The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c9.s5: Ulama and Mashaikh

The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c9.s5

Language: English

c9.s5.t1 The Ulama — 7 parts
c9.s5.t2 The Mashaikh — 175 parts

Ulama and Mashaikh

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Muslim scholars and Sufi Shaikhs, though not all rich, also belonged to the upper classes because of the respect they enjoyed in society. Most of them were patronised by kings and nobles, many were actually in their employ. Some of them were very well-off.

The Ulama

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Ulama (plural of alim or learned) used to be well-versed in the Muslim law. As such they assisted Muslim monarchs in administering their dominions according to the Shariat. That way they also helped the Muslims in organizing their lives according to the Shariat which comprehends not only beliefs and practices, public and personal law, and rules of behaviour but even includes dress and personal appearance. Acquiring knowledge for the sake of earning money was looked down upon;⁷⁴ hence tradition classified the Ulama into two categories, *Ulama-i-Akhirat* (the pious) and *Ulama-i-su* (the worldly). Knowledge was an extremely valuable ornament in an age when the educated were few and the Ulama were respected for their learning and ability.

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Naturally, there was hardly any secular approach to education. Great emphasis was laid on theological education (*manqulat*). The most important subjects taught were Hadis, Fiqh (jurisprudence) and Tafsir (exegesis). The institutions of higher learning, called *madrasas*, were essentially schools of theology, with auxiliaries of grammar, literature and logic. These *madrasas* were the strongholds of orthodoxy and were subsidised by the state.⁷⁵ A high value is placed on Muslim orthodoxy everywhere, because it is claimed that it maintains the identity of the community as against other communities. In actual practice it has served as a force against an integrated living, even coexistence, with other communities.

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In a word, the Ulama were an orthodox lot. Those who were denied the life of affluence usually took to teaching (as *mutawalli*) in some mosque or under the thatched roof of their own mud houses.⁷⁶ Some other Ulama or *danishmands* became pious preachers and scholars. Very often they too had to work under indigent circumstances.⁷⁷ Some outstanding scholars were appointed as teachers in *madrasas* established by the Sultans. It was the ambition of the Ulama to join government service. There were many offices which the establishment could offer to a scholar. In official hierarchy of such appointments the post of the Sadr-i-Jahan came at the top, then followed Qazis (judges), Muftis (interpreters of law) Muhtasibs (censors of public morals), Imams (who led prayers) and Khatibs (reciters of the Quran). The Sadr-i-Jahan was the chief of the judicial department. He served as the Qazi-i-Mumalik (chief judge) and recommended to the king about the appointment of junior Qazis. The Shaikh-ul-Islam was in charge of the ecclesiastical affairs of the empire. All those saints, *faqirs* and indigent scholars who enjoyed state patronage were looked after by him. Normally, only well-read scholars were appointed as Khatibs and Imams.

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So also was the case with Muftis and Muhtasibs. Muslim public opinion did not approve of the appointment of less qualified persons to these posts.

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The Ulama received salaries pertaining to the offices they held. Most of the Ulama dabbled in politics. They wielded influence with the kings and nobles as interpreters of Muslim law. Their presence was indispensable to a ruler who was generally uneducated. During the protracted struggle between the crown and the nobility which raged throughout the Sultanate period, they aligned themselves with one or the other of political groups. They always remained on the right side of the regime and forgot the community whom they were expected to help in times of economic distress and political oppression. In this way they encouraged political oppression on the one hand and on the other they preached the necessity of obedience and submission by the people even to an oppressor, taking shelter under the Quranic injunction: Obey God and obey the Prophet, and those in authority among you.⁷⁸ Naturally, an unholy alliance with them smoothed the path of kings depotism.⁷⁹ They themselves did not lag behind in obsequiousness. Their collaboration with and integration into the state apparatus made them subservient to the regime, so much so that when Iltutmish nominated Raziya as his successor, there was not a single theologian in the Delhi Empire who could protest against this nomination on the grounds of Shariat.⁸⁰ The way they encouraged Sultans like Ruknuddin Firoz and Muizuddin Kaiqubad not to offer prayers or keep fasts during the month of Ramzan,⁸¹ and live licentious lives, shows how servile they had become and how they were wallowing in the dirty welters of politics. Of course the Ulama were openly critical of one another and, for this they have been criticised by their contemporary writers like Amir Khusrau, Zia Barani, Abdul Haq Muhaddis and Abdul Qadir Badaoni.⁸² Kings like Iltutmish and Balban and prince Bughra Khan are also critical of them.⁸³

