SCHOLARS, SAINTS AND SULTANS: SOME

ASPECTS OF RELIGION AND POLITICS IN THE

DELHI SULTANATE.
Raziuddin Aquil
When first appeared in 1961, Khaliq Ahmad Niwmi’s Some Aspects of
Religion and Politics in India During the Thirteenth Century was hailed
as a valuable contribution to the debate on the emergence of the Delhi
Sultanate.’ Four decades later, it is still considered to be a major text
for the history of the period. This also means that not much research
has been done in the field since then. However, one major theme - the
study of Sutism - has attracted a lot of attention. Nizami himself worked
with his mentor Mohammad Habib to bring Chishti Sufism of the
Sultanate period to the centre-stage of medieval Indian scholarship, even
though the scope of their research was limited by their rather narrow
assumptions.*

* Based on Khaliq Ahmad Nizami, Religiort arid Politics irt lridia Durirtg //re Tltir/eerr//r
Ceri/ury (Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002). Pp. xxxviii + 440. Rs 575.00.
I am grateful to Rimi Chatterjee and Janaki Nair for reading an earlier version of the
article. Thanks are also due to Prabir Basu for his support and encouragement.
I. For the history of the Sultanate period, see Mohammad Habib and K.A. Nizami, ed,
A Coitiprelrertsive History of lrtdia. Vol. V. Par/ Otre, The Dellri Sulrariare, first
published I970 (Delhi, reprint, 1992). Also see, A.B.M. Habibullah, The Foittida/iort
oftlie Miislitit Rule in lrtdia (Lahore, 1945); K.S.Lal, History of /he Kltaljis (Delhi,
1967); Agha Mahdi Husain, Tughlttq Dytrasty (Calcutta, 1963); Abdul Halim, His/dry
ofrlie Lodi Sultarrs of Dellri arid Agra (Delhi, reprint, 1974); and I.H. Siddiqui. Sorrte
Aspecis of Afgliati Desporisitr irr lrtdia (Aligarh, 1961). For a review of existing
literature on the later Sultanate period, see Raziuddin Aquil, “Reconsidering Sovereignty
and Governance under the Afghans: North India in the Late Fifteenth and Early
Sixteenth Centuries”. Sourlt Asia, Vol. 26, No. I . 2003, pp. 5-21; idem, “Salvaging
a Fractured Pnsl: Reflections on Norms of Governance and Afghan-Rajput Relations
in North India in the Late Fifteenth and Early Sixteenth Centuries”, S/udies irt His/ory*
VOI. 20, NO. I. 2004, pp. 1-29.
2. For representative writings of the two scholars, see Mohammad Habib, Poli/ics a i d
Society Durirtg the Early Medieval Period, Collecred Works of Uolraitirrrad Habib,
Vol. I, edited by K.A. Nizami (Delhi, 1974); K.A. Nizami, The Li/e aiid Tirrtes of
Sltaikh Fariduddiri Gatij-i-Shakar (Aligarh, 1955); idem, The Li/e arid Tirrres of Sliaikli
Nizarttitddirt Airliya (Delhi, I99 I ); idem, The Li/e atid Tirties of Sltaiklt Nasiriiddirr
Cltirugh (Delhi, 1991).
Indiari Historical Review, Volume XXXI, Nos. 1 & 2 (January and July 2004), pp. 210-20.
Published by the Indian Council o f Historical Research, New Delhi, in 2004.
Scltolars. Suints c r r d Sultarrs 21 1

Scholars like Muzaffar Alam,’ Simon D i g b ~ Richard

,~ E a t ~ nCarl
,~
Emst,” Bruce Lawrence’ and S.A.A. Rimis have contributed immensely
to the study of Sufism as well as religion and politics in medieval India,
in general. None of them figure in the Bibliography of Nizami’s work,
even as Oxford University Press claims it to be a “revised edition”. (It
may be useful to keep in mind the fact that the author had passed away
in 1997, five years before the book was out:) Reprinting a rare book is
a perfectly legitimate exercise and is valuable for its easy accessibility.
