History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c13.78

c13.78

Barani bases his charge upon the philosophical studies of the Sultan and his love of ratiocination. A careful examination of this passage will show how sweeping the charge is. The Sultan is charged not merely with the slaughter of the learned and pious but also scribes and soldiers, and Barani ascribes this tendency to his lack of faith and the visionary character of his mind. As a bigoted ecclesiastic, averse to the shedding of Muslim blood, he regarded the death of every Muslim culprit as an instance of wanton cruelty due to lack of faith. Later historians have reiterated the charge with more or less verbal amendments. Yahya Sirhindi clearly states that in Dihli and its environs the 'Ulama and the faqirs were wantonly slain so that heaps of corpses rose up in front of the palace gate, but strangely enough in the same breath he speaks of four muftis who were stationed in the palace and with whom the Sultan discussed the pros and cons of a case before pronouncing judgment. It appears from his account that the Sultan was particularly anxious to see that no injustice was done to any body and that the *muftis* fully considered each case before it was finally disposed of.