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But in one thing they did not fail. They kept the rulers and the ruling class on the path of Islam and virtue by informing them correctly about their duty towards the non-Muslims. Some modern secularist historians blame the Ulama for making Muslim rulers intolerant through their orthodox advice. Such writers fail to realise that it was not safe for the Ulama to cheat the Sultans by giving wrong interpretation of their holy scriptures vis-a-vis the treatment of non-Muslims. I have not come across any instance where the Ulama deliberately gave a distorted version of their scriptures in this context. And why should they have done so? They were as much interested in seeing the Muslim state being run according to the Shariat as the Sultans. In short, they always interpreted their scriptures correctly and honestly when it came to the Hindus. So that a foreign visitor like Maulana Shamsuddin Turk, who is very critical of the Qazis of the day, condoned their faults for the reason that because of their right advice their king was prone to treating the Hindus terribly.⁸⁴ The lifestyle of the Ulama did not come in the way of serving Islam. Like other Muslims of the higher classes, it was normal for the Ulama to keep harems, live luxuriously and drink wine.⁸⁵

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Despite a few faults and a little criticism, therefore, the Ulama as a class were indispensable to the regime. They were advisers of the king and ran the establishment. It was from the Ulama class that the various officers of the government as well as religious institutions were chosen. It was through these people that the regime systematized the religious and social life of the Muslim community just as it organized the extension and administration of Muslim dominions in India through the nobility.

The Mashaikh

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Equally influential, if not more, were the Sufi Mashaikh. In the early years of Muslim immigration, and more so with the establishment of Muslim rule in India, many Muslim *faqirs*, scholars and Sufi Mashaikh arrived in India. They entered Hindustan on their own or came with the invading armies. Later on, the disturbed conditions in Central Asia, consequent upon the Mongol upheaval also encouraged them to leave their homes in search of security. Many came to settle in India where peace and plenty and the protective arm of Muslim rule promised them all they wished.

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Sufism may be defined as Islamic mysticism. In its early years in Central and West Asia, it was deeply influenced by Neo-Platonism, the monastic tradition of Buddhism and Christianity and the Vedantist and Yogic philosophy of Hinduism. All these were Islamized by the Sufis in such a way as to make them virtually unidentifiable. Nawbahar was a great Buddhist monastry in Balkh. The name of the city of Bokhara itself is derived from Vihar. Some Khurasan Sufis lived in caves like Buddhists. They were known as Shikafatiyah from the word Shikafat (cave). When Hindu and Buddhist thinkers and saints converted to Islam in Central and West Asia during the eighth to eleventh centuries they carried their thought and philosophy to Sufism. Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1241) wrote in his Diwan that idol-worship, Chritian ways and Kaaba were all acceptable to him as he believed in the religion of love.⁸⁶

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The Sufism that came to India in the twelfth century with the Muslim Mashaikh did not, by and large, envisage direct communion with God without the intermedium of Islam. Just as the soul and body are one, in Islamic sufism *Tariqah* and *Shariah* are so interrelated. Some Sufis believed in the doctrine of Wahadat-ul-Wajud, or the Unity of Being which means There is nothing but God, nothing in existence other than He. This theory, propounded by Shaikh Ibn al-Arabi and akin to Hindu Vedantism, was developed later on in order to harmonise the doctrine of mysticism with the teachings of orthodox Islam.

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There were a number of Sufi orders or *silsila* as they are called. Abul Fazl mentions as many as fourteen. But four orders-Chishti, Suhrawardi, Qadiri and Naqshabandi-became prominent in India. Of these only the first two became more popular, for the latter two were extremely orthodox and legalistic in their strictness. By the thirteenth century, northern India saw the flowering of two Sufi orders, Chishti and Suhrawardi, and we will concern ourselves with the Mashaikh of only these two orders. The founder of the Suhrawardi order was Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya. He was born near Multan in Sind in 578 H. (1182-83 C.E.). He and his disciples played a leading part in the north-west and symbolically asked the Chishtis not to dispute possession (of the region) with them.⁸⁷ Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya (and his successors) mixed freely with the Sultans, took part in political affairs, amassed wealth and accepted government honours.⁸⁸

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The Chishtis established themselves at Ajmer in Rajasthan, some parts of the Punjab, Delhi, U.P. and Bihar and further east. They were probably the largest in number and represented what seems to be the most typical in the Sufi way of life. The first great Chishti Shaikh was Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti. He was born in Sijistan in eastern Persia in C.E. 1141. He came to India a little before or after the battle of Taraori or Tarain (1192) and settled down at Ajmer.⁸⁹ There also he lies buried after his death in 1236. His mausoleum is a great centre of pilgrimage. He is known as Gharib Nawaz or Friend of the Poor and Nabi-ul-Hind or Prophet of India.⁹⁰ Shaikh Saiyyad Muhammad Gesu Daraz (he of the long locks) said that if people were unable to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, a visit once in their lives to the mausoleum of Muinuddin Chishti would convey the same merit.⁹¹

