The History of Shēr Shāh (Tārīkh-i Shērshāhī) 4.1.1

4.1.1

On certain matters regarding Sher Shah, on which he was busied day and night, and which he enjoined to his sons, chiefs, and nobles, and which he caused to be recorded. When fortune gave into the hands of Sher Shah the bridle of power, and the kingdom of Hind fell under his dominion, he made certain laws, both from his own ideas, and by extracting them from the works of the learned, for securing relief from tyranny, and for the repression of crime and villany; for maintaining the prosperity of his realms, the safety of the highways, and the comfort of merchants and troops. He acted upon these laws, and it was proved by experience that they became the means of procuring tranquillity for the classes above mentioned. Sher Shah often said, "It behoves kings to inscribe the page of their history with the characters of religion, that their servants and subjects may love religion; for kings are partakers in every act of devotion and worship which proceeds from the priests and the people. Crime and violence prevent the development of prosperity. It behoves kings to be grateful for the favour that the Lord has made his people subject to them, and therefore not to disobey the commandments of God." Sher Shah attended to every business concerning the administration of the kingdom and the revenues, whether great or small, in his own person. Nor did he permit his temporal affairs to be unmixed with devotion; day and night he was employed in both works.