The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c20.s3.t2: His accession
The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c20.s3.t2
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His accession
c20.s3.t2.1
Firoz was present in the royal camp at Thatta when Muhammad breathed his last on 20th March, 1351. The royal army, being very greatly harassed by the enemy, Taghi, and the Mongol mercenaries who had been employed by Muhammad as auxiliaries, found itself in great confusion and decided to select a leader lest it should be lost in difficulties. As Muhammad had wished Firoz to succeed him, all eyes turned towards the latter. There was, however, a small section in favour of the minor son of the Sultan's sister, that pressed this boy's claim on the ground of his more being closely related to Muhammad than Firoz. But the nobles replied that they wanted a grown-up man who should be able to lead them out of the difficulties. They urged Firoz to accept the crown. He, being a man of retiring disposition and religious bent of mind, rejected the offer. The nobles, the 'shaikhs and the *ulema*, thereupon, combined to bring pressure upon him. He yielded to their importunities. His coronation took place in the camp near Thatta on 23rd March, 1351.
c20.s3.t2.2
The new king restored order in the army, saved it from the enemy and set out for Delhi. Hardly had he quitted Sindh when information was received that Khwaja-i-Jahan, deputy of the late Sultan, had proclaimed at Delhi a boy as the son and successor of Muhammad bin Tughluq and carried out his enthronement. When the army reached Multan, Firoz held consultations with his nobles and the Muslim jurists. The nobles refused to admit the existence of any son of the late Sultan. The jurists pronounced their opinion that Khwaja-i-Jahan's candidate, being a minor, was not qualified to be the Sultan of Delhi. As in Muslim law sovereignty is not considered to be a matter of 'inherited right', it was unnecessary to consider whether the boy had any right to the throne from the legal standpoint. Moreover, the time required a powerful man at the helm of affairs. The cause of Khwaja-i-Jahan's nominee was doomed; so the minister submitted and was pardoned in view of his loyal service in the past. He was allowed to go to his fief of Samana; but was put to death by a follower of Sher Khan, governor of Sunam and Samana, probably at the instigation of the nobles and officers of the army. Firoz now became the undisputed sovereign of a large kingdom.
c20.s3.t2.3
Firoz's accession has been a subject of controversy among the scholars. Sir Woolseley Haig is of opinion that the boy raised to the throne by Khwaja-i-Jahan was not 'a supposititious son' but an issue of his body. According to him, Firoz's succession was, therefore, irregular and he may be called a usurper. Other historians differ from this view and maintain that there is no record or proof to show that the boy was Muhammad's own son. Even if the child were Muhammad's own son, Firoz's succession was not irregular. According to Islamic law sovereignty is not the monopoly of any particular individual or a class of men. It belongs to one who is competent to occupy the throne. In other words, there is nothing like ‘inherited right’ of succession to a Muslim throne. Though it must be admitted that in the Sultanate the succession of a son had come to receive some kind of recognition, yet competence and the will of the electors, that is, chief nobles and theologians, and, sometimes, nomination by the dying monarch were the decisive factors in the choice of a successor. Firoz was duly elected, he was pronounced competent and, according to Barani, he was nominated heir by Muhammad. Thus he fulfilled all important conditions. Hence, he cannot be called usurper; nor can it be maintained that his accession was irregular. Dr. Ram Prasad Tripathi says that Firoz’s accession revived the principle of election which “had been gradually receding in the background without, however, denying the right of the son to rule. The case also emphasised fitness against merely close relationship to the sovereign.” Moreover, it enunciated two new principles, namely, that it did not matter if a ruler was born of a mother who had been a non-Muslim before her marriage, and that it was not necessary that he should be a distinguished soldier. For these reasons Firoz’s accession “is as important as it is interesting.”