The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c7.50.2

c7.50.2

A good rule is to rely mainly on the authorities recognized either universally or in India during or before our period; though one should be permitted to use information regarding an institution which is known not to have undergone a change even if that material is contained in a work written after the end of the sultanate. To take the law books first, there are the famous *Hidāyah* and *Wiqāyah* with their various commentaries. Greater interest, however, attaches to the *Fiqh-i-Fīrūz Shāhī*, a legal compendium compiled by Yaʿqūb Kirāmī and enlarged and revised under Fīrūz Shāh’s patronage, which embodies the orthodox legal view on various problems, some of administrative importance. Another book on Muslim law compiled during the period is the *Majmūʿ-i-Khānī* dedicated to Bahrām Khān who has now been identified with Muḥammad bin Tughluq's tutor, Qutlugh Khān. This work is not important, for it is really a compilation made from previous well-known books. In the sphere of statecraft, the most important works are the *Ādāb-u'l-mulūk wa kifāyat-u'l-mamlūk* and *Fatāwā-i-jahāndārī*. The first book is by Fakhr-u'd-dīn Mubārakshāh alias Fakhr-i-Mudabbir, the author of one of the histories discussed above. This work, which is also called *Ādāb-u'l-ḥarb wa'sh-shujā'ah*, was presented to Sulṭān Shams-u'd-dīn Īltutmish; it describes in great detail a number of political, administrative and military institutions. As a contemporary picture of government, its value is considerable.