The publication of Nizami’s Religion and Politics in India is therefore
a welcome move. But to call a reprint as a reworked edition can be
utterly misleading, as the book under review does not add to our
knowledge of thirteenth-century north India. In fact, recent researches
on Sufism leave important parts of the book completely redundant. The
sections dealing with the emergence of the Delhi Sultanate, the nature
of state, the role of the ‘ulama (Muslim religious scholars) and the status
of non-Muslims need drastic revision. The first part of the book on
“Political Expansion and Ideological Integration of Islam till the
Thirteenth Century”, covering the rise of Islam and the formation of its
political, legal, theological and mystic ‘structures’, is indifferent towards
the progress made in the burgeoning fields of Middle Eastern and Islamic
Studies. The latest book cited in this section was published in 1957
3. Muzaffar Alam, “Competition and Coexistence: Indo-Muslim Interaction in Mcdicval
North India”, ltiiierario, Vol. 13, No. I , 1989, pp. 37-59; idem, “Assimilation from
a Distance: ConfrontixtiQn and Sufi Accommodation in Awadh Socicty”, in
R. Champakalakshmi and S. Gopal, cd, Tradilioir. Disserit arid ldeolog: Essays iir
Clorroiir o j Rowila Tliupar (Delhi, I996), pp. 164-9 I ; idem, “Shari ‘a and Govcrnance
in the Indo-Muslim Contcxt”, in David Gilmartin and Brucc B. Lawrencc, ed, Reyorid
Titrk uird Iliirdri: Rellriirkiiig Religious Ideirtilies i i i lslaitricale Soutlr Asia (Dclhi, 2002),
pp. 216-45.
4. Simon Digby, “Thc Sufi Shaykh as a Source of Authority in Mcdicval India”,
Piirirslrartlia, Vol. 9, 1986, pp. 55-77; idem, “The Sufi Shaikh and the Sultan: A
Conflict of Claims to Authority in Medieval India”, Irati, Vol. 28, 1990, pp. 71-81.
5. Richard M. Eaton, Sr1J7.v of Bijapirr, 1300-1700: Socinl Roles of Sufis i i i Medieval
Iirdia (Princeton, 1978); idem, The Rke o/ Islarrr and the Beiigal Froiitier (Delhi,
1994); idem, Essays ori Islairi a i d liidiarr History (Dclhi, 2002); idem. cd, h d i a i
lslaitiic Tradirioirs, 711-1750 (Delhi, 2003).
6. Carl W. Ernst, Elerrral Gardeir: Mysticisiri, Hislory arid Polirics a / a South Asiuri Srfi
Ceiilre (Albany, 1992). See also Ernst and Bruce B. Lawrence, Sufi Martyrs ofLove:
The Clrishri Order iri Soiirlr Asia arid Beyoiid (New York, 2002).
7. Bruce B. Lawrence, “Early Indo-Muslim Saints and Conversion”, in Y. Friedmann,
ed, Islairi irr Asia. Vol. I, South Asia (Jerusalem, 1984); idem, Nizairiuddiii Aiiliya:
Morals for the Heart. Coiiversalioiis of Sliaikli Nizairriiddiii Aitliya Recorded by Aiiiir
Hasaii Sijzi (New York, 1992).
8. S.A.A. Rizvi, A History of Sufinti i i i liidia, Vol. I, Early Su/isiri aiid its History iti
liidia to 1600 . L D . (Delhi, 1978).
212 The Indian Historical Review

(R. Levi, The Social Structure of Islam, Cambridge). Similarly,

Mohammad Habib’s sweeping Introduction to the book might reveal the
state of the art in 1940s and ~ O S but
, appears quite innocent .today.
Informed readers are therefore warned not to waste their time. The
textbook knowledge on the Sultanate period remains caught in a time
warp.
Within medieval Indian scholarship, the period of the Sultanate is
marginal to the concern of the historians. The general explanation for
this neglect is said to be the lack of sufficient source material.’ However,
this relative lack of interest seems to stem from certain basic assumptions
of the historians, which are shaped by contemporary ideological issues
leading to the projection of many ideas and categories to the quite
different socio-political context of medieval India. The celebration of
Akbar’s achievements in the age of ‘intolerance’ and ‘fragmented’ polities
meant that the history of the earlier period should be de-emphasized.’O
The meagre studies available on the Delhi Sultanate are largely based
on the Persian court-chronicles. These accounts are resolutely centred
on the activities of the sultans, presenting a “top down” view of history.”
