The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c16.86

v4.c16.86

In 1580 his religious vagaries began to bear their fruit. He had not yet promulgated his new faith, but he had given grave offence to all Muslims, who were the dominant community in the empire. His discourse was ever of universal toleration, but in practice he excepted the faith in which he had been bred. Its leaders had been expelled from court and few opportunities were lost of holding its doctrines and observances up to scorn and ridicule. Muslims believed their faith to be in danger, and many conceived that the only means of saving it lay in deposing its enemy and placing on his throne an orthodox sovereign. Their choice fell on Akbar’s half-brother, Muhammad Hakīm, the ruler of Kābul and nominally, though not in fact, a vassal of the empire. He was a drunkard, a poltroon, and in no way comparable with Akbar, but he was believed to be an orthodox Muslim and that sufficed. It was in Bihār and Bengal that the Muslim officers first rose in rebellion. In Bihār orders had been issued for the resumption of all grants; both there and in Bengal the branding regulation had been enforced, and the foreign, or field service allowance of the troops, which had been fixed for Bengal at 100 and in Bihār at 50 per cent. on their ordinary pay, was reduced to 50 and 20 per cent. The unpopularity of these measures was enhanced by the severity with which they were enforced and it needed but little to rouse the malcontents. The fire of rebellion was kindled by Mullā Muhammad of Yazd, the *qāzī* of Jaunpur, who, as a jurist, promulgated an authoritative decree that rebellion against a sovereign who had apostatised from Islām was a religious duty.