The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India: A History of the Establishment and Progress of the Turkish Sultanate of Delhi, 1206–1290 A.D. c21.44

c21.44

The chronicles tend to give us an impression that the Sultanate was a truly Islamic state, constantly striving to make its policy conformable to the *Shariah*. That it was scarcely so in actual practice, will have been gathered from the last few chapters. We have noticed the un-Islamic character of the kingship; Barani admits that *duniyadari*, of which kingship is the highest perfection, is absolutely opposed to *dindari*², After tracing the process by which the pagan institution of monarchy had crept into Islam, he concludes that sovereignty is never possible without practising non-Islamic customs³. Conscientious ecclesiastics might delude themselves that the Sultan really existed for protecting the Faith and upholding the *Shariah*; but it requires little stressing that the decisive factor in his actions was the law of force and expediency. In summing up his account of the origin and nature of kingship Barani remarks "the meaning of kingship is possession (*istilā*), whether by lawful means or by force; even the older pagan law of dynastic legitimacy finds no place in the present kingship"⁴. The *Shariah*, in ordinary practice, was no more respected than any other law. Barani admits that capital punishment of Muslims which, he adds, was contrary to the Sacred Law, was necessary for the exigencies of better government¹. Similarly the law of inheritance, the strict distinction between *halal* and *haram*, and many other well-known injunctions were violated; the ecclesiastics protested but were constrained to find excuse. The well-known prohibition of the *Shariah* regarding the taking and giving of interest on monetary transactions was openly disregarded; Amir Khusrau mentions the rate of interest at one *jital* per month for the principal sum of one *tankah*² which, when agreed upon by the parties on a written bond, had a legal sanction and was enforced by the *qazi*³. Of the four conditions which Barani advises the king to bear in mind when issuing decrees (*zabitah*), one is, that if any of the proposed ordinances is found contrary to the *Shariah*, it need not be withdrawn but, as an evil necessity, to be retained not longer than is necessary⁴.