The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c13.132

c13.132

Guided by the principles of their Faith, which lays great stress on charity, the sultans of Dehlī spent large sums of money on the poor and the needy. In addition to the income derived from zakāt which was legally ear-marked for charitable purposes, large sums were given away from other sources.³ Quṭb-u'd-dīn Aibak was famous for his generosity to the poor.⁴ Īltutmish and his descendants did not neglect the poor; indeed Nāṣir-u'd-dīn Maḥmūd's name has passed from history into fable.⁵ There is hardly a sultan whose generosity has not been praised; it will be superfluous to mention them individually. Muḥammad bin Tughluq maintained a large number of the poor and prohibited begging.⁶ Fīrūz instituted a dīwān-i-khairāt to give financial aid to men who wanted to marry their daughters but did not possess the necessary means.⁷ He also brought up the children of public servants who died without making ample provision for their families.⁸ Sulṭān Sikandar Lodī, probably in accordance with an older custom, distributed cooked and raw food to the poor in his dominions. In winter blankets and clothes were given away. The raw foodstuffs must have been meant for his Hindu subjects who did not eat anything cooked by a Muslim.⁹ Humāyūn sat in public audience to bestow alms personally; such a session was announced to the public by beat of drum.¹⁰ Sher Shāh's alms amounted to five hundred tolas of gold every day;