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History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c37.s10: §10. Ecclesiastical officers: Qazis and Censors.

History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c37.s10

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§10. Ecclesiastical officers: Qazis and Censors.

Succession-list of Chief Qazis

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Abdul Wahhab Bohra, 1659—1675. Shaikh-ul-Islam, 1676—1683. Sayyid Abu Said, 1683—1685 (dismissed ; died 1688.) Khwajah Abdullah, 1685—1698. Muhammad Akram, 1698—1706. Mulla Haidar, June 1706—1707.

Succession-list of Censors

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Mulla Auz Wajih, June 1659—Oct. 1663. Khwajah Qadir, Oct. 1663—Oct. 1665. Muhammad Zahid (son of Qazi Arslan), Oct. 1665—? 1668 or 1669. Muhammad Husain Jaunpuri, ? 1668—March 1670. Sayyid Amjad Khan, March 1670—? Shaikh Nur-ul-Haq, ? 1697—1701 ? Khwajah Muhammad Shah, ?—1705—?

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∗ During the interval 1689—1698, we have no record of Sadars in the official history.

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Abdul Wahhab* was born at Anhilwara Pattan, now a city in the Gaikwad's dominions. He belonged to the Bohra clan, a race of Hindu traders who had been converted to Shia-ism by a famous Muslim saint many centuries ago. But an independent Sultan of Gujrat made several of them Sunnis and thus introduced an element of discord. Since then, the Bohras have been split up into two sects, fighting bitterly over this religious difference. Shaikh Muhammad Tahir of Pattan, a famous scholar of this race, spent many years in Arabia, and on his return vigorously employed the authority of the Mughal Government to put down Shia beliefs and practices among the Bohras, for which he was murdered by the persecuted sect. His grandson, Abdul Wahhab, also made a great name for himself by his mastery of Canon Law and Theology, and served as Qazi of Pattan in Shah Jahan's reign. He joined Aurangzib during his second viceroyalty of the Deccan and was made much of by the prince. After the victory of Samugarh, when the other Qazis refused to declare Aurangzib's usurpation of a living father's throne as legal, Abdul Wahhab issued a decree asserting that as Shah Jahan was physically unfit to govern, the throne was virtually vacant and therefore Aurangzib’s accession to it was no violation of Quranic law. For this eminent service his patron made him Chief Qazi of the Empire.

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∗ M.U. i. 235—241; K.K. ii. 216—217, 247; Storia, ii. 5—6, 188—189, i. 381; Mirat-i-Ahmadi, 261; Ishwardas, 70 b. Shaikh-ul-Islam, M.U. i. 237; K.K. ii. 247, 379, 414, 438—439; Ishwardas, 71 b, 86 b; M.A. 239, 251, 339, 394; Ruqat-i-Alamgiri, No. 38 (honesty as judge).

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On all administrative questions, Aurangzib sought to follow the rulings of Canon Law and the precedents set by the orthodox Khalifs. The Qazis were therefore his guides not only in the Church but also in the State. Their influence over the civil government was greater than that of the ministers and generals. Abdul Wahhab, in particular, enjoyed the Emperor’s confidence and favour in such a degree, as to be all in all at Court. The highest peers of the realm feared and honoured him, while their hearts were consumed by jealousy of the prelate. Mahabat Khan (Lohrasp), the boldest and most outspoken of the courtiers, alone ventured to give voice to their discontent. One day Aurangzib in open Court was anxiously selecting a general for the war with the irrepressible Shivaji. Mahabat Khan ironically remarked, “It is unnecessary to send an army against him. A proclamation by the Chief Qazi would do the work!”

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Abdul Wahhab abused his boundless influence over the Emperor to enrich himself. He was the most corrupt and heartless Qazi of the reign. He sold the subordinate Qazi-ships of the cities for money and took bribes in every case that he tried.

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At the same time he made profit by engaging in secret trade in rich stuff and jewellery. During his sixteen years of Qazi-ship he amassed a fortune of 33 lakhs of Rupees in cash, besides much jewellery and other valuable things.

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His eldest son and successor, Shaikh-ul-Islam, on the other hand, was one of the noblest of characters. No such honest Qazi was ever again seen in India. On his father's death he did not touch a penny of his ill-gotten riches, but gave away his own share of his patrimony to learned men, beggars and his kinsmen. Not only did he decide all cases without the faintest suspicion of corrupt influence or bribery, but he even declined the customary presents and gifts from his nearest friends and kinsmen. He was so impressed by the lying of the witnesses who were usually produced in courts, that after hearing the two sides he seldom gave any decision of his own, on the ground that "in this age of lying witnesses, God alone knows the truth!" This over-scrupulous judge avoided as long as he could the disagreeable necessity of making up his mind on the facts of a case and tried his utmost to induce the two parties to compound their dispute privately!

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We can easily understand how he hated the duties of a Qazi and ever sought for some decent excuse to resign his post and retire to a life of peace and religious meditation, washing his hands clean of "the impurities of the world and its affairs." But Aurangzib would not part with such a rare combination of judicial honesty, piety and learning. He repeatedly pressed Shaikh-ul-Islam to come to Court and thrust ecclesiastical offices upon him. The Emperor asked of him a decree (*fatwa*) sanctioning his intended invasions of Golkonda and Bijapur. The Qazi honestly condemned the project as "a war between two Muslim States" and therefore a violation of Quranic law. So, he sought to make his escape from the Court and imperial service by going on a pilgrimage to Mecca; (resigned Nov. 1683, sailed from India Dec. 1684). On his return he lived at Pattan and successfully resisted the repeated entreaties of the Emperor to resume his high office. In 1698, the Emperor wrote to him a letter in his own hand inviting him to Court. Shaikh-ul-Islam could not well decline. He set out from his home, praying on the way that God would deliver him from the necessity of again defiling his hands with Government service. The prayer was heard, and he died before reaching the Court.

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Sayyid Abu Said, the son-in-law of Abdul Wahhab, succeeded Shaikh-ul-Islam in November 1683, but a year and a half later he was dismissed, probably because his sale of posts and of justice had become intolerable. (May, 1685.)

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Mulla Haidar had been Persian secretary to Shivaji. In 1683 he came over to Aurangzib and was created a Commander of Two Thousand. From being tutor to the Emperor's grandson Azim-ush-shan, he was appointed to the Qazi-ship of Delhi, and finally, in June 1706, as the Chief Qazi.

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The first CENSOR of Aurangzib's reign was Mulla Auz Wajih, a native of Samarqand. An unrivalled scholar, he came to India in 1640 and became Mufti of Shah Jahan. Appointed by Aurangzib as Chief Censor in June 1659, "he exerted himself far beyond any other holder of the post in putting down sinful practices." As Censor he enjoyed the rank and emoluments of a Commander of One Thousand, instead of his former stipend of Rs. 1,250 a month. But in October 1663 he lost his office for some offence, and devoted the rest of his life to teaching. In April 1676 he was restored to his *mansab* but not to his post, and died next November.* His successor was Khwajah Sayyid Qadir (*A.N.* 840). We find Khwajah Muhammad Shah holding the Censor's office in 1705. (*Akhbarat*, 49—20).

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∗ *M.A.* 150, 156; *K.K.* ii. 80; *A.N.* 392, 840.