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The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c5.s9: Conclusion

The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c5.s9

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English

Conclusion

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There were certain characteristics of the medieval age which have survived to this day among the Muslims. These give an impression that Muslims are still living in medieval times. Therefore, the legacy of the medieval age is medievalism, especially among the Muslims. The days of autocracy, feudalism and religious wars are over, but not so in many Islamic countries. While Christians in the West are becoming modem and secular, the same cannot be said about Muhammadans. In the field of education, the Printing Press in Europe became a potential medium of developing and spreading knowledge. Medieval Indian Muslims were not interested in this development, but even now the teaching in *maktabs* and *madrasas* is no different from what it used to be in the medieval period. In religious matters freedom of expression and critical analysis is still suppressed as was done in the medieval age. As for example, the translator of the Japanese edition of Salman Rushdies controversial novel, *The Satanic Verses*, Professor Hitoshi Igarashi, was found murdered in his University Campus on 12 July 1991. Mr. Gianni Palma, the Italian publisher of its translation, was attacked by an angry Muslim during a news conference in February 1990. And Salman Rushdie himself lives in hiding in perpetual scare of assassination because of the *Fatwa*. The Islamic Government of Pakistan has decided to make death by hanging mandatory for anyone who defames Prophet Muhammad. Previously, a person convicted of blasphemy had a choice of hanging or life imprisonment.¹¹⁹ No wonder a Muslim like Rafiq Zakaria could write about Muhammad in the only way he did though many chapters of this book fail to carry conviction because they are too defensive and apologetic.¹²⁰ On the other hand many innocuous books concerning medieval studies or Islam have been banned in India in deference to the wishes of Muslim fundamentalists. Even now Muslim festivals and auspicious days are declared so, as was done in medieval times, after actually sighting the new moon, despite the strides made in the field of Astronomy which tell years in advance when the new moon would appear. In the social sphere, Muslim women are still made to live in *parda*, and polygamy is practised as a matter of personal law if not as a matter of religious duty. In the political field, Muslim rule in medieval India was based on the doctrines of Islam in which discrimination against non-Muslims was central to the faith. Even today Hindu shrines are broken not only in Pakistan and Bangladesh but even in Kashmir as a routine matter.

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It would normally be expected that historical writing on Muslim rule in medieval India would tell the tale of this discrimination and the sufferings of the people, their forced conversions, destruction of their temples, enslavement of their women and children, candidly and repeatedly mentioned by medieval Muslim chroniclers themselves. But curiously enough, in place of bringing such facts to light there is a tendency to gloss over them or even suppress them. Countries which in the middle ages completely converted to Islam and lost links with their original religion and culture, write with a sense of pride about their history as viewed by their Islamic conquerors. But India's is a different story. India could not be Islamized and it did not lose its past cultural anchorage. Naturally, it does not share the sense of glory felt by medieval Muslim chroniclers. But some modern secularist writers do praise Muslim rule in glowing terms. All historians are not so brazen or such distortionists. Hence the history of Muslim rule in India is seen through many coloured glasses. It is necessary, therefore, to take a look at the schools or groups of modern historians writing on the history of medieval India so that a balanced appraisal of the legacy of Muslim rule in India may be made.

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¹ Cited in Bosworth, *The Ghaznavids*, p. 49.

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² Alberuni II, p. 161. Also Barani, *Fatawa-i-Jahandari*.

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³ Fakhr-i-Mudabbir, *Tarikh-i-Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah*, p. 13.

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⁴ *Ain*, I, p. 2.

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⁵ Sarkar, *A Short History of Aurangzeb*, p.464.

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⁶ *Ain*, I, pp. 2-3, 6.

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⁷ Barani, pp. 293-94.

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⁸ Barani, p. 64.

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⁹ Barani, *Fatawa-i-Jahandari*, p. 73. Also Tripathi, *Some Aspects of Muslim Administration*, p. 5.

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¹⁰ *Adab-ul-Harb*, fols.132b-133a.

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Footnotes:

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¹¹ *Ibid*, fols.56b; Barani, p.73;Adab-ul-Harb, fols.8b-10c.

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¹² Hasan Nizami, *Tajul Maasir*, trs.by S.H. Askari, Patna University Journal (Arts), Vol.18, No.3 (1963),p. 58. Also Ruben Levy, *Social Structure of Islam*, p. 252.