A huge corpus of literary compositions and religious literature in
Persian and Arabic was in circulation in the Sultanate period, a part of
which is still extant. But historians are reluctant to utilize it. Modern
writers like Habib and Nizami are not impressed by the nature of
available works on Quran, Traditions of the Prophet, Islamic
jurisprudence and mysticism. According to them, scholars of the period
were merely commentators, compilers and abridgers. They “simply
restated, summarized or annotated works prepared by the precedidg
generation of scholars”; “preservation rather than investigation” was “the
leitmotif of all scholarly undertakings” (emphasis original).I2 No matter
~~~ ~

9. B.P. Saksena, “General Presidential Address”, Proceedings of the Ittdiatt History

Cotigress. 28th Session, Mysore, 1966, pp. i-xxxiv, especially p. xxiii.
10. For a criticism o f Mughal centrism in north Indian historiography, scc Sanjay
Subrahmanyam, “The Mughal State: Structure or Process? Reflections on ‘Recent
Western Historiography“, Indian Econoitiic arid Social History Review, Vol. 24, No. 3,
1992, pp. 29 1-321; Raziuddin Aquil, “From Dar-ul-Harb to Dar-ul-/slant: Chishti
Accounts of Early History of Islam in Hindustan”, International Seminar on Assertive
Religious Identities, New Delhi, 16-18 October 2003.
1 I . For an evaluation o f the narratives in the chronicles, see Mohibbul Hasan. ed,
Historiaits of Medieval brdia (Meerut, 1968); Harbans Mukhia, Historiaits arid
Historiography Duriag the Reign o j Akbpr (Delhi, 1976).
12. Nizami, Religion arid Politics in Itidia, op. cit., pp. 292-93.
Scholars, Saints and Sultans 213

how accurate such observations may be, the value of the extant literature
for the history of the Sultanate period cannot be denied. Also, vernacular
sources, particularly the literature related to the ‘monotheistic’ or ‘Bhakti’
saints, could well be utilized. There are some isolated studies on the
saints and their works, mainly poetical compositions, but the material
is not collated with standard Persian sources in an attempt to write a
social history of the period.”
The sufi literature, mainly the rnalfuzat (compilations of
conversations of a sufi shaikh) and tazkiras (biographies), offers rich
data on societal and mental structure, political power and process, while
presenting a view from below of perceptions of the disgruntled elites
and depressed commoners. A valuable portion of this literature, which
was in circulation in the middle of the fourteenth century and used by
authorities such as Shaikh JamaliI4 and ‘Abdul Haqq Muhaddis Dehlawi,15
is now dubbed as ‘forged’ and hence considered to be devoid of any
historical value. This demarcation of sufi literature as ‘authentic’ and
‘spurious’ was done by M. Habib in an article, first published in 1950.16
Subsequent scholars like M. Mujeeb, K.A. Nizami, and S.A.A. Rizvi,
among others, have merely reiterated Habib’s position. The abundant
anecdotes of miracles attributed to the sufis is an important reason for
the neglect of one set of sources. But then such stories are to be found
in the so-called genuine texts also. They are there for everybody to see,
but historians deny this.
In the considered opinion of the authorities, the accuracy and
genuineness of the authentic sources are given. There is no need to
critically evaluate and prove it. The other set of sources are fabricated
because a) they contain principles and practices which are at variance
with what is expounded in the authentic texts; b) the narrators and

13. For the value of non-Persian sources, see recent studies by B.D. Chattopadhyaya,
Represerititig the Other? Sariskrit Sources and the Muslinis (Eighth to Fourreetirli
Cetttuty) (Dclhi, 1998); and Cynthia Tatbot, “Inscribing the Other, Inscribing the Self:
Hindu-Muslim Identities in Pre-Colonial India”, in Coniporative Studies it1 Society
attd History, Vol. 37. No. 4, 1995, pp. 692-722. Also see, Pushpa,Prasad. Sartskrit
litscriptioris of the Delhi Sultanate, 1191-1526 (Delhi, 1991).
14. Shaikh Jamali, Siyar-id- ‘Arijn, British Museum Ms. Or. 5853, OIOC,British Library,
London.
15. ‘Abdul Haqq Muhaddis Dchlawi, Akhbar-ul-kkhyar, Ms. 1.0. Islamic 1450, British
Library, London.
16. Mohammad Habib, “Chishti Mystic Records of the Sultanate Period”, in idem, Politics
arid Society Duririg the Early Medieval Period, Vol. I, op. cit., pp. 385-433.
214 The Indian Historicrrl Review

compilers commit blunders about well-known facts and dates of Indian

history; and c) they contain horrendous tales of miracles. Thus, the forged
mdfuzaf was basically a "light literature" - a mixture of mysticism,
theology and fiction, the last component comprising the bulk of the
material - of little value, commissioned by booksellers for "honest trade".
