Abu\'l -Fazl - Theory of kingship PDF

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ABU'L FAZL: Kingship and administration of Mughals KRISHNA CHAUHAN SRI AUROBINDO COLLEGE DELHI UNIVERSITY

AUTHOR NOTE All the Data and Information are collected by me through the various sources and are true according to my knowledge. The special thanks to publishers to upload my documents which will help many other Students and I have no conflict of Interest to disclose it. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to [email protected]

ABSTRACT • ABUL FAZL is the most noted historian and political thinker of Mughal period, was one of the nine jewlls in Akbar's court • His political thoughts are spread across in his Ain-i-Akbari, 3rd volume of Akbarnama • He supported social contract and need for social order as basis of sovereignty but also gave divine authority to the King through his theory of divine light • Through his idea of Sulh-i-Kul as state policy, he liberated the temporal sovereign from any particular faith, religious laws, dictates of the theologians • He combined both temporal & spiritual sovereignty in the Godly King- the just sovereign, who not only maintain his state but promote social harmony, religious tolerance, and becomes spiritual guide to the nation • Along with Sulh-i-Kul, promoting science, reason, rationality also duty of the King/state

• Like Plato, he proposed 4-fold division of society and state/kingship; raised State as highest moral & spiritual institution • Despite such path breaking political ideas he criticized for being contradictory, idealistic/utopic, not original, and having little impact on later Mughals • He had given us a clear description of the Mughal State system with clear historiography and & It's very important source for present generation to have acquaintance of Mughal Empire under the king Akbar.

ABU'L-FAZL • ABU'L-FAZL ibn Mubarak (1551-1602) popularly called ABUL FAZL, was born in Agra, where his father shifted from Nagaur (Rajasthan) • Family of scholars: his father, Shaikh Mubarak was influential liberal scholar who drafted the decree ('mahzar') giving right of final arbiter of Shari ‘a to Akbar; His elder brother Abu'l Faizi was court poet in Akbar's reign • Received extensive education in all the branches of Islamic sciences from his father, had deep influence of Sufi Philosophers ibn Arabi (Truth and unity of existence) and Shihabuddin Suhrawardi (Israq- theory of light and illuminated wisdom) • For his liberal and secular views, his father had to face wrath of theologians (Ulma) and had to live life of fugitive for some time after 1569-70 • Gained access to Akbar's court through his brother Faizi in 1575. Soon became friend and philosopher to Akbar and was his secretary and companion • Abu'l Fazl was assassinated in 1602 by Vir Singh Bundela by a plot hatched by Prince Salim • He was also one of the Nine Jewels (Navaratnas) of Akbar's royal court • Social contract theory as basis of Sovereignty, theory of divine light, religious tolerance (Sulh-i-Kul), state promoting science & reason, are his lasting political thoughts

WORKS OF ABU'L-FAZL 1.The Akbarnama The Akbarnama is a document of history of Akbar's reign and his ancestors spread over three volumes. It contains the history of Akbar's ancestors from Timur to Humayun, Akbar's reign up to the 46th regnal year (1602), and an administrative report of Akbar's empire, the Ain-i-Akbari, which itself is in three volumes. The third volume of Ain-i-Akbari gives an account of the ancestry and life of the author. The Ain-i-Akbari was completed in the 42nd regnal year, but a slight addition was made to it in the 43rd regnal year on the account of the conquest of Berar

2.Ruqaʿāt The Ruqa ʿāt or the Ruqa ʿāt-i-Abu'l Fazl is a collection of private letters from Abū al-Fażl to Murad, Daniyal, Akbar, Mariam Makani, Salim (Jahangir), Akbar's queens and daughters, his father, mother and brothers and several other notable contemporaries compiled by his nephew Nūr al-Dīn Muḥammad.