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¹³ Barani, p. 72. See also *Fatawa-i-Jahandari*, p. 40.

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¹⁴ Hallam, *The Middle Ages*, I, pp.227-28.

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¹⁵ Barani, p.62

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¹⁶ P. Saran, *Studies in Medieval Indian History*, P. 10.

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¹⁷ Moreland, W.H., *The Agrarian System of Muslim India*, p.221; Also Easton, Stewart C., *The Heritage of the Past*, pp. 285, 290, 297.

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¹⁸ *Ain*, I, pp.xxxii-xxxiii.

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¹⁹ Barani, pp.262-66.

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²⁰ Lal, *History of the Khaljis*, p.74 n.3; Barani, pp. 262-64.

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²¹ Akbars Din-i-Ilahi in Lal, K.S., *Studies in Medieval Indian History*, pp.233-47.

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²² Naqvi, Hamida Khatoon, *Urbanisation and Urban Centres under the Great Mughals*, Simla, 1971.

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²³ Alberuni, Introduction, p.xxiii, I, pp. 199,202; Al Idrisi, *Nuzhat-ul-Mushtaq*, E and D, I, p.77. Also R.C.Majumdar, H.C.Raychaudhuri and K.K.Datta, *An Advanced History of India*, Macmillan & Co. (London,1958). pp.186.

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²⁴ S.A.A.Rizvi, Hindi trs. of *Rehla in Tughlaq Kalin Bharat* (Aligarh, 1956) pp. jklm. For detailed references see Lal, K.S., Growth of Muslim Population, pp. 36, 46, 55-63.

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²⁵ Terry, Edward, *A Voyage to East India* (London, 1655), p.112.

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²⁶ Moreland, *India at the Death of Akbar*, p.264.

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²⁷ Margoliouth, DS, *Mohammed and the Rise of Islam*, pp. 107,125-26, 145-46,250.

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²⁸ Arnold, *The Legacy of Islam*, p. 42.

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²⁹ William Muir, *Calcutta Review*, 1845.

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³⁰ Arnold, *The Legacy of Islam*, pp. 76-77.

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³¹ *The Modern Cyclopaedia*, under Inquisition.

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³² Rizvi, *History of Sufism*, I, p. 20.

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³³ Gibbon, *Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire*, II, p. 713.

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³⁴ Burnes, Sir Alexander, *Travels in Bokhara*, I, p.313; Hughes, Dictionary of Islam, p.418.

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³⁵ Qureshi, Ishtiaq Husain, *Administration of the Sultanate of Delhi*, p.166.

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³⁶ Barani, pp.35, 41, 72, 285; Ibn Battuta, Def. and Sang., II, 34,52.

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³⁷ Lal, *Twilight of the Sultanate*, p.269.

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³⁸ It has its modern counterparts in Saudi Arabia and Iran. In Iran it is known as *Komiteh*, or Committee, in Saudi Arabia *Mutawar*. The Saudi religious police is called the Committee for commendation of virtue and prevention of vice. They enforce strict adherence to Islamic code of conduct. In Iran, while the regular police are charged with enforcement of laws dealing with common crimes such as burglary or assault, the armed officers of the *Komiteh* walk the streets in their olive green fatigues, making sure that the strict moral standards of Islam are upheld. It is their job to make certain that unmarried men and women do not hold hands or walk

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together on the sidewalk, that storekeepers display large, glossy photographs of the nations senior Islamic clerics in their shops, that liquor is not served at private parties, and that women keep their hair, arms, and feet covered, preferably in the black robes called *chadors*.

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³⁹ Afif, p.388; trs. in E and D, III, p.365.

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⁴⁰ Farishtah, II, pp.417-18.

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⁴¹ Nizamuddin Ahmad *Tabqat-i-Akbari*, I, p.323; Farishtah, I,p.182; Niamatullah trs. by Dorn, *Makhzan-i-Afghana*, pp.65-66. Also Lal, *Twilight of the Sultanate*, p.191.

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⁴² Easton, Stewart C., *The Heritage of the past*, p.399.

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⁴³ *Ibid.*, p.403.

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⁴⁴ Elliots Appendix, E and D, I, p.432. He cites *Chachnama* and *Tuhfutul Kiram* for source; *Chachnama*, trs. Kalichbeg, pp. 44-45, 190.

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⁴⁵ Farishtah, I, pp 32,33,37. Also M.Habib, *Sultan Mahmud of Ghaznin*, p.56.