All these remarks are misleading and arbitrary.
The value of maljiuz literature and its dating do not create any
problems for a researcher approaching them with a fresh mind. Let us
have a quick look at some of them:

(1) Dalil-ul-Arifin" - Conversations o f Mu'in-ud-Din Chishti

(d. 1236)," compilation attributed to Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki
(d. 1235);'"

(2) Fawa 'id-w-Salikinzo- Conversations of Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiyar

Kaki, compilation attributed to Shaikh Farid-ud-Din Ganj-i-Shakar
(d. 1265);*'

17. Dalil-ul- ',4r$rr. collcction of the rrrol/ltza/ of Mu'in-ud-Din Sijzi, compilation attributcd
to Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki, Urdu translation (Delhi, n.d).
18. Born in c . 1141 in Sijistan, Mu'in-ud-Din established the Chishti order of Sufism in
the subcontinent. After travelling to the major centres of Islamic learning and culturc
in Central Asia, Iran and the Middle East, Mu'in-ud-Din settled down in India in thc
advanced stagc of his life. His tomb at Ajmer is a major centre of pilgrimagc for
Muslims and non-Muslims alike. For biographical material, see Amir Khwurd, Siyur-
ul-Auliyo (Lahore, 1978), pp. 55-58. Also sce, P.M. Currie, The Shrirre arid Cu// ./
Muirr a/-Dirt C/ris/r/i of Ajrrrer (Delhi, 1989).
19. Spiritual succcssor of Mu'in-ud-Din Chishti, Qutb-ud-Din, was born at Ush in
Transoxania. After long journeys undertaken with his preceptor, Qutb-ud-Din finally
establishcd himself in Delhi, despite thc volatile political culture of the city in the
early decades of the thirtecnth century. For biographical material, see Siyar-ul-Airliya,
pp. 58-67; Siwr-ul- 'Ari'jh, fols. 3 I b-43a. Also see, Rizvi, A Hisroty CI/Sirjisrit irt
Irtdia. Vol. I , pp. 133-38.
20. Fawa 'id-u.y-Sa/ikirtqcollcction of the utu@(zu/ of Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki,
compilation attributcd to Farid-ud-Din Ganj-i-Shakar, Urdu translation (Delhi, n.d).
21. Born in a rcspcctable family some time in 1175 at Kahtawal, near Multan, Farid-ud-
Din, then known as Mas'ud, was mystically inclined evcn as a studcnt, which had
carned him thc sobriquet, diwarru buchclru. He wcnt on to bc a lcadinp saint of thc
Chishti ordcr. His tomb is at Ajodhan, now called Pak Pattan, in Pakistani Punjab.
For biographical matcrial on the shaikh's lifc, scc .Si,,(tr-it/-Aitli,,u, pp. 67-101 ; . Y i ~ w -
ul- 'Arrjirt, fols. 43a-6Sb; 'Ali Asghar, Juwahir-i-Furidi(Lahore, 1884). Also scc Khaliq
Ahmad Nizami, The Lije arid Tirries o/S/taiklr Furiduddiri Gattj-i-Sliokor; G.S. Talib,
ed, Baba Slioiklr Farid - L$e a d Teachirig (Patiala, 1973); Richard M . Eaton, "The
Political and Religious Authority of the Shrine of Baba Farid", in Barbara D. Metcalf,
ed, Moral CorrdiiC/ arid Atrrlrority - The Place ofAda6 irr Souflr Asiarr lslarrr (Bcrkclcy,
1984)- pp. 333-56; Raziuddin Aquil, "Episodes from thc Life of Shaikh Farid-ud-Din
Scholars. Saints ( i n n Stiltairs 215

(3) Asrur-ul-AuliyuZ2- Conversations of Farid-ud-Din Ganj-i-Shakar,

compilation attributed to Shaikh Badr-ud-Din Ishaq (a successor
and son-in-law of the shaikh);

(4) Ruhut-ul-Quluh2’ - Conversations of Farid-ud-Din Ganj-i-Shakar,

compilation attributed to Nizam-ud-Din Auliya (d. 1325);24

(5) Aftal-ul-Fawa ’ i P - Conversations of Nizam-ud-Din Auliya,

compilation attributed to Amir Khusrau;26

( 6 ) Fuwa ‘id-ul-Fu‘a@’ - Conversations of Nizam-ud-Din Auliya,

compilation attributed to Amir Hasan Sijzi;

(7) Khuir-ul-Mujulis2a- Conversations of Nasir-ud-Din Chiragh-i-Dehli

(d. 1 356),2v compilation attributed to Hamid Qalandar.