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Shaikh Muinuddin is very famous today. But he was not known as such to his contemporaries. The three contemporary chronicler-Hasan Nizami, Fakhr-i-Mudabbir and Minhaj do not refer to him at all. Early mystic records, the *Favaid-ul-Fuad* and *Khair-ul-Majalis* do not give any information about him. Barani makes no reference to him. Isami tells us only this much that Muhammad bin Tughlaq had once visited his grave.⁹² In all probability his fame spread from the time of emperor Akbar (1556-1605 C.E.) who held his memory in great reverence and often paid visit to his dargah in *Ajmer*. However, the legend and fame of Muinuddin rests, as of all other Shaikhs, on the magic-like miracles (*karamah*) he is supposed to have performed.⁹³ It is difficult to say when the stories of the miracles of Sufis be an to be told but once this process had begun, it could not be stopped. It became a criterion by which Sufis were judged, and the common reason why people believed in them.⁹⁴ They credited them with supernatural powers and feared and respected them. P.M. Currie quotes Mohammad Habib to say that most of the mystic records and Diwans are forgeries, but regard for public opinion has prevented them (Indian scholars) from making a public declaration that these are forgeries.⁹⁵ However, stories of miracles apart, he (Muinuddin Chishti) was Saiyid by descent. He did not depart in any way from Sunna, the Ulama could not fault him, and he performed the hajj.⁹⁶

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Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti had a number of disciples two of whom, Shaikh Hamid and Qutbuddin, had earned reverence of great and small. Shaikh Hamiduddin Nagauri lived with his wife as a villager. Shaikh Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki came to Delhi in the reign of Iltutmish and lived in a *khanqah* outside the city. He was very fond of *sama* (devotional music). Once he was so overtaken by *wajd* (ecstasy) that he collapsed and breathed his last.⁹⁷ One of his principal disciples was Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj-i-Shakar (1175-1265) popularly called Shaikh Farid.

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Shaikh Farid lived in extreme poverty bordering on starvation.⁹⁸ He trained a large number of disciples, established many *khanqahs* and raised the prestige of the Chishti order. The greatest disciple of Shaikh Farid was Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (1236-1325). He was born at Badaun. In 1258 he settled at Ghayaspur near Delhi where his shrine exists and a railway station is named after him. The Shaikh had a large circle of disciples who hailed from all sections of society, rich and poor, noble and plebian.⁹⁹ In his life of almost a century, Nizamuddin Auliya witnessed the reigns of seven Sultans, but he did not attend the darbar of any one of them. He was popularly known as *Mahbub-i-Ilahi* (Beloved of God). His popularity was due to his saintly virtues and service to humanity. His disciples included Amir Khusrau, Ziyauddin Barani and the renowned Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-i-Delhi whom he appointed as his successor (Khalifa). Professor Mohammad Habib rightly calls Nasiruddin the last great saint of the Chishti *Silsilah* to have enjoyed an all India status.¹⁰⁰ This was the best period in India for Sufism in general and the Chishti *Silsilah* in particular. To this famous line of Sufis belongs Shaikh Salim Chishti, a contemporary of emperor Akbar, for whom the latter built a mausoleum in Fatehpur Sikri.

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Many of the Sufi Mashaikh lived in poverty. Shaikh Hamiduddin (d. 1276 C.E.) lived in a small mud house in the city of Nagaur in Rajasthan. He eked out his meagre subsistence by cultivating a single *bigha* of land.¹⁰¹ His wife spent her time in cooking and spinning like a peasant woman. He was a strict vegetarian. He refused to accept government gift of land and money from the muqta of Nagaur and Sultan of Delhi.¹⁰² Shaikh Muinuddin and Shaikh Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar never owned houses of their own. Shaikh Farid Ganj-i-Shakar built a small *kachcha* house only when his family had considerably increased For many years during his early life Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya had to wander from one quarter of the city to another in search of a house Generally starvation conditions prevailed in the houses of the Chishti saints very often these saints did not possess sufficient clothes to cover their bodies.¹⁰³

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This is one side of the coin. The other is that Shaikh Muinuddins sons owned land, which may have been granted to them directly or accepted by the Shaikh for their sake.¹⁰⁴ Shaikh Fariduddin was destitute to the end of his days, but gifts were received and distributed at his *khanqah*.¹⁰⁵ The *khanqah* of Nizamuddin Auliya, probably after he received money from Sultan Nasiruddin Khusrau, became an institution in which money, food and goods circulated freely.¹⁰⁶ However, the Shaikhs who lived in affluence were deemed to possess no less merit than those who elected to remain destitute.¹⁰⁷