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⁴⁶ Timur, *Mulfuzat-i-Timuri*, E and D, III, pp.394-95.

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⁴⁷ Amir Khurd, *Siyar-ul-Auliya*, trs. Quddusi, p.657; Sijzi, *Favaid-ul-Fvad* trs. Ghulam Ahmad, pp.157-58.

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⁴⁸ Alberuni, I, pp.152-159.

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⁴⁹ Bernier, p.244.

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⁵⁰ Jafar Sharif, *Islam in India*, trs. by G.A. Herklots, pp.247-63.

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⁵¹ Abul Fazl, *Akbar Nama*, trs. Beveridge, II, pp.346-47, 354-55 and 543 respectively.

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⁵² *Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri*, II, pp. 160, 203, 215, 235.

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⁵³ *Ibid.*, p.235.

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⁵⁴ Bernier, p.245, also pp. 161-163.

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⁵⁵ *Ibid.*, p.161.

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⁵⁶ *Ibid.*, p.245.

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⁵⁷ Bernier, pp.243-44.

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⁵⁸ e.g. Barani, p.167; *Ain*, I,p.50.

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⁵⁹ In Ujjain (Ozene of Ptolemys geography) there was an astronomical laboratory in ancient times on the meridian of which town the world summit-originally an Indian conception-was supposed to lie (Arnold, *The Legacy of Islam*, p.93).

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⁶⁰ *The Modern Cyclopaedia* under Alchemy.

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⁶¹ Barani, p.209. Also Badaoni, Ranking, I, p.233.

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⁶² Amir Khurd, *Siyar-ul-Auliya*, trs. Quddusi, pp.246-47.

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⁶³ Alberuni, I, pp.188-89. Also Khusrau, *Nuh Sipehr*, E and D, III, p.563.

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⁶⁴ E and D, II, pp. 173-74 and note. Muhammad Ufi had occasion to live in India during the reign of Sultan Iltutmish (1210-1236 C.E.). He is something better than a mere story-teller (E and D, II, p.156).

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⁶⁵ Alberuni, I, p.187.

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⁶⁶ Jafar Sharif, *Islam in India*, p.218.

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⁶⁷ Quran, II, 96.

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⁶⁸ Amir Khusrau, *Nuh Sipehr*, E and D,III, p.563; Amir Khurd, *Siyar-ul-Auliya*, trs.Quddusi, pp.338, 650; Sijzi, *Favaid-ul-Fvad*, trs. Ghulam Ahmad, p.292.

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⁶⁹ Jafar Sharif, *op.cit.*, pp.218-246, 274-77.

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⁷⁰ *Ibid.*, p.219.

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⁷¹ Amir Khusrau, *Nuh Sipehr*, E and D, III, p.563.

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⁷² Amir Khurd, *Siyar-ul-Auliya*, Muhibb-i-Hind Press (Delhi 1309 H., C.E. 1891) pp.351-52.

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⁷³ *Ibid.*, p.354.

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⁷⁴ Amir Khusrau, *Afzal-ul-Favaid*, Urdu trs. in Silsila-i-Tasawwuf No. 81, Kashmiri Bazar Lahore, p.95; Ibn Battuta, pp.164-66.

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⁷⁵ *Babur Nama*, II, p.518.

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⁷⁶ *Ain*, I, p.50; Lal, K.S. *The Mughal Harem*, pp.182-84.

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⁷⁷ Stewart C.Easton, *The Heritage of the Past* (New York, 1957), map on the end leaf showing University Centres and dates of their establishment.

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⁷⁸ Alberuni, Introduction, p.xxxi; Singhal, *India and World Civilization*, I, p.149.

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⁷⁹ Havell, E.B., *History of Aryan Rule in India*, p.256.

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⁸⁰ Arnold, *The Legacy of Islam*, Preface, p. v.

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⁸¹ Easton, *The Heritage of the Past*, p.242.

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⁸² Arnold, *The Legacy of Islam*, pp. 55-56.

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⁸³ Ashraf, K.M., *Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan*, p.329.

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⁸⁴ Al Qalqashindi, *Subh-ul-Asha*, trs. Otto Spies, p. 68; Barani, p. 318.

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⁸⁵ Ibn Battuta, p.13; Ahmad Yadgar, *Tarikh-i-Salatin-i-Afghana*, Persian text, p.42.

