Míán Husain Farmulí was jágírdár (makta') of Sáran and Champáran, which are called Jal-khet, or field of water. He was a very brave man. Besides the villages comprising his jágír (muwájib), he had taken 20,000 villages from the infidels. At one time, when he himself was proceeding towards the territory of Champáran to attack the Rájá, and was encamped on the banks of the Gandak, Mughúlá Kirání, who was one of his nobles, wanted to know how far the Rájá was from there. He was told that he was in the fort on the other side of the river. He again asked how many kos it was. The people said that the river alone divided them, but that the breadth of the stream was seven kos. Mughúlá, on hearing that only the stream intervened, said, “The infidel chief is on the other bank, and I am sitting on this. What kind of Islám is this if I delay? He then made a vow that until he had attacked him he would hold every kind of food and drink as unlawful as a carcase. Saying this he rose up, and mounted his horse, exclaiming, “In the name of God!” All the people advised him not to be so precipitate, as the stream was seven kos in breadth. He said he would not mind even if it were seventy kos, because he had taken a vow upon himself, let the event be what it may! He then plunged his horse into the stream. In some places he obtained a footing on the bottom: in others, where it was deeper, he was obliged to make the animal swim. His people also followed him in the same manner. Haibat Khán, Bahádur Khán, and Ikhtiyár Khán, who were also nobles of the Kirání tribe, when they heard that Mughúlá had thrown himself into the river, followed the example, and all the soldiers of the army, wheresoever they were encamped, went and plunged into the stream.
Mián Husain, who was in his tent, asked what the uproar was about, and was told that the whole army had gone towards the river; that Mughúlá had entered it first, and afterwards every person that heard of his feat had emulated the example. The Míán also took horse, and overtook Mughúlá in the water, and urged him to go back. He replied, “You employed me for service, and now I shall do my duty. When the work cannot be done by a servant, it is time for the master to take the trouble upon himself. Today you shall see my exertion. Do you return in safety—I will not.” Although he was much dissuaded, he would not listen to anything; so the Míán was also obliged to go on, because the whole army had thrown themselves into the water. At sunset they approached the infidel Rájá, reposing happy in the thought that a large river was between him and his enemy, and that even in a whole year it would be impossible for them to cross it. Suddenly an uproar arose in the city, for it was reported from the watchtower that the Afgháns had arrived, but the Rájá would not credit it, and was engaged in his pastimes when the Afgháns were upon him, and forced him to fly for his life. By the will of God, that day Mughúlá became a martyr. Míán Husain greatly lamented his loss, and said, “Would to God that to-day there had been no victory, for that and the plunder combined are no compensation for the loss sustained in the death of Mughúlá!”
Thus, after a duration of two hundred years, destruction fell upon the kingdom of the Rájá; and all the riches and treasures which were amassed during that period were dispersed in plunder. The shoes of the infidels who lost their lives in this action were collected by Shaikh Dáúd Kambú,* who was a shikkdár of Míán Husain; and when melted down no less than 20,000 mohurs of gold were obtained from them.
One half the whole country was assigned in jágír to the Farmulís, and the other half to the other Afghán tribes. At this time, the Lohánís and Farmulís predominated. The chief of the Sarwánís was 'Azam Humáyún, and the principal chieftains of the Lodís were four, viz. Mahmúd Khán, who had Kálpí in jágír; Míán 'Álam, to whom Etáwá and Chandwár were assigned; Mubárak Khán, whose jágír was Lucknow; and Daulat Khán who held Lahore. Amongst the Sáhú-khails, the chiefs were Husain Khán and Khán Jahán, both descended from the same ancestor as Sultán Bahlol; Bahlol, son of Kálá, son of Bahrám; Husain Khán, son of Fíroz Khán, son of Bahrám; and Kutb Khán Lodí Sáhú-khail, who flourished in the time of Sultán Bahlol.
I shall now give an account of the Farmulís. The districts (iktá') of Sáran and Champáran were held by Míán Husain; Oudh, Ambála, and Hodhna, by Míán Muhammad Kálá Pahár; Kanauj by Míán Gadáí; Shamsábád, Thánesar, and Sháhábád by Míán 'Imád; Marahra by Tátár Khán, brother of Míán Muhammad; and Hariána, Desúá, and other detached parganas by Khwájagí Shaikh Sa'íd. Each of these possessed surpassing bravery and courage, but the sons of Shaikh Sa'íd were pre-eminent above all for their learning and generosity. Shaikh Sa'íd also himself, besides his nobility, possessed a great many excellences. He was a great favourite of Sultán Sikandar, who said one day, that it was thirty years since the Khwájagí had been associated with him, and yet he had never done anything to offend him. He never told any story twice over; and every difficult question that he put to him, always met with a ready solution.
He was a saintly, courageous, and generous man. From the time of Sultán Bahlol to that of Islám Sháh, he fought in every battlefield, but always escaped without a wound. He would accept of no reward or present from any king, and would never eat food from the house of any Hindu. At the time that the Ráná of Chítor invited Míán Husain Farmulí and other nobles to an entertainment, the Ráná took a favourite dish, and stood offering it to Míán Ma'rúf, saying, “All the other nobles have honoured me by partaking of my viands, and have eaten; pray do you gratify me and do the same, by turning your hands towards this repast.” He replied, “I never yet have eaten from the house of a Hindu.” The Ráná said, “Only be so kind as to accept the hospitality of your slave.” He reiterated his refusal, “In the whole of my life I have not done such a thing, nor can I now consent to do so.” Míán Husain, addressing him in the Afghán language, said, “Many things should be done for expediency's sake. To-day, there is an object in the concession; so put your hands into the dish.” Míán Ma'rúf replied, “You are my superior, it is for you to gratify him.” At last, when all the nobles vehemently pressed him to comply, he took up a little with two of his fingers and placed it in the corner of his napkin, promising that he would eat it. But when he departed thence, he opened the napkin and threw its contents upon the ground. So determined was he, when he had once taken a notion into his head.
In the action between Sher Sháh and Mál Deo, he was wounded with a sword. At that time he was one hundred and seven years old. One of the anecdotes related of him on this occasion is illustrative of his usual self-denial. Sher Sháh sent him 300,000 tankas as a recompense for the wound he had received. But he sent it back with the remark, that he had never accepted remuneration from the King, and still less could he do so now, as the infliction of a wound had been sustained solely in the cause of God.