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The Sufi Mashaikh are also reported to have shunned the company of the nobles and nearness to the court. But that too was not always so. On the contrary, the attractions of staying near the throne were compulsive. Sidi Maula was a disciple of Shaikh Farid at Ajodhan.¹⁰⁸ He aspired for name and fame and shifted to Delhi. Once in the capital, Sidi Maula hurled himself headlong in the politics of the court and, after many vicissitudes paid with his life.¹⁰⁹ But Sidi was not alone in this pursuit. As K.A. Nizami has pointed out, Even Chisht the cradle-land of the *silsilah* looked to Delhi for guidance in spiritual matters.¹¹⁰ The Mashaikh mostly lived in cities and towns where they were popular with kings and people and enjoyed the respectability of upper class elite. Shaikh Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki was much admired by the people of Delhi headed by Sultan Iltutmish himself. Muinuddin Chishti was very much liked by the Muslims of Ajmer but he was suspected of dabbling in politics which prompted Prithviraj III to ask Ramdeva to expel him from Ajmer.¹¹¹ Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya used to hold his own *darbar* which was often more awe-inspiring than even the court of kings. The Shaikh was so popular with the people that Sultan Alauddin Khalji began to entertain suspicions about his influence and authority in Muslim society. With a view to ascertain the real intentions of the Shaikh, and to find out to what extent he was interested in seeking political power, the Sultan sent him a note seeking his advice and guidance on certain political problems. The Shaikh immediately surmised Alauddins motives in sending the letter, and replied that he had nothing to do with politics and so could render no advice on political matters: he kept busy with seeking Gods grace for Muslim monarchs (*duagoee*). Only after this was the Sultans mind set at rest.¹¹² But to many he was popularly known as Sultan Nizamuddin and his resting place as Dargah Sultanji Saheb.¹¹³

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Alauddin greatly respected Nizamuddin Auliya for his supernatural powers and knack for correct predictions.¹¹⁴ But his son Sultan Qutbuddin Mubarak Khalji disliked him because of his political leanings. He even declared a reward of a thousand *tankahs* for one who would cut off Nizamuddins head. Once when they chanced to meet, the Sultan refused to acknowledge the salutations of the saint¹¹⁵ and even called Shaikh Ruknuddin from Multan to eclipse Nizamuddins popularity.¹¹⁶ After Qutbuddins death, Sultan Nasiruddin Khusrau ascended the throne at Delhi, but his authority was challenged by Ghazi Tughlaq. Khusrau Shah, to gain the support of the Shaikhs sent two or three lakhs of *tankahs* to each of them and five lakh *tankahs* to Nizamuddin Auliya. When Ghazi Tughlaq ascended the throne as Sultan Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (1320 C.E.) he asked Nizamuddin to render the account of the amount he had received. The latter sent a reply, seemingly insolent, that the money belonged to the *Bait-ul-mal* (Public Treasury) and therefore he had given it to the poor. The Sultan took umbrage at the Shaikhs answer. The relations between the two were sore also because of the Sultans dislike of sama in which Nizamuddin freely indulged. In this scenario, Nizamuddin Auliya began to support Ghiyasuddins son, Muhammad Tughlaq, who aspired for the throne. When Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq went on an expedition to Bengal, Nizamuddin Auliya prophesied that the Sultan would never come back from there. When the news of his return was received in Delhi, a worried Prince Muhammad rushed to Nizamuddin with the tiding at which the Shaikh uttered the famous words, Delhi is still far off (*hanuz Delhi dur ast*).¹¹⁷ Nizamuddin Auliya was thus immersed in Delhi court politics, at least towards the end of his life (1320-25). But he was a Sufi. He had many disciples who were regular visitors to his *khanqah*. Such an one was Amir Khusrau.

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Abul Hasan, popularly known as Amir Khusrau, was the most favoured disciple of Nizamuddin Auliya. He was a historian, a musician, a poet, a litterateur, a Sufi Shaikh,¹¹⁸ and a full-fledged protege of Delhi Sultans. His first patron was Prince Muhammad, son of Sultan Ghiyasuddin Balban. Thereafter for about forty years (1285-1325) he served a continuous succession of monarchs-Muizuddin Kaiqubad, Jalaluddin Khalji, Alauddin Khalji and Mubarak Shah Khalji-and his shrewdness was successful in keeping them all pleased. The Sultan (Kaiqubad) flattered him by calling him the seal of authors and promised to give him a big reward which would free him from all worldly cares ever afterwards.¹¹⁹ His genius, if not character, helped him spend the whole of his life in spinning yarn (or writing many untruths).¹²⁰ Soon after, when Kaiqubad was murdered by Jalaluddin Khalji, he composed a new *masnavi*, *Miftah-ul-Futuh* in praise of his new patron. Six years later Jalauddin was murdered by his nephew and son-in-law Alauddin Khalji who marched into Delhi with the late kings head held aloft on the point of a spear and, writes Dr. Wahid Mirza, our poet Khusrau was one of the first to offer his congratulations to the murderer whose hands were still red with the blood of his king, his uncle and his benefactor The poet changed with changing time and turned with shifting wind.¹²¹ No wonder, even Ghiya-suddin Tughlaq, who was hostile to Khusraus *pir-o-murshid*, Nizamuddin Auliya, receives fulsome praise in Khusraus *Tughlaq Nama*.

