Who was the son of Niām Khān Sūr,* and went by the name of Mubāriz Khān, ascended the throue with the concurrence of the principal Amīrs and Vazīrs, and caused himself to be addressed by the above title.* The general public however used to 418. call him ‘Adlī, and that name even* they perverted to Andhlī which has the commonly accepted signification of “blind.”* At the commencement of his reign, having heard of the conduct of Muḥammad ‘Ādil ibn Tughlaq Shāh,* he used to imitate him in lavishing money, and having opened the doors of his treasury he aimed at securing* the goodwill of great and small: and he had made arrows tipped with* gold of a money value of five hundred tankahs and used to throw them. Whatever* poor person's house they used to fall at, he then bestowed that amount in money upon him and used to take back the katība-bāsh, this fitful habit however quickly* came to an end after a few days.
Verse.Inorganic matter is one thing: spontaneous growth is another.Verse.If the tears flow down upon the cheeks,
True weeping is easily distinguished from false.
The rank of Vazīr and Vakīl was bestowed upon one Shamsher Khān, a slave who was the younger brother of Khawaṣṣ Khān and Daulat Khān, the “new-Muslim,” a protégé of the Luḥānī* faction. He also gave uncontrolled authority to Hīmūn the greengrocer, of the township of Rewārī in Mīwāt, whom Islem Shāh had gradually elevated from the position of police superintendent of the bāzārs and confirmer of punishments, and had by degrees made into a trusted confidant.* He now gave him the superintendence of all important affairs both military and civil.
Inasmuch as ‘Adlī had originally been accustomed to the profession* of music and dancing, and was fond of a life of ease and luxury, and was otiose in his habits, he was by no means fitted for the conduct of military affairs, or the duties of civil administration; superadded to this was the murder of Fīrūz Khān and his unbounded confidence in Hīmūn. Accordingly these Amīrs who were of true Afghān descent, evinced a great repugnance to obey him, and aroused such widespread feelings of shame, that hardly had a month passed since his accession, when on all sides rebellions arose, and they became rulers of their several clans. Sedition awoke from its heavy slumber, the bonds of kinship with Sher Shāh and of orders passed by Islem Shāh 419. snapped asunder, and disorder reigned supreme:
Verse.When the heart of the times writhes, the bond of fellowship
snaps,
When a flaw appears* in the string, the pearls are scattered.
One day when, having summoned the most renowned Amīrs to the durbār hall of the fort of Gwāliār, ‘Adlī was engaged in distributing jāgīrs, he ordered that the Sarkār of Qanauj should be transferred from Shāh Muḥammad Farmalī, and given in perpetuity to Sarmast Khān Sarbanī, [Shāh Muḥammad was ill],* whereupon his son Sikandar, who was a brave, handsome, and well built youth spoke fiercely with regard to this jāgīr. Shāh Muḥammad however admonished* him in gentle terms and forbade him to speak thus, but he answered his father “Once Sher Shāh placed you in an iron cage and kept you a prisoner for some years, while Islem Shāh made you the captive of his kindness and by intercession and influence obtained your release. Now the Sūr faction are attempting to destroy us, and you do not understand their infamous design;* thereupon he began to abuse Sarmast Khān with all the petulance of youth and the arrogant pride of race and said: “Now our affairs have come to such a pass* that this dog-seller* is to enjoy our jāgīr.” Sarmast Khān, who was a tall, powerful man full of energy, placed his hand upon the shoulder of Sikandar intending to make him prisoner by underhand means, and said: “My boy, why are you saying all these bitter things,” Sikandar however perceived his intention, clapped his hand to his dagger, and struck Sarmast Khān such a deadly blow over the shoulder blade, that he fell on the spot unconscious and died. Sikandar Khān also made some others of those* hell-dogs so heavy of head and sleep-stricken* that they will never wake* till the morn of the great assembly, and certain others remained so intoxicated that they spent the remainder of their lives in recovering from it.*
Verse. 420.Thine eye which was wonderful in slaying thy lovers
Would slay one and cast its glance upon another.
