Abul Fazl a short note PDF

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He was the courtier in the reign of Akbar and one of the Navaratanas of Akbar , ruler of the Mughal Empire. During the reign of Akbar, he wrote Akbar Nama in Three Volume and the last volume of this book was named Ain-i Akbari the most famous work of Abul Fazl on the comprehensive structure of Socie...

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He was the courtier in the reign of Akbar and one of the Navaratanas of Akbar, ruler of the Mughal Empire. During the reign of Akbar, he wrote Akbar Nama in Three Volume and the last volume of this book was named Ain-i Akbari the most famous work of Abul Fazl on the comprehensive structure of Society. Medieval India had many eminent historians and among them Sheikh Abul Fazl (1551-1602) occupies a place of distinction. This is mainly because of the predominance of intellectual elements in his writings, his unfailing appeal to reason against religious and cultural traditions, broader view of history and a new methodology which he sought to apply to his task. His interpretation of history was integrally linked to the political, social, economic and religious realities of that period.

ORIGIN OF KINGSHIP His theory of kingship was based on the dual theories of social contract as well as divine origin. It is evident in the writings of Abul Fazl that Akbar was interested in establishing his authority over all other elements of the state. In 1579, through a decree named mazhar, Akbar gained a great deal of authority to interpret law. But he was not satisfied with this limited power and after some time, lost interest in the position of king of Islam. He wanted a wider concept of religion. He sought for a new justification of expansion of authority and Abul Fazl provided this to him. His theory of 'Padshahat', presents the concept of royalty. This theory was a combination of Mongol, Turkish, Iranian, Islamic and Indian political traditions. According to him 'Padshahat' meant 'an established owner' where 'Pad' stands for stability and 'shah' stands for owner. Padshah, therefore, means a powerful established owner who cannot be eliminated by anyone. The Badshah had a superior place in the Mughal empire. He was the ultimate authority on all social, economic, political, and judicial power. According to Abul Fazlpresents the divine theory: , 'Badshahat is the light ( Farr- i- izadi ) from God which has been sent by God himself. "light of God", directly linked to God, part of God not merely his shadow. The king was therefore deemed to be divinely appointed, divinely guided and divinely protected- not product of any religion but having authority of God.

SOVEREIGNTY OF KING The king established his sovereignty by considering himself as an agent of god and used his absolute powers according to the rule of controller and guide of the state. A Badshah considered himself as the father and his subjects were his children.

Abul Fazl said that sovereignty was not restricted to a particular faith. As the king was considered an agent of God, he cannot discriminate among various faiths present in society and in case the king discriminates on the basis of caste, religion or class then he would not be considered a just king. So it was the duty to make every effort for the welfare of all his people. Since the king established his sovereignty through his absolute power, he had the final authority in governance, administration, agriculture, education and other fields. According to Abul Fazl, it was impossible to challenge the king and nobody could share his power.Thus, it was the duty of the people to obey his order. IDEAL KING

His ideal king is just and sovereign monarch , receiving divine light directly from God. By virtue of the divine light, heart of the ideal King is free from any conflict, disunity, and disharmony. He has the Godly vision to see truth and act justly without any decimation between his subject. Thus, Abul fazl's ideal king divinely inspired perfect man, who has supreme sovereignty- both temporal & spiritual-over his people and complete control over his enemies. Abul Fazl mentioned in Akbar Nama that Akbar always worked wisely for the welfare of his people. He had tolerance, broad-mindedness, and a strong sense of justice. He provided stability to the state and gave good governance to ensure economic prosperity, peace, and safety of his people. He provided religious freedom to all. His political views were clear and were intended for the expansion of the state boundaries. Therefore, Abul Fazl justified his policy of imperialism on moral grounds. It is clear that Akbar was the ideal king for Abul Fazl and that’s why he looked at Akbar as a ‘complete man who could never be wrong’.

IDEAL STATE

4 fold division of the society: 1.The warriors 2. the learned men 3. husbandmen & labourers 4. artificers & merchants. Similar 4 fold division of the Royalty/state: 1. Nobility 2. Assistants of victory 3. companions of the King 4.Servants. Welfare of the society and state/body politic depends upon equilibrium and proper functioning of this 4 fold division. Other elements of statecraft- Army, economy, administration, etc come only after harmonious balance of such 4 fold division. King's duty to put in place and maintain such social and political order. state becomes a moral, spiritual entity; King its spiritual guide. It was the duty of the king to provide justice to his people and always punish the wrongdoers and ensure that justice helped the innocent people. According to him, a king should be kind and harmonious while dispensing justice. He should always remain indifferent and take care that nobody was hurt by him.

