and was always performing valiant deeds, being vexed with the Mirza came and did homage to the Emperor. He gave him a command of 500 and appointed him to the district of Bihár. There he fought a battle with Kálá Pahár, a general distinguished among the Afgháns for his might and prowess, and gained the victory over him. The Emperor from Fatḥpūr sent him a farmān making him a manṣabdār of 1,000, together with a present of a horse and a dress of honour from his own wardrobe. They say that he saw in a dream the glorified ‘Alī (may God be gracious to his countenance!) so distinctly, that you would have said that the blessed hand had struck him on the back. Through this blessing he never turned his back from the foe; and the mark of the hand is visible on his back to this day:— “What fear of the waves of the sea is there To him, who has Noah for his pilot.” ### [78.46.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46.2) In the month of Shavvāl of the aforesaid year the Emperor sent for Mullā Taib from Kit’hal, and patronized him, and appointed him Dīwān of the province of Bihār and Hājīpūr. And most of his acts of patronage were of a like character. Also Rāī Puruk’hotam in reward for his commentary he made Bakhshī. And Mullā Mujdī of Sarhind, who had formerly been warrant-writer to Islīm Shāh, he made Receiver-General of revenues. And Shamshīr Khān, khwājahsarā, he made Superintendent of the Exchequer. And these through the vileness of their birth, which necessarily produces vileness of character, having arrived at that place, were loyal neither to God nor their Emperor. They perpetrated all sorts of oppression and tyranny, and bending unsuitable and unfitting seasons to their wishes, so annoyed the soldiery that they compelled Ma’ṣūm Khān to revolt, as shall soon be narrated, if God (He is exalted!) will. In this same month Maqṣūd Jauharī Mirzā Muẓaffar Ḥusain brought the presents of Rājah ‘Alī Khān from Khāndesh, and presented them to the Emperor, who after a time forgave him his transgressions, and then honoured him by raising him to the dignity of son-in-law, and took him into favour. ### [78.46.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46.3) In this year the Emperor appointed Shahbaz Khan Bakhshi, with Ghazi Khan Badakhshi and Sharif Khan Atgah, and others to march against Rana Kika. The Rana shut himself up in Konbhalmir, which is a strong fortress. The imperial troops were victorious and ravaged that district. One night the Rana effected his escape from the fortress, and took refuge in another mountain-fastness. In this year Sultan Khwajah returned from a pilgrimage to Makkah and brought with him horses of Arabian pedigree, and Abyssinian slaves, and other precious presents for the Emperor, who received him with favour and made him Qazi. The office of Mir-Hajj for the year nine hundred and eighty-six was given to Khwajah Muhammad Yahya, one of the descendants of Khwajah Ahrar (God sanctify his spirit!) He left 5 lacs of rupees as a deposit at his ancestor’s shrine, and in the month of Shavval of this year started from Ajmir to go to Makkah. ### [78.46.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46.4) Now Shaikh ‘Abd-un-nabi and Makhdum-ul-mulk having fallen out with one another had been the cause of people’s distrusting both the past and the future, and had brought about a great declension from true religion. In accordance with the \[Arabic\] saying: “When two people clash together, they fall together” the Emperor sent them to Makkah together with this caravan. The next year they arrived at the goal of their wishes, and in the end of the business (which deserves honour for that result) they became cleansed from the stain of their countenances, and returned in safety to the fold of Islam, and learning eventually brought about its natural result, and “He is great, and man is little” was found to give the date. In the beginning of the year nine hundred and eighty-seven (987) news arrived of the death of Khan Jahan governor of Bengal. The Emperor wrote a farman of condolence to his brother Isma‘il Quli Khan, and he appointed Muzaffar Khan, who had been honoured with the post of Diwan, as governor in his stead, and Razawi Khan he appointed Baldwin, and Hakim Abu-l-Fath he made Sadr, and Rai Patr Das with Mir Adham as his colleague he made Diwan, and sent them off from Fathpur. On the 10th of the month Çafar of this year the Author (praise be to the Most High!) was blest with the birth of a darling son named Muhi-d-din (may God prolong his days, and furnish him with wholesome knowledge, and acceptable works!). He was born at Basāwar. ### [78.46.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46.5) In this year Mulla ‘Ashqi, who had the title of Khan, and had written a divan and a masnavi (a ridiculous one too!), and who had gone as vakil of Qazi Qadr-ud-din of Lahor to Kashmir, came back, and in company with one Muhammad Qasim by name, ambassador of ‘Ali Khan governor of Kashmir, brought presents of quantities of saffron and musk and costus arabicus, and shawls and other precious products of Kashmir and Tibet. At this time the Emperor sent Hakim ‘Ali, a relative of Hakim-ul-mulk, of Gilan (who is now without an equal in philosophy, and medicine, and other rare sciences) in company with the vakils of ‘Adil Khan of the Dak’hin to Bijagarh. At this time Mir Nizam, sister’s husband to Mirza Shahrukh, came as ambassador from Badakhshan with presents of Badakhshi horses, and glittering rubies, and strings of camels. ### [78.46.