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Amir Khusrau was very shrewd. When he found the reign of Qutbuddin Mubarak Khalji nothing to boast about, he wrote *Nuh Sipehr*, praising all things Indian, including the beauty of Indian women. In *Nuh Sipehr* he also wrote: They have four books in that language (Sanskrit), which they are constantly in the habit of repeating. Their name is *Bed* (Vedas). They contain stories of their gods, but little advantage can be derived from their perusal.¹²² This betrays the one-track mind of Muslim elite in general. This weakness was shared by almost all Sufi Mashaikh, debunking the belief that Sufi Mashaikh treated Hindus and Muslims on terms of equality or helped bring the two communities nearer to one another. They were keen on maintaining only orthodox Muslim rule and showed a general disregard for others. Since it was believed that Muhammad bin Tughlaq was not orthodox, Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh obtained a promise from Firoz Tughlaq before supporting the latters claim to the throne, to the effect that he would rule according to the Shariat.¹²³ In 1409, when Raja Ganesh (Kans of Muslim chroniclers) obtained the throne of Bengal and sought to establish his authority by keeping the prominent Ulama and Sufis under control, Shaikh Nurul Haqq (Qutbul Alam) wrote to Sultan Ibrahim Sharqi of Jaunpur to come and save the Muslims of Bengal. Sultan Ibrabim responded to the call and Raja Ganesh, finding himself too weak to meet the challenge, came to the Shaikh and begged for his intercession, promising to agree to any conditions. Shaikh Nurul Haqq said he would intercede for him if he accepted Islam. The Raja retired in favour of his son Jadu, who ascended the throne as Sultan Jalaluddin Shah. Shaikh Nurul Haqq induced Sultan Ibrahim, much against his will, to withdraw his armies.¹²⁴ Shaikh Abdul Quddus combined spirituality with dogmatism. His letters to Sultan Sikandar Lodi and Babur (1526-30) show that he was as anxious to maintain Muslim rule as any wordly Muslim, that he had no scruples in using the language of a courtier in asking the rulers to establish the Shariah¹²⁵ Akbars attempt at secularizing the state had exasperated the divines, and Mulla Shah Ahmad and Shaikh Farid Bukhari exhorted court dignitaries to alter the state of things in the very beginning of Jahangirs reign, otherwise it would be difficult to accomplish anything later on.¹²⁶ There are many other such instance.¹²⁷ It is understandable if disgruntled nobles and courtiers invited foreigners to rescue Islam, but the Sufi Mashaikh by such actions compromised their image as Indians first and respecters of all people as equals. They were as opposed to national integration as any orthodox Muslim.

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Similarly, many modern scholars have shown that some Sufi Mashaikh too resorted to aggressive and violent means in fighting infidelity.¹²⁸ Even Shaikh Muinuddin Chishtis picture of tolerance is replaced by a portrait of him as a warrior for Islam.¹²⁹ Since I have studied this problem in detail elsewhere,¹³⁰ I would not like to repeat the cases of aggressive proselytization of Sufi Mashaikh mentioned therein. However, one shocking instance of forcible conversion not mentioned in my book referred to above, may be given here. Saiyyad Jalaluddin Bukhari Makhdum-i-Jahanian of Sind (d. 1384) fell very seriously ill. Nawahun, the *darogha* of Uchch, called on him to enquire about his health. As a matter of courtesy and to raise his sinking spirits, Nahawun said: May God restore your health your holiness is the last of the saints as the Prophet Muhammad was the last of the prophets. Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari even on death-bed construed it as an expression of faith in Islam and demanded a formal declaration of conversion from him. Nawahun firmly declined to make any such declaration. Thereupon he was charged with apostasy. He fled to the court of Firoz Shah Tughlaq in search of asylum and redress. When Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari expired, his younger brother Sadruddin Raju Qattal, rushed to Delhi in order to persuade Firoz Shah to execute Nawahun. Though some scholars of the capital did not agree with the viewpoint of Raju Qattal, the latter prevailed upon Firoz Shah in obtaining his permission for Nawahuns execution as a renegade.¹³¹

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Poor or rich, the Sufi Mashaikh lived as householders. Except Nizamuddin Auliya and Nasiruddin Chiragh, all Sufi Shaikhs married, and had large families. Since the word saint is associated with celibacy in peoples minds of most religions, it would be pertinent to state that marriage is enjoined on every Muslim, and celibacy is frequently condemned by Muhammad. It is related in the Traditions that Muhammad said: When the servant of God marries, he perfects half his religion Consequently in Islam, even the ascetic orders are rather married than single.¹³²

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Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti took two wives - Ummatullah and Asmatullah, and had three sons and one daughter. He had married in his old age only to realize that his spiritual powers had greatly suffered on that account.¹³³ Shaikh Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki Ushi also married twice, late in life. He divorced one of his wives, soon after marriage, as her presence upset his programme of prayers. He had four sons.¹³⁴ Shaikh Farid had a number of wives and a large family. Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh is reported to have stated that Shaikh Farid had a number of wives (*harem bisyar bud*).¹³⁵ He had at least four wives and eight children.¹³⁶ Shaikh Hamiduddin had led a very voluptuous life in his early years,¹³⁷ but when he joined the circle of Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti, he adopted the life of a mystic in all sincerity. He had a number of children. Shaikh Qutbuddin Husain Kirmani, uncle of the author of *Siyar-ul-Auliya*, used to put on the garments of the finest Chinese silks and Kamkhawab and always used to have pan in his mouth.¹³⁸ Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya also relished betel.¹³⁹

