History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c13.47

c13.47

"This king of all others is fond of granting gifts and shedding blood. At all times there is seen at his gate some poor person who is enriched or some living one condemned to death. The stories of his bounties, courage, the shedding of blood and the severe chastisement of criminals are well-known among the people. But in spite of this fact he is the most humble of men and one who is most inclined towards doing what is right and just. He is very punctilious in matters of prayer and severely punishes those who fail to perform it in the prescribed manner. He is one of those who possess good luck in abundance. The most prominent of his qualities is generosity and we shall shortly relate some of the events of his reign, the like of which have never been heard about those who have preceded him."²⁹ Ibn Batūṭah does not speak of the shedding of blood of innocent believers nor of the Sultan's desire to exterminate the human species. He adds to his portrait of the Sultan that he punished all offences great and small with equal severity without any distinction. No man was excused on the ground of birth, rank, learning or piety and every day hundreds of men were brought into the Hall of Audience to receive the punishments which their guilt merited. It will be borne in mind that the Sultan administered impartial and stern justice. He deprived the clericals of their long-enjoyed monopoly and constituted himself into the supreme court of appeal. All authorities are unanimous in praising his love of justice and his readiness to alter, revise or reverse the judgments of the Muftis.³⁰ He was no believer in the infallibility of the priestly order; he went a step further and invested his lay