3.Inshā-i-Abu'l Fazl The Inshā-i-Abu'l Fazl or the Maqtubāt-i-Allami contains the official despatches written by Abu'l Fazl. It is divided into two parts. The first part contains Akbar's letters to Abdullah Khan Uzbeg of Turan, Shah Abbas of Persia, Raja Ali Khan of Khandesh, Burhan-ul-Mulk of Ahmadnagar and his own nobles such as Abdur Rahim Khan Khanan. The second part consists Abu'l Fazl's letters to Akbar, Daniyal, Mirza Shah Rukh and Khan Khanan. This collection was compiled by Abd-us-samad, son of Afzal Muhammad, who claims that he was Abu'l Fazl's sister's son as well as his son-in-law. 4. Abul Fazl, a contemporary of Abdul Qadir Badauni, was a courtier, historian and also a friend to Akbar, the greatest of all Mughal rulers. He finished his massive and definitive work, the Akbar Nama and Ain-i-Akbari, in the waning years of the sixteenth century. It marks a decisive and schematic departure from the predominant historiographic format of the time, as it does in several other aspects of the construction of an alternative world view. The Akbar Nama opens with the praise of Allah, for sure, and then moves to Adam and traces Akbar’s lineage back to fifty-three generations of his ancestors. It dislocates the historiographic axis from the groove of Islam and seeks to construct an alternative teleology of universal history in which Akbar is the heir not of

Muhammad and the caliphs, but of Adam himself, the first human being, and thus the ruler of all humanity. 5. The text therefore promotes the idea of a powerful sovereign and a centralized state structure.

METHODOLOGY •Abul Fazl had a rational and secular approach to history. He also applied a new methodology to collect facts and marshal them on the basis of critical investigation. These are the hallmarks of his writings. He widened the scope of history by recording a mass of facts pertaining to political, social, economic and cultural life, and by incorporating chapters on administrative regulations, procedures and topographical accounts of various provinces. He laboured hard for the collection of material, selected important facts after careful enquiry and investigation, and then presented them in a clear and systematic manner. He questioned the validity of a source and accepted it only when it satisfied the principles of historical investigation formulated by him. In other words, he created a new idiom for understanding and interpreting history, widened its range and scope and laid down the principles of historical investigation. It may, therefore, be suggested that in Abul Fazl’s writings we can discover a philosophy of history, i.e., a definite concept about the nature and purpose of history, principles for its interpretation, and the critical apparatus for the collection and selection of facts of history.

• Abul Fazl realized and recognized the importance of original sources and gave his utmost attention and care to its study. He did not depend on a single source or account in order to ascertain a fact, but obtained as many versions as he could. They were put to a critical examination before they were accepted. He states that he has formulated a set of questions which were put to the reporter of an event or fact. This procedure, he points out, is of great help to the historian in ascertaining the truth. •His source material consisted of accounts of events written by eyewitnesses. Reports, memoranda, minutes prepared by the offices, imperial Forman’s, and other records were carefully.

ABUL FAZL: theory of kingship and sovereignty •Akbar's theory of kingship was influenced by Turko-Mongol theory of kingship, his liberal ancestral and paternal legacy, broad mindedness of his teachers like Abul Latif and Pir Mohammad, liberal environment created by Sufi and Bhakti movement and political necessity of the time. • Akbar's theory of Kingship was presented by Abul Fazl in Akbarnama. • Abul Fazl says: "No dignity is higher in the eyes of God than royalty. Royalty is a remedy for the spirit of rebellion...." • Even the meaning of the word Padshah shows this for pad signifies stability and possession and shah means origin, Lord. •Highly exhaulted status of the king and Abul Fazl presented this through many symbols, metaphors and miniature painting which depicts Akbar as divine, enlightened and infallible personality. • He presents the view that kingship is the gift of god. •The ruler was not dependent on it on the ulama, and everyone had to submit to one who possessed it. • Abul Fazl adds: "Royalty is a light emanating from God, and a ray from the sun" • Modern language calls this light farri izidi (the divine light) and the tongue of antiquity called it kiyan khwarah (the sublime halo). •Kingship is Farr-i-Izidi i.e. divine light or light emanating from God. Hence no one can stand between God and the ruler. • It is communicated by God to kings without the intermediate assistance of anyone. •Again many excellent qualities flow from the possession of divine light/ Farr-iIzidi, e.g., • a paternal love towards the subjects, • a large heart i.e. benevolent, generous, receives little and give more. •trust in God, prayer and devotion, etc.

