History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c13.16

c13.16

Of all the Sultans who had hitherto occupied the throne of Dihli he was the most learned and accomplished. Nature had endowed him with a marvellous memory, a keen and penetrating intellect and an enormous capacity for assimilating knowledge of different kinds. The versatility of his genius surprised those who came in contact with him. A lover of the fine arts, a cultured scholar and an accomplished poet, he was equally at home in logic, astronomy, philosophy, mathematics and the physical sciences. He was thoroughly acquainted with literary works like the Sikandar-namah, Bu-Musalim-namah and the Tarikh-i-Mahmudi and in his epistles he frequently quoted from them with great facility and appositeness. Among later writers, Firishta, who consulted copiously, adds the Shahnamah and the stories of Amir Hamzah.¹¹ No one could excel the Sultan in composition; he had at his ready command a good deal of Persian poetry of which he made a large use in his writings and speeches. He was an adept in the use of similes and metaphors, and his literary discourses, saturated with the influence of Persian classics, extorted admiration from the professed litterateurs of the age. Even the most practised rhetoricians found it difficult to rival the richness of imagination, the elegance of taste and the ready command over the instrument of language, which he displayed in his literary productions. He was a charming conversationalist and was gifted with extraordinary powers of speech to which were added uncommon powers of reasoning. He was well-versed in Aristotelian logic and philosophy so that divines and logicians feared to argue with him. He could hold his own in debate against the most eminent scientists, poets and wits. Barani who is no apologist of the Sultan describes him as eloquent, sweet-tongued, an expert calligraphist whose abilities would have taken by surprise such men as Aristotle, ‘Asaf, Ahmad Hasan and Nizam-al-mulk Tūsi and he is corroborated by Ibn Batūtah and the author of the Masālik. The author of the Masālik writes: “The Sultan is highly learned. He knows the Holy Book by heart and also the Hedayah. He has mastered philosophy and logic and is a fine calligraphist. Himself no mean poet, he appreciates the excellences of poetry and holds converse with Persian poets and criticises their productions.” His mastery over philosophical subjects was so great that he successfully worsted in argument the ‘Ulama. Every night the Sadr-i-Jahan used to invite learned discussions wherein the Sultan joined without any formality or reserve. Hajjī-ad-Dabīr’s statement that he carried on correspondence with Shaikh Sādi is incorrect for the latter died in 690 A.H., (1291 A.D.). The Sultan's fondness for discussion led him to cross swords with S'ād, the logician, ‘Ubaid,¹² the poet, Maulana ‘Alim-al-Din, the philosopher and Nizām-al-Din Intishār and others whom the orthodox historian describes as ‘atheists and apostates’ and to whose sinister influence he attributes the Sultan's violations of the canon law and his unjust treatment of the true believers.¹³ All rational philosophy was anathema to the orthodox, and the advocacy of reason and its application to the dogmas of theology was looked upon as a gross outrage upon scriptural sanctity. A knowledge of medicine was looked upon as a valued accomplishment in the east in the middle ages and the Sultan who had acquired considerable proficiency in these subjects held discussions with physicians, diagnosed diseases and prescribed suitable remedies for them. Men who were noted for their learning and piety attended his court and he freely extended his patronage to them.¹⁴