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All this was normal life and all these were normal pleasures. But Sufi Mashaikh, known by many names like Wali, Shah, Qalandar, Murshid, Marabout, Shaikh, Faqir and Darwesh, indulged in all kinds of pleasures and luxuries. The case of Sidi Maula was exceptional. He had ready at hand brand new *tankahs* under every coverlet to spend. So many people dined at his *khanqah* that, if Barani is to be believed, two thousand *man* of flour (*maida*), two to three hundred *man* of sugar and a hundred to two hundred man of vegetables used to be consumed in his kitchen every day.¹⁴⁰ But others were equally non-poor and generous. We know that Shaikh Farid was destitute to the end of his days, but we also know that gifts were received and distributed. It could be said generally of every *khanqah* that even in the bad days a person was sure to get some sort of a meal and, with luck, a share of money in every *khanqah* ideals of austerity fought against satisfaction of physical needs,¹⁴¹ so that there was no dearth of money and parasites because of the well-to-do admirers of the Shaikh.

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*Sama* or devotional music was a common feature of the *khanqah*. During *sama*, the Shaikhs and Qalandars placed strong insistence on the practice of *Nazar-ilal murd* or gazing at good looking boys. One reason why Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq could not see eye to eye with Nizamuddin Auliya was the latters fondness for *sama* and his ecstatic fits. The Sultan was free from unnatural lust (*lawatat*) and did not allow handsome beardless boys from coming near him.¹⁴² In the *khanqahs* were also used drugs of the hashish family,¹⁴³ and even drinking was common.¹⁴⁴ Love affairs of sufis were of common occurrence. Ahmad Yadgar mentions the case of a *faqir* who fell for the newly wed bride of the son of Tatar Khan.¹⁴⁵ He relates another story about the love of a *darwesh* and a woman.¹⁴⁶ Love between a Hindu girl and a *darwesh* created flutter and tension.¹⁴⁷

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The Shaikhs used to marry in high families and possessed a clout which sometimes became a problem for Sultans. A sixteenth century Suhrawardi writer says¹⁴⁸ that Shaikh Sadruddin Arif had married a divorced wife of Prince Muhammad, the eldest son of Balban. The circumstances of this marriage are given as follows: The prince divorced his wife, whom he passionately loved, in a fit of fury. When he recovered his normal state of mind, he felt deeply pained for what he had done. Legally he could not take her back into his *harem* unless she was married to someone else and then divorced by him. A man of genuine piety was searched to restore the broken relationship. Shaikh Arif, the most outstanding saint of the town, promised to marry the princess and divorce her the next day. But, after the marriage, he refused to divorce her on the ground that the princess herself was not prepared to be divorced. This incident led to bitterness between the saint and the prince. The latter even thought of taking action against the Shaikh, but a Mongol invasion cut short the thread of his life. Shaikh Salim Chishti had great influence with emperor Akbar, much more than Sadruddin Arif had in the time of Balban. And both Badaoni and Father Monserrate make unflattering comments about Shaikh Salim.¹⁴⁹ The Sufi Mashaikh lived a full-fledged life, different from saints of other religions. But among Indian Muslims their memory has always been cherished with utmost reverence.

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It is said that saint-worship among Muslims is a practice unique to India. *Dargahs* of Sufis, real or figurative, are found all over the country and Muslims flock to them in. large numbers. It is a legacy of medieval times. One reason for this can be that most Indian Muslims are converted Hindus, who, when their places of worship were converted into (*khanqahs* and later) *dargahs*, did not give up visiting them. For instance, at the most holy *dargah* of Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti, the Sandal Khana mosque is believed to have been built on the site of a Dev temple.¹⁵⁰ The other is that stories of miracles of saints give a hope and a chance to people to obtain fulfilment of their desires. Hence besides Muslims, a few Hindus also resort to such shrines.

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¹ *Fatawa-i-Jahandari*, p.99.

c9.s5.t2.23

² Lal, *History of the Khaljis*, p.309.

c9.s5.t2.24

³ Bernier, p.209.

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⁴ Moreland, *India at the Death of Akbar*, pp.69, 71.

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⁵ But sometimes neither the passage of time nor indeed death could remove the barriers. The remains of the Iranian Mir Murtaza Shirazi, who was earlier buried near the Indian Amir Khusrau, were ordered by Emperor Akbar to be removed and buried elsewhere, on the representation of Shaikh-ul-Islam, who pleaded that the two deceased would find each others company a torture (Ambashtya, B.P., Biographical Sketch of Badaoni in his

c9.s5.t2.27

Footnotes:

c9.s5.t2.28

Reprint of *Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh* trs. by S.A. Ranking, Academia Asiatica, Patna, 1973, p.99).

c9.s5.t2.29

⁶ Bernier, p. 209.

c9.s5.t2.30

⁷ Titus, *Islam in India and Pakistan*, p.117.

c9.s5.t2.31

⁸ Sarkar, *A Short History of Aurangzeb*, p.469.

c9.s5.t2.32

⁹ Badaoni, II, p.339; trs. in Ain, I, p.214; Bernier, p.40.

c9.s5.t2.33

¹⁰ Barani, p.145.

c9.s5.t2.34

¹¹ *Masalik-ul-Absar*, E and D, III, p.

c9.s5.t2.35

⁵⁷⁷ Also Hajiuddabir, *Zafarul Walih*, p. 782.

c9.s5.t2.36

¹² Al-Qalqashindi, p.71; Ibn Battuta, p.129; Afif, pp.296-97 and 437-38.