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46.6) In this year the Emperor was anxious to unite in his person the spiritual as well as the secular headships, for he held it to be an insufferable burden to subordinate to any one, as he had heard that the Prophet (God be gracious to him, and give him peace!), and his lawful successors, and some of the most powerful kings, as Amir Timur Çahibqiran, and Mirza Ulugh Beg-i-Gurgan, and several others had themselves read the khutbah, 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 the first Friday of Jumada’l-awwal of the year nine hundred and eighty-seven, in the chief mosque of Fathpur, which he had built near the palace, His Majesty began to read the khutbah. But all at once he stammered and trembled, and though assisted by others, he could scarcely read three verses of a poem, which Shaikh Faizi had composed, but came quickly down from the pulpit, and handed over the duties of Imám to Hafiz Muhammad Amin, the Court Khatib. These are the verses:— "The Lord, who gave to us sovereignty, Who gave us a wise heart, and a strong hand, Who guided us in equity and justice, And drove from our thoughts all save equity, His description is higher than the range of thought, Exalted is His Majesty, Allahu Akbar!" ### [78.46.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46.7) And in these days, when reproach began to spread upon the doctrines of Islam, and all questions relating thereto, and ever so many wretches of Hindus and Hinduizing Musalmans brought unmitigated reviling against the Prophet, and the villanously irreligious Ulama in their works pronounced the Emperor to be without sin, and contenting themselves with mentioning the unity of God, they next wrote down the various titles of the Emperor, and had not the courage to mention the name of the Prophet (God be gracious to him and His family, and give them peace in defiance of the liars!) this matter became the cause of general disgrace, and the seeds of depravity and disturbance began to lift their heads in the empire. Besides this base and low men of the higher and lower classes, having accepted the collar of spiritual obedience upon their necks, professed themselves his disciples. They became disciples through the motives of hope and fear, and the word of truth could not proceed out of their mouths. At this time Muzaffar Khan, governor of Bengal sent a present to the Emperor consisting of 5 lacs of rupees in ready money, and other notable gifts of elephants, and cloth, which were beyond calculation, also 39 elephants were presented by Muhammad Ma'sum Kabuli. ### [78.46.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46.8) On the second Friday of this month the Emperor assembled the poor and the deserving in the chaugan-field, and came in person to the place. Nearly a lac of persons, men and women, were present in that enclosure. And Sultan Khwajah the Qazi, and Qulij Khan presented to each a piece of gold. On that day of assembly eighty persons, women and children, were crushed to death under the hands and feet. And from the girdles of some of the women, whose husbands had died in Bengal, there fell purses full of ashrafis and rupees. This affair caused great suspicion to arise as to the poor. An order was issued, that in future but few persons should be brought together at once, but he soon laid aside these also. In these same days the Emperor appointed Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan Atgah as tutor to the eldest prince, and held a great levee. The tutor as is customary on such occasions presented the Emperor with notable elephants, and other presents worthy of his new post, and taking the prince upon his shoulders he ordered dish-fulls of gold and jewels to be scattered to the people. In this year an ambassador of ‘Abd-ullah Khan Uzbek came from Transoxiana with a letter containing assurances of friendship. The Emperor sent Mirza Fulad Barlas, with Khwajah Khatib, who was a native of Bokhara, to accompany him with presents and gifts. And the seal of the letter was as follows:— “When we are friends with one another, Sea and land are free from confusion and evil.” ### [78.46.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46.9) At this time a document made its appearance, which bore the signatures and seals of Makhdum-ul-mulk, of Shaikh ‘Abd-un-nabi Sadr-us-sudur, of Qazi Jalal-ud-din of Multan, Qazi-l-quzat, of Sadr Jahan the mufti of the empire, of Shaikh Mubarak the deepest writer of the age, and of Ghazi Khan of Badakhshan, who stood unrivalled in the transcendental sciences. The subject-matter of the document was the settling of the absolute superiority of the Imam-i-‘Adil over the Mujtahid, and the investigation of the grounds of this superiority. In so doing they set right some doubtful traditions containing some disputed points, so that no one of them might any longer have it in his power to pretend ignorance of the difference between what is religious and what is political authority, but that he might stand self-convicted. And the discussion of this matter was carried on with great prolixity. Such questions were discussed as: “To whom is the title Mujtahid, and the word ijtihad applicable?” And, “whether it is the duty of the Imam-i-‘adil, who is versed in politics and holds a higher rank than the Mujtahid, to decide according to the requirements of the times and the wants of the age all legal questions on which there exists a difference of opinion.” At last, however, all signed the document, some willingly and the rest against their convictions. I shall copy the document verbatim; — --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.general.muntakhab-al-tawarikh~en-ranking-lowe-haig.78.46) · Pramāṇa