The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c20.s3.t2.2

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.