~~

Ganj-i-Shakar”, Iiiteriiatioiial Jouriral of Pui,iah Slitdies, Vol. 10. Nos I &2, 2003,
pp. 25-46.
22. A.sror-itl-nicli!Jn,collection o f the iiiul/lti(it o f Farid-ud-Din Ganj-i-Shakar, compilation
attributed to Badr-ud-Din Ishaq, Urdu translation by Abdus Sami Ziya (Sahiwal, 1978).
21. Ralia/-ul-Qitliih, collcction o f the riio//uzcit o f Farid-ud-Din Ganj-i-Shakar, compilation
attributed to Nizam-ud-Din Auliya, Urdu translation (Delhi, n.d).
24. Successor o f the Chishti saint Farid-ud-Din, Nizam-ud-Din was born in c. 1243-44
at Badaun in a family that had migrated to India from Bukhara. Afier completing his
education, with specialization in hadis (Tradition of the Prophet) and Jqlr
(jurisprudence), Nizam-ud-Din was looking for a job o f qozi (judge) in Delhi before
being introduced to Islamic mysticism by Farid-ud-Din’s brother Najib-ud-Din
Mutawwakil. For biographical material, see Muhammad Jarnal Qiwam, Qiwuiii-it/-
‘Aqa’id, Urdu translation by Nisar Ahmad Faruqi (Rampur, 1994); Siyar-rtl-Auliyu,
pp. 101-65; Siyar-u/-‘Ari~ii, fols. 75b-100b. Also see K.A. Nizami, The Lr/. mid Tiiiies
of Sliaikli Nizoiiruddiii Auliyo. op. cit.
25. A/ru/-u/-Fuwu ‘id, collection o f the i ~ ~ / j l u z uotf Nizam-ud-Din Auliya, compilation
attributed to Amir Khusrau (Delhi, A.H. 1305).
26. For Amir Khusrau, see M. Wahid Mirza, The Li/e aiid works oJ Airrir Kliusruu
(Calcutta, 1935).
27. Fawa ’id-ul-fit‘ud, conversations o f Shaikh Nizam-ud-Din Auliya, compilcd by Amir
Hasan Sijzi. Pcrsian text with an Urdu .translation by Khwaja Hasan Sani Nizami
(Delhi, 1990).
28. Khuir-it/-Majulis, conversations of Shaikh Nasir-ud-Din Chiragh-i-Dehli, compiled by
Hamid Qalandar, edited by K.A. Nizami (Aligarh, 1959).
29. Last o f the five ‘great’ saints o f the Chishti order, Chiragh-i-Dehli was born at Awadh
(Ayodhya). His father, a textile merchant, died when the shaikh was s t i l l a young
boy. He received his education in the traditional Muslim disciplines from the leading
scholars of thc place. He gave up his family business at the age o f twenty-five so
as to devote his time to prayers and meditation. Moving to Delhi at the age o f forty-
three, he became a disciple o f Nizam-ud-Din Auliya. His tomb i s in Dclhi. For
biographical material, see Siyar-ul-Auliyu, pp. 246-57; Siyur-ul- ‘Ari$ii, fols. I26a- I30b.
Also see K.A. Nizami, The Lve aiid Tiiires of Sliaikli Nusiruddiii Cliirugli, .op. cit.
216 The Indian Historical Review

Since these malfuzat are supposed to be collections of conversations

which took place between the shaikh and his disciples in the hospice (and
in some cases corrected and edited by the saint himself), the cut-off date
for the composition of a particular collection should be the date of the
death of the sufi in question. Thus even if we are not sure of the exact
date, we can infer that we are dealing with the material pertaining to the
period starting from c. 1235 (or slightly earlier) to 1356. I tentatively use
the higher limit of mid-fourteenth century because a) there is evidence
from this period of the existence of these malfuzat, and b) much of the
material in these texts was incorporated by Amir Khwurd (d. 1368) in his
Siyar-ul-Auliya (completed c. 1356). Finally, assuming that they are not
the exact words of the saints to whom the malfuzat are attributed, they
are valuable for parallel or popular interpretations of sufi saints’ teachings.
