Twilight of the Sultanate c14.s6.22

c14.s6.22

The Sultan took a keen interest in the welfare of the Musalmans. He founded Masjids throughout his dominions, and appointed a preacher, a reader, and a sweeper to each.¹³⁸ Thus he turned Masjids almost into government institutions. A contemporary marble slab, now placed in the Delhi Museum of Archaeology, declares him a staunch Muslim who made foundations of Islam strong.¹³⁹ He did not permit any un-Islamic practices go on unchecked. Women were forbidden to perform pilgrimages to tombs.¹⁴⁰ The Sultan forbade the annual procession of the "Standard of Sālār Mas'aūd" from Delhi and other places to Bahraich.¹⁴¹ He also stopped the display of *Taziās* during the month of Muharram as also the worship of Sītala, the small-pox divinity.¹⁴²