Theory and Practice of Muslim State in India c6.s2.13

c6.s2.13

In the *Siyasat Nama*, Nizm-ul-Mulk Tusi stressed that since the kings were divinely appointed, "they must always keep the subjects in such a position that they know their stations and never remove the ring of servitude from their ears."⁸⁷ Alberuni, Fakhr-i-Mudabbir, Amir Khusrau, Ziyauddin Barani and Shams Siraj Afif repeat the same idea.⁸⁸ As Fakhr-i-Mudabbir puts it, "If there were no kings, men would devour one another."⁸⁹ Even the liberal Allama Abul Fazl could not think beyond this: "if royalty did not exist, the storm of strife would never subside, nor selfish ambition disappear. Mankind (is) under the burden of lawlessness and lust…".⁹⁰