History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c13.84

c13.84

It was Barani who popularised the idea of the Sultan's hostility to the faith, but on a close examination, his account is found to be a tissue of contradictions and inconsistencies. We have to decide whether the Sultan had really given up the principles of his faith and permitted the slaughter of Shaikhs, sufis and the ‘Ulama on religious grounds. Barani himself admits in the course of his narrative that the Sultan observed the namaz with the strictness of a true Muslim and rose from his seat as soon as he heard the cry of the muazzin.⁴⁶ An antidote to Barani's exaggerated condemnation is supplied by other contemporary writers. Ibn Batūṭah who knew the Sultan well observes:—