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¹³ Moreland, *India at the Death of Akbar*, p.68.

c9.s5.t2.38

¹⁴ Manucci, II, p.330. Also Pelsaert, pp.1-5.

c9.s5.t2.39

¹⁵ Ibn Battuta, p.141.

c9.s5.t2.40

¹⁶ *Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri*, I, p.3.

c9.s5.t2.41

¹⁷ William Finch in Foster, *Early Travels in India*, p.165.

c9.s5.t2.42

¹⁸ Pelsaert, *Jahangirs India*, p.3.

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¹⁹ *Ibid.*, p.56.

c9.s5.t2.44

²⁰ *Ibid.*, p.67. Also Foster, p. 56.

c9.s5.t2.45

²¹ Tavernier, *Travels in India*, I, p.393.

c9.s5.t2.46

²² Bernier, p.247.

c9.s5.t2.47

²³ *Ibid.*, p.270.

c9.s5.t2.48

²⁴ Pelsaert, p.64. Some important ladies of royalty probably had their pay fixed on the lines of Mansabdars. William Hawkins, writing about 1611, says that the mother of the King, Mariyam Zamani, got an allowance of the *Mansab* of 12,000 (*Travels in India*, Edited by William Foster, London, 1921, pp.98-99). It is computed that the *Jagirs* of Nur Jahan, spread all over the country, would have conferred on her the title of a commander of 30,000 (Blochmann, *Ain*, I, p.574). It is doubtful if any ladies of nobles got an allowance from the Court, but it was natural for the Umara themselves to fix monthly stipends for their favourite wives and concubines.

c9.s5.t2.49

²⁵ Pelsaert, p.67.

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²⁶ *Ibid.*, p.67. Also Manucci, I, p.87.

c9.s5.t2.51

²⁷ Ibn Battuta, pp. 69, 73.

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²⁸ Peter Mundy, II, p. 218; Manucci, I, p.69.

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²⁹ Barani, p.318; Al-Qalqashindi, p.68.

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³⁰ Ashraf, *Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan*, pp.282-83.

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³¹ Afif, pp.145-46.

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³² *The Mughal Harem*, Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi, 1988, p.203.

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Reacting to this statement, A. Jan Qaiser of the Aligarh Muslim University in his harsh review of the book observes: Is Lal really ignorant of the fact that the Indians were being increasingly exposed to a number of European articles of technology and culture brought by the Europeans during the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth century? (*The Indian Historical Review*, 1991, p. 346). The poor man does not realise that he is only confirming my assertion that the Indian nobles were being *only* exposed (whatever he may mean by the word) to articles *brought* by Europeans. On their own they were incapable of doing anything more.

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³³ Bernier, pp. 213-14.

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³⁴ *Ibid.*, p. 271.

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³⁵ *Ibid.*, p.272. Tavernier figures this ruby and also gives a full account of the incident (*Travels*, II, pp.127, 128).

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³⁶ Pelsaert, *Jahangirs India*, pp. 57-58.

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³⁷ Moreland, *India at the Death of Akbar*, p. 72.

c9.s5.t2.63

³⁸ Pelsaert, p. 58.

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³⁹ Bernier, pp. 230-31.

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⁴⁰ Barani, p. 62.

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⁴¹ Pelsaert, p. 54.

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⁴² *Masalik-ul-Absar*, E and D, III, p. 577.

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⁴³ *Ain*, I, p. 1.

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⁴⁴ Bernier, pp. 230-31.

c9.s5.t2.70

⁴⁵ Barani, p. 499.

c9.s5.t2.71

⁴⁶ Afif, p. 301.

c9.s5.t2.72

⁴⁷ Afif, pp. 346-48.

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⁴⁸ *Ibid.*, pp. 457-92.

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⁴⁹ Barani, p. 353.

c9.s5.t2.75

⁵⁰ Afif, p. 492.

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⁵¹ Afif, p. 439. The chronicler does not exaggerate. The wealth of Imadul Mulk was estimated at thirteen crores of *tankahs*. A *tankah* would buy 12 bags at the average rate of 48 *jitals* to a *tankah*. 2,500 *tankahs* would buy 30,000 bags and each bag would contain about 4,350 coins or one maund and 14 seers of silver in bullion.

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⁵² Afif, pp. 440-41.