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⁸⁶ Arnold, *The Legacy of Islam*, p.185.

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⁸⁷ *Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri*, p.155.

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⁸⁸ Ahmad Yadgar, *op. cit.*, p.52; Amir Hasan Sijzi, *Favaid-ul-Fvad*, Nawal Kishore Press, Lucknow, Urdu trs. p. 174.

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⁸⁹ Al Qalqashindi, *Subh-ul-Asha*, pp. 48, 49. Also *Ain*, I, pp.65, 66.

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⁹⁰ Barani, pp.316-19.

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⁹¹ Ibn Battuta, pp.38,49; *Babur Nama*, II, pp.517-18.

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⁹² Al Qalqashindi, *op.cit.*, p.56. For various kinds of meat preparations see Jafar Sharif, *Islam in India*, pp.315-324.

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⁹³ Barani, p. 315. Also *Masalik-ul-Absar*, E and D, III, p.583.

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⁹⁴ Ahmad Yadgar, *op.cit.*, p.59; Ibn Battuta, p.17.

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⁹⁵ Ibn Battuta, p.16; Al Oalqashindi p.50. Also K.M.Ashraf, *Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan*, pp.28'2-83.

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⁹⁶ Ahmad Yadgar, *op. cit.*, pp.50-52; Barani, p.569; Afif, pp.295-96.

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⁹⁷ Afif, pp.295-96; Ibn Battuta,p.17.In the time of Balban one *man* of *kharbuza* was sold for 2 jitals (*Siyar-ul-Auliya*, Urdu trs. Quddusi, p.205).

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⁹⁸ Barani, pp.568-70; J.R.A.S., 1895, p.531.

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⁹⁹ Ahmad Yadgar, *op. cit.*, pp.51, 90.

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¹⁰⁰ Al Qalqashindi, p.50; Barani, p.318.

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¹⁰¹ Ibn Battuta, p.15.

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¹⁰² Jafar Sharif, *Islam in India*, pp.325-30.

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¹⁰³ Barani, p.182; Amir Khusrau, *Deval Rani*, p.60; Abdur Razzaq in Major, *India in the Fifteenth Century*, p.32. Also Ibn Battuta.

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¹⁰⁴ *Ain.*, I, pp.59-78; Ashraf, *op.cit.*, pp.282-84; Lal, *Mughal Harem*, pp. 125,189.

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¹⁰⁵ Barani, p.305; Afif 293-98; Abdullah, *Tarikh-i-Daudi*, Bankipore Ms., pp.223-24; Abul Fazl, *Ain*, I, pp.65-78.

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¹⁰⁶ Jafar Sharif, *Qanun-i-Islami*, p.304.

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¹⁰⁷ J.R.A.S., 1895, p.88.

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¹⁰⁸ Nicolo Conti in Major, *India in the Fifteenth Century*, p.33.

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¹⁰⁹ *Diwan-i-Mutahhar* quoted in K.A.Nizami, *Studies in Medieval Indian History*, Aligarh, 1956, p.90.

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¹¹⁰ *Babur Nama*, II, p.519.

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¹¹¹ Lal, K.S., *The Mughal Harem*, pp.120-123,169.

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¹¹² Jafar Sharif, *Islam in India*, pp.301-313.

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¹¹³ *Masalik-ul-Absar*, trs. E and D, III, p.576.

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¹¹⁴ *Ioc. cit.*

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¹¹⁵ Lal, K.S., *Twilight of the Sultanate*, pp.259-60.

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¹¹⁶ Chess is so characteristic a product of the legacy of Islam that it deserves more than a passing mention. Modern European chess is the direct descendant of an ancient Indian game, adopted by the Persians, handed on by them to the Muslim world, and finally borrowed from Islam by Christian Europe (Arnold, *Legacy of Islam*, p.32, citing H.J.R. Murrary, *A History of Chess*, Oxford, 1913).

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¹¹⁷ Jafar Sharif, *Islam in India*, pp.331-338.

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¹¹⁸ Amir Khusrau, *Ashiqa*, trs. E and D, III, p. 553.

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¹¹⁹ Reported in *The Statesman*, New Delhi, 4 August, 1991.

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¹²⁰ Review by G.H. Jansen of Rafiq Zakarias *Muhammed and the Quran*, Penguin Books, U.K., in *The Times of India*, 11 August, 1991.

Cites (8)