This will also mean that sufi narratives were not monolithic. They deployed
divergent strategies for power and prestige in sufi circles as also in the
spiritual temtories, or wiluyuts. The vast corpus o f sufi writings, often
combative in nature, was not produced merely for ‘time-pass’.
Most historians also prefer to keep this literature aside in view of
the popular assumption that the sufis, in general, and those of the Chishti
brotherhood, in particular, kept themselves aloof from politics and
government of their times. Further, for nearly four decades, the history
of religions or ideas was a neglected stream, because of the dominance
of Marxist historians in the field of medieval Indian history. The
historians of this ‘school’, mainly from the Aligarh Muslim University,
did not see any role of the ‘parasitic’ sufis in the political economy and
hence their literature ’was considered to be of little value. It must however
be mentioned that a section of Aligarh scholars continued to work on
themes related to Sufism in medieval India:
We may briefly mention the views of M. Habib and Nizami on the
sufi cults of the Delhi Sultanate. It is suggested by them that the sufis
“cut themselves off completely from kings, politics and government
service” for they believed that involvement in politics led to materialism
and worldliness, which they wished to avoid. According to them, this
distancing was also due to the consideration that the Sultanate was an
illegal state with its resources being karam (prohibited) from the point of
view of the shari‘at (Islamic law). Thus, sufi saints of the orders like the
Chishtis not only rehsed to accept money or land-grants from the rulers,
but also declined to make a person their disciple till he had left government
Scholars, Saints tinil Strltiiiis 217

service, and sold all his possessions and distributed the amount amongst
the poor. It is asserted that in no form was contact with the state tolerated.
Further, abhorrence of politics is said to have compelled the sufis to stay
away from the centres of political influence and establish their hospices
Uama ‘utkhnnn or khanqah) in the localities inhabited by low-caste Hindus.
The spiritually hungry and depressed classes were amazed by the shining
example of Islamic brotherhood and egalitarianism as reflected in the
activities of the hospice such as the langar (free kitchen). This fascination
for the sufis as the true image of Islam paved the way for a ‘revolution’
marked by large-scale conversion of the lower classes. However, such
claims are toned down by the suggestion that the sufis, in general, and
the Chishtis, in particular, were tolerant towards non-Muslim religious
traditions. They were, therefore, indifferent towards conversion. In fact,
it is stated that there was no evidence of even a single case of conversion
in the mystic records of the Delhi Sultanate.3o
Recent researches have moved away from such simple formulations.
The Chishti sufis were keen to convert‘ non-Muslims to Islam and
establish the supremacy of their faith over other religious beliefs even
as thcy were against the use of force or political power to do so. They
may also have felt the need to keep their distance from the king and
his nobles, but in practice this was not always the case. We have
examples from the careers of leading Chishti saints of their proximity
to political power even as they resisted becoming veritable courtiers.
This would often lead to conflict between the sufis and the sultans.
Alternatively, examples of their collaboration are also advanced. In view
of the nature of the evidence, it is difficult to agree with the suggestion
that the ‘great’ early Chishtis kept themselves aloof from politics. The
relationship between the sufis and the rulers was much more complex.”

30. Habib, I’olilics wid Society diiriirg tlie early Medieval Period, op.cit.; Nizami, Religioii
arid Politics i i i Irrdia, op. cit., pp. 255-63,277. Also see, Yusuf Husain, Gliirrpsc~so/
Medieval liidinri Ciil/iirv (Bombay, 1957); Talib, ed, Bubo Sliaikh Farid, op. cit.; Rizvi.
A tlisror). of Srijsrrr iir Irrdia, op. cit.; I.H. Siddiqui, “The Early Chishti Dargahs”, in
C. W. Troll, ed. Mirsliiii Slrriiies iii Iircfio - Their Cliaracter. Histor), a i d Sigiii’jicaiice
(Delhi, 1989). For a review of this literature, see Raziuddin Aquil, “Sufi Cults, Politics
and Conversion: The Chishtis of thc Sultanate Period”, The Iridiaii l/is/oricol Review
(hcreaftcr I t I H ) . Vol. 22, Nos 1-2, 1995-96,pp. 190-97.
3 I . Raziuddin Aquil, “Conversion in Chishti Sufi Litcraturc ( I 3th-14th Centuries)”, ItIR,
Vol. 24, Nos 1 & 2, 1997-98,pp. 70-94;idem; “Miracles, Authority and Bcncvolcncc:
Stories of Kar.uirrar in Sufi Literature of the Delhi Sultanate”, in Anup Tancja. ed,
Sirji Cirlts arid die Evoliilioir o/ Medievnl lridiaii Ciilmre (Delhi, 2003), pp. 109-38.