It was currently reported that from the time when* the dagger was first invented in Hindustān no person can have ever used it in the way that Sikandar Khān did. A tumult arose among the people, and ‘Adlī fled and entered the women's quarters and put up the chain on the inside. Sikandar after that he had killed some and wounded* others, at last made towards ‘Adlī and* aimed a blow at him with a sword, which however struck a plank of the door: had he attacked him in the first instance he would have despatched him. The Amīrs of ‘Adlī's party shewed themselves in their true colours that day, as most of them cast away their swords* and took to flight, and were going about distractedly, till at last, after Sikandar had done as much mischief as salt in the yeast,* they attacked him simultaneously from all sides. This contest went on for three or four hours, when* Sikandar fell to a blow from the sword of Ibrāhīm Khān* Sūr, sister's husband to ‘Adlī, and Shāh Muḥammad was struck down by the sword of Daulat Khān Lūḥāni,* both of them taking their way to the city of non-existence. It so happened that on that day before the assembly of that meeting Tāj Khān Karrānī, the brother of ‘Amād and Suleimān, who eventually became the autocratic* ruler of the province of Bengal, and gave himself the title* of Ḥaẓrat Ā‘alā, having left the audience hall of ‘Adlī was going outside the fort, when on his way he met with Shāh Muḥammad Farmalī. They asked* after each other's affairs, and Tāj Khān said: “I see signs of mischief, and consequently I am removing my manly footsteps outside this circle,* and am 421. going outside. Do you too come with me and follow my lead,* for the scale has turned.
Verse.When you see that your friends are no longer friendly,
Consider that flight is an opportunity to be seized.
But inasmuch as the hand of death had seized the skirt of Shāh Muḥammad and was dragging him to the grave,* he would not consent to this advice and went to ‘Adlī.
Verse.When the appointed time of the quarry comes it goes towards
the huntsman.
And that which was written in his fate befel him; Tāj Khān in full daylight fled from Gwāliār towards Bengāl and ‘Adlī sent an armed party in pursuit of him, and* himself also started to follow him, in front of the township of Chhapramau* in the district of Qanauj an engagement took place between the two parties. The stars in their courses fought for ‘Adlī, and his army was victorious,* and Tāj Khān turning in flight made the best of his way to Chhinār,* wherever he found the authorities favourable to ‘Adlī he made prisoners* of them, and laid hands on whatever cash and valuables he could find. A hundred head of elephants also fell into his hands. Thus he proceeded till he joined hands with Suleimān and ‘Imād and Khwāja Ilyās who held sway over certain parganas on the banks of the Ganges and other places. Then he openly sounded the note of rebellion. ‘Adlī arrived at Chunār,* and the Karrānīs on the banks of the river* Ganges came out to fight with him. Hīmūn asked for a ḥalka of elephants, that is to say, a hundred elephants, and fought a desperate battle with them gaining a victory. And ‘Adlī while in Chunār intended to seize* Ibrāhīm Khān, the son of Ghāzī Khān Sūr, one of the cousins of Sher Khān, but the sister of ‘Adlī, who was married to him, became aware of this intention, and brought him down by a secret passage* from the fort. Ibrāhīm Khān made his way towards Baiāna and Hindūn which was his father's jāgīr: 422. ‘Adlī despatched ‘Īsā Khān Nīyāzī after Ibrāhīm Khān, and they fought a battle* in the vicinity of Kalpī, the breeze of victory fauned the standards of Ibrāhīm Khān, and he gained the day. Then having assembled a large following, and entering that country, he proclaimed himself sovereign.* ‘Adlī thereupon disengaged himself from the Karrānīs, and came against Ibrāhīm Khān to attack him, and when he arrived near the river Jon, Ibrāhīm Khān made overtures,* and sent a message saying: “If Rāī Ḥusain Jilwānī,* and Bihār Khān Sarwānī, to whom Islem Shāh gave the title of Ā‘am Humāyūn, with some others* of the Amīrs noble and renowned, will come and reassure me,* then will I in reliance upon their assurances agree to make submission to you.” ‘Adlī* accordingly sent them, and no sooner had they arrived than they gave in their allegiance to Ibrāhīm Khān, giving him the title of Sulān Ibrāhīm, and thus putting* a different complexion upon the dispute, raised the standard of insurrection against ‘Adlī.