• He is not upset by adversity, punishes the tyrant and behaves with moderation and with reason. • At another place, Abul Fazl repeats that "The shamsa of the arch of royalty is a divine light, which God directly transfers to kings, without the assistance of men..." • The king was therefore deemed divinely guided and divinely protected. •Presented dynastic ideology linking it with supernatural i.e. his ancestors came from heaven as kings. Thus, he established divine origin of Akbar. •The sight of the king is the part of divine worship and to behold is a mean of calling to mind the creator and such perception gave birth to practices like Zharoka-i-darshan, Jameen Bes- forms of salutation in court. • Abul Fazl's basic concept was of a liberal absolutism under a ruler of high endeavour endowed with the highest moral and spiritual qualities, and enjoying heaven's mandate, so that he was not dependent on any set of religious leaders for legitimization. •It is significant that the absolute traditions of sovereignty and conjunction of spiritual and temporal ruler ship was developed at many courts as a defence mechanism against undue encroachment upon king's authority by lesser mortals. • The philosophy and the spirit of the concepts of Farr-i izidi, kiyan khwarah, etc. were the same, that is, the intention was to guard against any direct or indirect share in king's authority. • The theory of sovereignty propounded by Abul Fazl on behalf of Akbar and reflected in his mahzar and "Ai'n-i rahnamuni" seems to be as close to the Central Asian and Perso-Islamic concepts as to the Chingizi traditions of sovereignty. •Alauddin Khalji had tried to abide by the "Law of expediency". Akbar went ahead of him. • By the mahzar (drafted by Shaikh Mubarak and his two sons), the Emperor was certified to be a just ruler (Imam Adil) and was as such assigned the rank of mujtahid, i.e. "infallible authority". • Akbar through Mahazar became the supreme interpreter of Shariyat, subordinating Ulemmas.

• The position of Imam Adil was declared superior to that of a mujtahid. •The "intellect of the just king" thus became the valuable source of legislation. • Akbar assumed the title of Kalipha and called his capital Daru-i Khilafat (land of Caliph). • Abul Fazl elucidates that "when the time of reflection comes, and men shake off the prejudices of their education, the thread of the web of religious blindness break and the eye sees the glory of harmoniousness although some are enlightened many would observe silence from fear of fanatics who lust for blood, but look like men.... The people will naturally look to their king and expect him to be their spiritual leader as well, for a king possesses, independent of men, the ray of Divine wisdom, which banishes from his heart everything that is conflicting. A king will, therefore, sometimes observe the element of harmony in a multitude of things...... Now this is the case with the monarch of the present age. He Change Language now is the spiritual guide of the nation." • Other aspects of Sovereignty as per Abul Fazl: • It was the duty of the ruler to maintain equilibrium in society by not allowing people of one rank of profession to interfere in the duties and obligations of another. •State is based on Sulh-i-kul i.e. peace with all. So state includes all human beings and their peaceful existence, irrespective of creed, sect, religion etc. • Broad outlook of king i.e. positive response to the need of both high and low without any bias. •King is just, wise, fair and protector of the weak. • Value of talent irrespective of social background.

•Justice as a high virtue of the monarch. A number of symbols were also created for visual representation of idea of justice. One such representation is figure of lion and lamb peacefully nestling next to each other. • Secular approach

• Prevalence of evil sections in society was a justification for royal despotism, for only a king who possessed the necessary qualities could control sections. •it was necessary for a king endowed with Farr-i-izidi to establish social stability by not permitting "the dust of sectarian strife to arise". •He defined sovereignty as a contract under which the Emperor protects 4 essences of his subjects: • Jaan (life) • Maal (property) • Namus (honour) • Din (religion) • In return demand obedience and a share of resources. He says: "Only a just sovereign is able to honour this contract with power and divine guidance."

DIVINE THEORY OF BADSHAHAT Divine Theory of Padshahat (Badshahat) and the Concept of Royalty •According to Abul Fazl, the term Padshahat (Badshahat) meant ‘an established owner’ where Pad stands for stability and shah stands for owner. Padshah therefore, means 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 powers. This theory of Badshahat was a combination of Mongol, Turkish, Iranian, Islamic and Indian political traditions. According to Abul Fazl, ‘Badshahat is the light derived from God which has been sent by God himself. God throws his kindness on Badshah; who works as the agent of god’. • A Badshah considered himself as the father and his subjects were his children. So it was his duty to make every effort for the welfare of his people and take care of every aspect of their life, be it economic, social, political, religious and so on. He should always treat his people equally to maintain peace and harmony in his empire.