Also see Digby, “The Sufi Shaykh as a Source of Authority in Mcdicval India”.
218 The Indian Historical Review

Thus, the existing knowledge of the Sultanate period not only suffers
h m a faulty and scant source base, but is also both dated (major propositions
were formulated in the late 50s and early 60s) and based on contradictory
assumptions. For instance, the defeat of the Hindus in the second battle of
Tarain in 1192, leading to the establishment of the Sultanate is attributed
to the rigid caste system which allowed only an exclusive Rajput army to
face the onslaught of an ‘egalitarian’ Islam, which comprised diverse Muslim
groups such as the Turks, Afghans and the Khaljis. Nizami notes: “The
real cause of the defeat of the Indians lay in their social system and the
invidious caste distinctions which weakened their military organization and
honeycombed their social structure”.32
The premise that medieval Islam was egalitarian is questionable,
for the Islamic societies o f the time are not only to be found
hierarchically stratified on the basis of birth and power but also divided
on sectarian lines. The Turkish reaction to what may be called the
“Hindustani outbreak” in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries is too
well known. The chronicler Zia-ud-Din Barani, a disciple of the Chishti
Shaikh Nizam-ud-Din Auliya, perceived this emergence of the converted
Hindustani Muslims in the Delhi Sultanate as a perverse burlesque of
society.33Nizami asserts that the ‘revolutionary’ idea of “social oneness”
in Islam had removed distinctions and discriminations based on sex,
birth and wealth.3J Nizami goes on to contradict himself by noting that
the Delhi sultans like Iltutmish and Balban treated the Indians - both
Muslims and Hindus - with contempt and excluded them from important
posts in the a d m i n i s t r a t i ~ n .Nizami
~~ concludes: “To some extent the
racial exclusiveness ‘was necessary in the interest of the governing class,
but when carried to extremes it was bound to have reaction^".^"
op. cit.; idem, “The Sufi Shaikh and the Sultan”, op. cit.; Eaton, Srfis of Bijapirr,
op. cit. For thc later phase, also see Alam, “Assimilation from a Distance”, op. cit.
32. Nizami, Religiou mid Politics i f i Iridia, op. cit., p. 84. For the “invidious castc
distinctions” which affected, among othcr things, the military organization of thc
Indians. also scc Nizami, “Foundation of the Dclhi Sultanate”, in Habib and Nizami,
ed, Coirrprelteusive t/is/orv?op. cit., pp. 132-36, 185-86.
33. For Barani’s ideas, see his Fa/aiva-i-Jalia,rdari, edited by Afsar Salim Khan (Lahore,
1972); Raziuddin Aquil, “On Islam and Kigr in the Delhi Sultanatc: Towards a
Re-intcrpretation of Ziya-ud-Din Barani’s Fatawa-i-Jakarrdari”, Rethinking a
Millennium: lntcmational Seminar in Honour of Prof. Harbans Mukhia, New Delhi,
2-4 February 2004.
34, Nizami, Rcligioii arid I’o/itics iu Iridio, op. cit., pp. 88-89.
35. Ibid., pp. I 11-12, Scc also Nizami, “Foundation of the Dclhi Sultanatc”. op. cit.,
p. 189, fo;, the contempt with which the Turkish slave-officers rcgardcd pcrsons from
the “tribcs of Hindustan”.
36. Nizami, Religiorr arid Politics iri lrrdia, op. cit., p. I 12.
Scholors, k i n i s rind Sultoris 219

Further, the Sultanate which was imposed after the victory of

Muslim army (referred to in the sources as the lashkar-i-islam) is
described as the “Turkish Sultanate” and not as a Muslim Sultanate.”
Certainly, we are not arguing for an Islamic state in medieval India, as
two of the paths through which it could have been possible were not
oficially resorted to by the rulers, namely, imposition of the Shnri‘at in
the strictly orthodox Sunni Hanafite sense of the term and conversion
of the entire population to Islam. However, a Muslim government need
not necessarily be orthodox Islamic in character. Also, the general
perception among Muslims in the Delhi Sultanate that it was ‘their’
government may be taken into account. The ‘ulama and sufis were
consulted by the sultans on various policy matters. The ‘ulama’s
understanding of the Sultanate as a Muslim polity often forced them to
demand action against the Hindus.
