The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c13.2

c13.2

A state governed by the canonical law in the essential departments of its life naturally attached great importance to the ministry of religious affairs.¹ The ṣadr-u’ṣ-ṣudūr was a highly venerated official who not only enjoyed great prestige but also exercised much power. Generally the qāḍi-i-mumālik combined with his duties as the chief judge of the empire the office of the chief ṣadr : thus the same man presided over both dīwān-i-risālat and dīwān-i-qaḍā.² Sometimes a preacher of exceptional eloquence was appointed as khaṭīb-u’l-khuṭabā who ranked high in the order of precedence at the court.³ He was subordinate to the ṣadr-u’ṣ-ṣudūr. As head of the dīwān-i-risālat, he appointed the religious preachers and imāms to lead prayers and manage the mosques of the realm. These men had generally been trained at some college in theology : though they were not ordained or admitted to any organized priesthood. They do not appear to have been graded for purposes of service or payment. Sometimes the offices of qaḍā, khiṭābat, imāmat, ḥisbah and even dādbekī were given to one man ; this naturally happened more often in the earlier days of the sultanate when the Muslim population in some towns was limited to a small garrison.⁴ The imāms and other officials of the same nature were mostly remunerated by assignments of land.¹ The offices of qāḍī-i-mumālik and ṣadr-u’ṣ-ṣudūr were given to the same man because offices of a religious and legal nature were often concentrated in the hands of single individuals in the empire and it was considered desirable that these men should deal with one chief. Besides, the functions of a qāḍī have always been considered religious by nature, and it seemed only natural that the chief qāḍī should also be the chief religious dignitary of the state. The provincial qāḍīs also acted as ṣadrs in their respective areas.