History of Aurangzib, Based on Original Sources v3.c39.s2.3

v3.c39.s2.3

∗ Manucci says that at first "the holy men of Mecca declined to accept the gifts sent by Aurangzib, because his father was still alive" (ii. 3); but in a few years the Grand Sharif repented of it and "sent envoys to find out if Aurangzib would consent to renew the offering that he had before sent." (ii. 114.) Naturally, the official history of the reign would be silent about any such rebuff, if the Emperor received it. I can only suspect from the long time which the Mughal embassy at Mecca took to do its work that there was some such hitch. The party sent out with the gifts was absent from India for more than five years, which cannot be explained by imagining that the members had an insatiable appetite for pilgrimage (haj).