Nizami has given long quotations from Balban’s wasiyat-nama
(preserved by Zia-ud-Din Barani), addressed to his sons Prince
Muhammad and Bughra Khan, on iqlim-dari (kingship) and wilayur-
dari (governorship). Balban, whom Nizami considers an ideal ruler of
the time, instructed his sons, among other things, to use all their courage
and valour in the destruction and annihilation of infidelity and shirk
(polytheism); to keep the infidels and idol-worshippers degraded and
dishonoured so that they get a place in the company of the prophets;
to crush and uproot the brahmins so that infidelity vanishes; to regard
all court etiquette as contrary to the Traditions of the Prophet; to seek
the approval of the Abbasid caliphs for the policies of the government;
and to appoint at the capital, ‘ulama, mashaikh, sayyids, scholars well-
versed in tafsir (exegesis of the Quran) and hadis (Traditions of the
Prophet), preachers and persons who know the Quran by heart so that
the Sultanate may become another Egypt.’8 Compare this with Nizami’s
interpretati~n.~’
A careful analysis of the thought content of these wasczycz. leads
to the conclusion that, notwithstanding his insistence on the regular
performance of the obligatory prayers for the personal salvation of a
ruler, Balban’s political ideology had no reference to religion. It was

37. Sce, for cxamplc, Nizami, “The Early Turkish Sultans o f Dclhi”, in Habib and Nizarni,
ed, Coi/ipre/wrrsir.e //is/oty, op. cit., p. 191.
38. Nizanii, Rdigiorr urrd Po/i/ics iii Iiidia, op. cit., pp. 104-09.
39. Ibid., p. 110.
220 The Indian Historicnl Review

political expediency, not theological sanctions, to which he turned again

and again to justify his principles. Respectful references to the Prophet
and his traditions, and the governments of ‘Umar bin Khattab and
‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz should not be construed to mean anything
more than mere lip service. His clear and unerring political vision had
discerned in Jamshed and Afrasiyab, Sanjar and Muhammad Khwarazm
Shah the heroes he needed to consolidate the Sultanate and enhance
his dignity.
Finally, the statement that the Turks established a centralizcd all-
India government with Persian as the language of administration is partly
contradicted by the suggestion that it was impossible to govern the
country in an alien language without co-opting the existing political elite
such as the runus and ~ u w u t s Moreover,
.~~ to view the Sultanate as a
centralized all-India government is a tall Elaim, for it embraced only
the region of Hindustan, comprising the Punjab, the valleys of the Indus,
the Yamuna and the Ganges, including the Doab, and parts of various
Rajput strongholds such as Ajmer, Ranthambhor, Gwalior and Kalinjar
as a more or less uniform political influences in the period between the
thirteenth and early sixteenth centuries.J1 The fortunes and political
boundaries of various Muslim sultanates and Hindu dynasties fluctuated
during the period. Evidently, issues such as the nature and nomenclature
of the Sultanate polity, and also the extent of their political influence
both i n terms of actual boundaries and indirect control need to be
reconsidered. I n view of this backdrop, the publication of two recent
works on the history of the Delhi Sultanate by Andre WinkJ2 and Peter
is indeed most welcome. They however leave a lot to be
desired.
~~~~ ~

40. See, for example, Nizami, “Foundation of the Dclhi Sultanate”. op.cit., pp. 180-81
(for language problem and difficulty in establishing a direct administration), and p. 187
(for centralized all-India administration).
41. K.M. Ashraf, L(fe arid Corirlitioris of /lie People o//Iiridirs/ari (Delhi. 1959), pp. iii-iv.
To follow Ashraf on this point does not necessarily mean that we buy any of his
dated assumptions. Particularly unacceptable is his suggestion that the sufis showed
“a more or less complete detachment from the life of the common people and their
spiritual wants. They fight shy of recognizing the social changes which il closer
association and mutual interaction of Hindus and Muslims were bringing about in
Muslim society”, p. xxi.
42. Andre Wink, A/-Hiird. The Makirrg of /lie Iirdo-/slartiic World, Yo/. 11, The Slave Kings
arid /he /.duruic Coqitesr, I l / l i - / 3 / h Ceriritries (Leiden, 1997).
43. Peter Jackson, T/Ie /)elhi Sirl/arra/e: A Poliricol arid Mili/aty lfis/o/y (Cambridge,
1999).