The Sultanate of Delhi, 711–1526 A.D. c26.s8.2

c26.s8.2

But, owing to the Quranic prohibition, the art of painting proper was shunned by the Sultans and the Muslim nobility. Nonetheless, the art of calligraphy was widely practised. Music, though disliked by orthodox Muslims for religious reasons, had such irresistible appeal that it could not altogether be banished. There were, therefore, some musicians of note during the period among whom the great poet, Amir Khusrav, occupies the first place. He set some of his poems to the Indian tunes and is even reputed to have invented new *ragas*.