RELIGION People from different religions and sects lived in India in the medieval age. It was not that easy to unite all of them under one umbrella. The agent of God could not practice discrimination among the various faiths present in the society. A doctrine for justifying the tolerant religious policy was now the need of the hour. Abul Fazl was influenced by the composite culture of his time. His religious thoughts were based on secularism which considered all religions equal and believed in religious fraternity. He was considered as intellectual, a thinker who believed in the goodness of all religions. Sovereignty was not restricted to any particular faith. It became overarching. Abul Fazl was not a blind supporter of Islam. He liked rationality and innovations in every field. He did not like orthodox, traditional and customary values. He said if traditions were sufficient for all the times then why the Prophet brought new thoughts. He argued that change in law and religion must be initiated with the passage of time. He respected the Hindu religion and supported the participation of Hindus in governance and administration. They believed all religions were, in essence, the same but only the paths varied. He argued that Hindus also believed in the theory of monotheism like Muslims but most Muslims get them wrong because they do not read their religious scriptures and so their criticism springs from ignorance. In fact Fazl did not think that Islam was superior to all religions while Barani and other thinkers regarded it as supreme. This was the reason that many people called Abul Fazl a rebel, a Kafir, Hindu or Agnipujak etc. His modernity and religious rationality were reflected in the thoughts of Akbar who also declined to be a traditionalist himself and started innovative policies and customs in his reign. Akbar conducted many new experiments to please people of different religious groups. Though he was not completely successful he did manage to unite them during his reign. Politics like Sulh-i-kul and Din-i-Ilahi gave strength to his governance and administration. In Sulh-i Kul all religions and schools of thought had freedom of expression but on condition that they did not undermine the authority of the state or fight among themselves. Din I Ilahi was a syncretic religion propounded by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1582, intending to merge some of the elements of the religions of his empire, and thereby reconcile the differences that divided his subjects. The ideals were implemented through state policies, through which Akbar's government integrated diverse cultural groups Into a stable administrative and military system. Through this policy the temporal

sovereignty was released from the duties of protecting one faith(lslam) and religious laws(Shari'a). It also freed the King from doctrine of theologians(Ulema). As a result, the Mughal period was far more tolerant and liberal than previous regimes in India. Abul Fazl justified the views of Akbar by promoting him as having a rationalist approach to social reforms. Fazl argued that he did so, as he wanted to construct a ‘Hindustan’ that could stand out in the world with greater confidence.

CRITICISM He rarely discusses the failures of Akbar or the shortcoming of his policies. One may pick holes in his theory of social contract and more in his theory of divine origin sovereignty since the two theories are not logically compatible with each other. Indeed, he may be said to have tried to ride two horses, and combined the views of Hobbes and James I. Supported Despotic Monarchy based on mystic ideas despite stressing Science/reason/rationality. Not many independent political ideas, mostly articulated thoughts & vision of Akbar; not followed by later Mughals, especially Aurangzeb

APPRAISAL Abul Fazl was Akbar’s trusted courtier however; he had a genuine adulation and reverence for Akbar. The essential bedrock of rationality, philosophy, reason, logic in Abul Fazl’s thought commands respect, even admiration. Certainly no one after him in India debated the issue of sovereignty at the same high level of reason and abstraction. He advocated Religious tolerance, social harmony, multi-culturism, unity in diversity through state policies like Sluh i Kul and Din i Ilahi.

https://medium.com/@deshmukhpatel/4-96e5949b8df

file:///C:/Users/DELL/Downloads/Abul_Fazls_views_on_Badshahat_and_Religi%20(1).pdf https://www.amu.ac.in/emp/studym/100011507.pdf

https://www.slideshare.net/SaqibFikree1/ziauddin-barani-and-abul-fazal-comparative-study http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1340/3/from-jalaluddin-to-akbar-analyzing-the-akbarid-n otion-of-kingship...