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⁵³ *Ibid.*, p. 94.

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⁵⁴ *Ibid.*, p. 440.

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⁵⁵ *loc. cit.* For the troubles of the post-Firoz decade see Lal, *Twilight of the Sultanate*, pp. 2-6.

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⁵⁶ Barani, p. 446.

c9.s5.t2.82

⁵⁷ *Ibid.*, p. 446.

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⁵⁸ *Ibid.*, p. 229.

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⁵⁹ *Masalik-ul-Absar*, E and D, III, p. 577.

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⁶⁰ See the Chapter on Lower Classes.

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⁶¹ Abbas Sarwani, *Tarikh-i-Sher Shahi*, E and D, IV, p. 414.

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⁶² Moreland, *India at the Death of Akbar*, p. 71.

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⁶³ Ambashtya, Rankings trs. of Badaonis *Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh*, Introduction.

c9.s5.t2.89

⁶⁴ Moreland, *op. cit.*, p. 71.

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⁶⁵ Sarkar, *A Short History of Aurangzeb*, p. 457.

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⁶⁶ *Ibid.*, pp. 456-57 and note.

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⁶⁷ Moreland, *India at the Death of Akbar*, pp. 72-73.

c9.s5.t2.93

⁶⁸ Pelsaert, pp. 54-55.

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⁶⁹ Pelsaert, pp. 54-56; Bernier, pp. 211-12; Manucci, II, p. 417; Careri, p. 241.

c9.s5.t2.95

⁷⁰ Beni Prasad, *History of Jahangir*, pp. 72, 86; Manucci, II, p. 372.

c9.s5.t2.96

⁷¹ Pelsaert, pp. 64-65; Bernier, p. 247; Manucci, II, p. 467; Lal, *The Mughal Harem*, pp. 47-48.

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⁷² Pelsaert, p. 56. Also Bernier, p. 227.

c9.s5.t2.98

⁷³ Sarkar, *A Short History of Aurangzeb*, pp. 466-67.

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⁷⁴ Amir Ala Sijzi, *Favaid-ul-Fvad*, p. 185.

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⁷⁵ Yusuf Husain Khan, *Glimpses of Medieval Indian Culture*, p.69, also p.74.

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⁷⁶ *Ibid.*, p.89. Also Hamid Qalandar, Khair-ul-Majalis, p. 107.

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⁷⁷ Nizami, *Religion and Politics*, p. 156.

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⁷⁸ Quran IV, 59.

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⁷⁹ Habibullah, A.B.M., *The Foundation of Muslim Rule in India*, p.234.

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⁸⁰ Nizami, *op. cit.*, p.172.

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⁸¹ Barani, p.54.

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⁸² Amir Khusrau, *Mutla-i-Anwar* (Lucknow, 1884), pp. 55-60; Barani, p. 317.

c9.s5.t2.108

⁸³ Barani, pp. 94, 154-55, 550.

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⁸⁴ *Ibid.*, p. 299.

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⁸⁵ Badaoni, Ranking, I, p. 187; Barani, p. 446; Khusrau in *Mutla-i-Anwar*; Lal, *Early Muslims in India*, p. 129.

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⁸⁶ Rizvi, *History of Sufism*, I, pp.20, 33, 83, 88,; II, p. 52; Singhal, *India and World Civilization*, I, pp. 268-80; Tara Chand, *Influence of Islam on Indian Culture*, pp. 70-75.

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⁸⁷ Amir Khurd, al-Kirmani, *Siyar-ul-Auliya*, p. 61.

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⁸⁸ Nizami, *Religion and Politics*, p. 226, also pp. 220-229.

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⁸⁹ It is claimed that Sufi Mashaikh either accompanied or followed rather than preceded the Muslim armies of invasion and lived under the protection and patronage of conquerors and kings (Titus, *Islam in India and Pakistan*, pp. 124-25). For other claims see Lai, *Early Muslims in India*, pp. 125, 152 n 31. Akbar was a great devotee of Muinuddin Chishti. From 1567 to 1579 he made yearly pilgrimages to the Khwajas *dargah* where he built a mosque. In Akbars time, therefore, research about the Khawajas life must have been done and correct information collected. Abul Fazls statement that the Khwaja came to India in 1192 and shifted to Ajmer in 1195 seems most probable (*Ain*, II, p. 214).

Cites (5)

Tārīkh-i Firishta — Muḥammad Qāsim Hindū Shāh Firishta 1606, Persian
تحفة النظار في غرائب الأمصار وعجائب الأسفار — Ibn Baṭṭūṭa, Arabic
Maṭlaʿ al-anwār — Amīr Khusraw Dihlavī, Persian
Tārīkh-i Fīrūzshāhī — Shams-i Sirāj ʿAfīf, Persian
Fawāʾid al-fuʾād — Amīr Ḥasan Sijzī Dihlavī

The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c9.s5: Ulama and Mashaikh

Contents

Ulama and Mashaikh

The Ulama

The Mashaikh