•It is evident in the writings of Abul Fazl that Akbar was interested in establishing the authority of the Badshah 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. This remained controversial as he was compared with the great Muslim jurists like Imam Abu Hanifa, Hambal and others. Akbar, 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 religious thoughts and Abul Fazl provided this to him. Abul Fazl told him the new meaning of sovereignty as a divine light. Later on Akbar portrayed himself as an agent of god who worked on his be-half. •According to Abul Fazl, sovereignty was in nature, a divine light (Farr-i-Izadi) and with this statement he seems to dismiss as inadequate the traditional reference to the king as the shadow of God (zill-I Ilahi).

Abul Fazl's 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 dis harmony • He has the Godly vision to see truth and act justly without any decimation between his subject, for which he is the spiritual guide • Ideal Kingship is based on the principle of Universal peace, religious tolerance and social harmony (Sulh-i-kul) • Ideal king is able to honour the social contract with just force and Divine guidance. • The ideal king has Strong will, does God worship, is wise, not wrathful, considerate, believe in science & reason, and provide quick relief to poor/needy/justice seeker • Rule of the ideal king is long lasting, just, and peaceful; Justice is the highest virtue of the ideal ruler

• 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.

SHUL-I KUL •Abul Fazl has tried to project the idea that social strife was caused in India primarily by the absence of the spirit of sulh-i kul. He goes on to suggest in the same passage that the absence of the spirit of sulh-i kul in the Indian society was caused mainly by the preponderance of an attitude of imitation and by the suppression of intellect and reason. • The teachings of the contemporary Nirguna Bhakti sects criticised both Hinduism and Islam for being formalistic and socially divisive. The conceptualization of man's relations with God articulated by Akbar in one of his not very well known statements reveals its proximity in certain important respects to the one found in the teachings of Nirguna Bhakti teachers. Sulh-kul and the 'Policy of Tolerance' then meant that while you ideologically reject religion, you upheld Sulh-kul. I think that explains a passage which is found in an early version of the Akbarnamah in a correspondence between Murad and Akbar. Murad says: 'What am I to do with these people who still undergo physical exercises and think that it is the worship of God, which is of course for Muslims, Nawaz, and for others their main ritualistic worship.' And Akbar says: 'You should persuade him not to do this because physical exercises cannot be equated with worship of God, but if they don't agree, then you should let them worship God in whatever manner they feel because we believe in Sulhkul.' When Akbar formulated Sul-E-Khul, he rejects both the ideological traditions, both the religious traditions. It is not an ideological act of acceptance and synthesis as one often seems to think. It is an act of rejection—essentially an act of rejection, and the part of synthesising, if there is any possibility of synthesis, is seciadary, in ideological terms. Argument on din and duniya given by Abul Fazl in the chapter called Ain-eRanamuni substantiate our view on Sul-E-Khul. According to Abul Fazl the important thing which has happened is the creation of intellect within man by God.

It is not the act of creation of man, it is the act of creation of intellect in man. And when intellect is created, he argues, then two things happen. On the one hand reason develops and on the other hand self-interest interferes. Therefore, where ideas developed differences also developed. And two false things are created by the intellect. They are not created by God, they are created by the intellect—Din and Duniya—i.e. Religion and the Temporal World. Both are untrue. Religion and Din are untrue. It is an illusory creation, a deception of the intellect. Temporal World is also a deception of the intellect. Things are not what they seem. In other words, there is a complete rejection of religion, of Din, not spiritual relationship between God and man but the religious form of that relationship. This policy of tolerance is not acceptable to any religion. We might say today that all religions are very good, very liberal and so on, but in our heart of hearts we know that it is untrue. Religions, by their very nature, cannot tolerate other religions just as two business firms cannot tolerate each other. I mean it is inconceivable and I think that Monserrat was much more honest than we are today when he said that Akbar's toleration of all religions is something that violates the law of all religions. No religion tolerates another religion. No religion says that other religions are true. If they are not true, then they ought to be suppressed for they...