Salím returned to Halebassa [Iláhbás, the old form of Iláhábád], and began to coin gold and silver money in his own name, which he even sent to his father, to irritate him the more. The king, enraged at this, wrote an account of all that had happened to Abul Fazl, who bade the king be of good courage, for he would come to him as quickly as possible; and added that his son should be brought bound to him, either by fair means or by foul. Accordingly, a little afterwards, having obtained leave of absence from Daniel Xa [Dányál Sháh], he took to the road with about two or three hundred horsemen, leaving orders for his baggage to follow him. Xa-Selim, to whom all these things were known, recalling how hostile Fazl had always been towards him, and hence justly fearing that his father would be more exasperated than ever against him, judged it best to intercept him on his journey. So he begged Radzia Bertzingh Bondela, who lived in his province of Osseen [Ujjain], to lie in wait for Fazl near Soor [Narwar?] and Gualer [Gwáliár], and to send his head to him, promising that he would be mindful of so great a benefit, and would give him the command of five thou­sand cavalry. The Radzia consented, and waited with a thousand cavalry and three thousand infantry about three or four coss from Gualer, having sent out scouts into the neighbouring villages, to give him early warning of the approach of Fazl. Accordingly when the latter, ignorant of the ambuscade, had come as far as Collebaga [Kálábágh], and was going towards Soor, Radzia Bertzingh and his followers fell upon him on all sides. Fazl and his horsemen fought bravely, but being overpowered by numbers, they were gradually worn out. Fazl himself, having received twelve wounds in the fight, was pointed out by a captive slave under a neighbouring tree, and was taken and beheaded. His head was sent to the prince, who was greatly pleased.”

Prince Salím, with that selfish nonchalance and utter indifference that distinguished him throughout life, openly confesses in his ‘Memoirs ’ that he brought about Abul Fazl's murder, because he was his enemy, and, with a naïveté exclusively his own, represents himself as a dutiful son who through the wickedness of others had been deprived of his father's love. He says—

“On my accession, I promoted Rájah Bir Singh, a Bundelá Rájpút, to a command of three thousand. He is one of my favourites, and he is certainly distinguished among his equals for his bravery, good character, and straightforwardness. My reason for promoting him was this. Towards the end of my father's reign, Shaikh Abul Fazl, a Hindústání Shaikh by birth, who was well known for his learning and wisdom, and who had externally ornamented himself with the jewel of loyalty, though he sold himself at a high price to my father, had been called from the Dak'hin. He was no friend of mine, and damaged openly and secretly my reputation. Now about that time, evil-minded and mischievous men had made my father very angry with me, and I knew that, if Abul Fazl were to come back to Court, I would have been deprived of every chance to effect a reconciliation. As he had to pass on his way through the territory of BirSingh Bundelá, who at that time had rebelled against the emperor, I sent a message to the latter to say that, if he would waylay Abul Fazl and kill him, I would richly reward him. Heaven favoured him, and when Abul Fazl passed through his land, he stopped him on his way, dispersed after a short fight his men, and killed him, and sent his head to me at Iláhábád. Although my father was at first much vexed, Abul Fazl's death produced one good result: I could now without further annoyance go to my father, and his bad opinion of me gradually wore away.”

At another place in his ‘Memoirs’, when alluding to the murder, he says, as if an afterthought had occurred to him, that he ordered Bir Singh to kill Abul Fazl, because ‘he had been the enemy of the Prophet.’

When the news of Abul Fazl's death reached court, no one had the courage to break it to the emperor. According to an old custom observed by Timur's descendants, the death of a prince was not in plain words mentioned to the reigning emperor, but the prince's vakíl pre­sented himself before the throne with a blue handkerchief round his wrist; and as no one else would come forward to inform Akbar of the death of his friend, Abul Fazl's vakíl presented himself with a blue handkerchief before the throne. Akbar bewailed Abul Fazl's death more than that of his son; for several days he would see no one, and after enquiring into the circumstances he exclaimed, “If Salím wished to be emperor, he might have killed me and spared Abul Fazl,” and then recited the following verse—

Akbar, in order to punish Bir Singh, sent a detachment under Patr Dás and Ráj Singh* to U´ṉḍchá. They defeated the Bundelá chief in several engagements, drove him from Bhánder and shut him up in I´rich. When the siege had progressed, and a breach was made in the wall, Bir Singh escaped by one of Ráj Singh's trenches, and withdrew to the jungles closely pursued by Patr Dás. As it seemed hopeless to catch him, Akbar called Patr Dás to Court; but ordered the officers stationed about U´ṉḍchá to kill the rebel wherever he shewed himself. In the beginning of the last year of Akbar's reign, Bir Singh was once surprised by Rájah Ráj Singh, who cut down a good number of his followers. Bir Singh himself was wounded and had a narrow escape. But the emperor's death, which not long afterwards took place, relieved Bir Singh of all fears. He boldly presented himself at Jahángír's Court, and received U´ṉḍchá and a command of three thousand horse as his reward.

“It has often been asserted,” says the author of the Maásir ul-Umará, “that Abul Fazl was an infidel. Some say, he was a Hindú, or a fire-worshipper, or a free-thinker, and some go still further and call him an atheist; but others pass a juster sentence, and say that he was a pantheist, and that, like other Súfís, he claimed for himself a position above the law of the Prophet. There is no doubt that he was a man of lofty character,* and desired to live at peace with all men. He never said anything improper. Abuse, stoppages of wages, fines, absence on the part of his servants, did not exist in his household. If he appointed a man, whom he afterwards found to be useless, he did not remove him, but kept him on as long as he could; for he used to say that, if he dismissed him, people would accuse him of want of penetra­tion in having appointed an unsuitable agent. On the day when the sun entered Aries, he inspected his whole household and took stock, keeping the inventory with himself, and burning last year's books. He also gave his whole wardrobe to his servants, with the exception of his trowsers, which were burnt in his presence.

“He had an extraordinary appetite. It is said that, exclusive of water and fuel, he consumed daily twenty-two sers of food. His son 'Abdurrahmán used to sit at table as safarchí (head butler); the super­intendent of the kitchen, who was a Muhammadan, was also in attendance, and both watched to see whether Abul Fazl would eat twice of one and the same dish. If he did, the dish was sent up again the next day. If anything appeared tasteless, Abul Fazl gave it to his son to taste, and he to the superintendent, but no word was said about it. When Abul Fazl was in the Dak'hin, his table luxury exceeded all belief. In an immense tent (chihilráwaṭí) one thousand rich dishes were daily served up and distributed among the Amírs; and near it another large tent was pitched for all-comers to dine, whether rich or poor, and k'hichrí was cooked all day and was served out to any one that applied for it.”

“As a writer, Abul Fazl stands unrivalled. His style is grand and is free from the technicalities and flimsy prettiness of other Munshís;* and the force of his words, the structure of his sentences, the suitableness of his compounds, and the elegance of his periods, are such that it would be difficult for any one to imitate them.”