After that the Emperor had started [for Ajmír] Makhdúm-ul-mulk and Shaikh Abd-un-nabí tempted mankind by suggesting the forgery of the Qur'án, and by going out of the way to show the impossibility of inspiration, and by throwing doubts on the authority of prophets and Imáms, and utterly denying the existence of demons and angels, and all mysteries and signs and miracles. Also the integrity of the traditional Text of the Qur'án and its verbal authority, and existence of the soul after the dissolution of the body, and reward and pun­ishment other than by means of transmigration they deemed im­possible, and tenaciously brought forward such verses as these:—

“How much of Truth is in the hand of the tomb!
The Qur'án remains, and many an old Tomb.
The Tomb tells not a word to any,
For the secret of the Qur'án none searches.
The Festival is come, and all shall be well—like the face of the bride,
The cupbearer will pour pure wine into the cup—like the blood of the cock,
The bridle of prayer, and the muzzle of fasting—Once again
It will remove from the necks of these asses—Aha! aha!”

His Majesty had now determined publicly to use the formula, ‘There is no god but God, and Akbar is God's representative.’ But as this led to commotions, he thought better of it, and restricted the use of the formula to a few people in the Harem. People expressed the date of this event by the words, “Revolution of Religion”.* The Emperor tried hard to convert Quṭb-ud-dín Muḥammad Khán and Shahbáz Khán. But they staunchly objected. (P. 274). Quṭb-ud-dín Khán said: “What would the kings of the West say, such as the Sulṭán of Constantinople, if he heard all this? For they all hold the same faith be it a travesty or no.” His Majesty then asked him, if he was in India on a secret mission from Constanti­nople, as he showed so much opposition; or if he wished to keep a small place warm for himself, should he go away from India, and become an honoured subject there. He might go at once. Shahbáz got excited, and took part in the conversation; and when Bír Bar— that hellish dog—said: “You cursed infidel, will you go on talking in this manner, until I am able to pay you out!” Affairs became rather unpleasant, and the Emperor said to Sháhbáz in particular, and to the others in general: “Would that they would beat your mouths with a slipper full of filth!”

At this time Tarsún Muḥammad Khán, governor of Patan arrived from Gujrát.

And in this year Qází 'Alí of Baghdád, who had been appointed in spite* of Shaikh Abd-un-nabí to look into the administration of the Madad-i-ma'ásh lands, and their encroachment,* brought those holders* of grant-lands, which brought in 1,000, or 500 down to those which brought in 100, to Court, and cut off most of their lands, and taking the very calf* from the cow left them precious little. By this means respect for the families of the great and noble, and the renowned and famous vanished from the cities, and the children of no race were left so helpless as the human beings of Hind: “A generation came after, who neglected prayer, and followed their own lusts”.* Schools and mosques were obliterated, and great numbers left their native country: and their children, who remained, in course of time got a reputation for mean conduct.

	“The schools were as empty of learned men, As the wine-seller's shop of wine-bibbers in the Fast-month.
(P. 275)	They turn the teacher's black-board into a draught board, And the Reader's Qur'án into a gambling-stake.”

And the Emperor after showing much severity to Ḥakím-ul-mulk on account of his opposition to Shaikh Abu-l-Fazl, whom he called Fazlah,* at last ordered him to make a pilgrimage to Makkah.

In the blessed month of Ramazan* of this year the afore-mention­ed Qází 'Alí brought me (who through my absence from Court had begun to look upon myself as one of those forgotten out of mind) before the Emperor in the city of Ajmír, and mentioned my 1,000 bígahs of subsistence-land, which he said caused me to waste my time:—

“To the Court of Princes in season and out of season
Thou shouldest go in order to receive some grant.”*

The Emperor said: “I suppose that in the farmán for this grant there is some condition insisted on”. He replied: “Certainly, it was on condition of his attendance at Court.” The Emperor said: “Make enquiries, perhaps he is not well, that he absents himself so long.” Ghází Khán Badakhshí said in joke: “He is suffering from a purse-complaint”: and all the courtiers made some reference to the duties of my late office of Imám, which together with public prayer, was at that time in abeyance. Shahbáz Khán said: “He ought always to be present.” The Emperor said: “We do not wish any one to attend against his will, if he does not care about attending at Court, let him have but half of the grant.” Immedi­ately I resigned it, and this was very annoying to the Emperor, and he turned his face from me. But when Qází 'Alí kept perpe­tually asking the Emperor: “What does your Majesty decree con­cerning it?” after a good deal of talk he said: “Ask Shaikh 'Abd-un-nabí (who is now at the Camp) how much he ought to have without condition of attendance.” Shaikh 'Abd-un-nabí sent word by the late Mulláná Iláhdád of Amrohah: “Since he is a family-man, and the expenses he has are well known, we (P. 276) approve of his having the amount, which your Majesty has decreed, viz., 700 or 800 bígahs. But the courtiers did not see the fitness of this, and put great pressure on me to be more diligent in attend­ance, so that nolens volens I fell again into the snare:—

“The clever bird, when it falls into the snare,
Has to bear it as well as he can.”

All this arose from my not consenting to be branded as his disciple, and I used frequently to allude to it, and in extemporary verse to say:—

“I am glad I have not a horseman nor a foot-soldier,
I am free from the bond of the king, and of the Prince too.”

In this year the Tamghá,* and the Jazyah,* which brought in several krors of dáms were abolished, and edicts to this effect were sent over the whole empire.

In the same year Ma'çúm Khán, son of Mu'ín-ud-dín Aḥmad Khán Farankhúdí, who held the governorship of Jaunpúr, came to the Court, and was afterwards sent back to Jaunpúr. And Mullá Muḥammad Yazdí the Emperor appoint Qázi'l-quzát of Jaunpúr, and the governorship of Diḥlí was given to Muḥibb 'Alí Khán, son of Mír Khalífah.

Mullá Muḥammad Yazdí, when he reached the province of Jaunpúr, issued a fatwá insisting on the duty of taking the field and rebelling against the Emperor. The consequence was that Muḥammad Ma'çúm Kábulí, and Muḥammad Ma'çúm Khán Faran-khúdí, and Mír Mu'izz-ul-mulk, and Nayabat Khán, and 'Arab Bahádur, and others, drew the sword, and in many places (as will be narrated) fought some desperate battles. The Imáms said, that the Emperor has in his dominion made encroachments on the grant-lands belonging to us and to God (He is magnified and glorified!), may the All-merciful have mercy on him! Finally Mihtar Sa'ádat who bears the title of Péshrau Khán, when he had been to Ma'çúm Khán Jaunpúrí and returned to Court, informed the Emperor of the facts of this fatwá of Mullá Muḥammad Yazdí, who accordingly on some pretext or other sent for Mír Mu'izz-ul-mulk and Mullá Muḥammad Yazdí from Jaunpúr. When they arrived at Fírozábád (P. 277), which is eighteen cosses from Ágrah, the Emperor sent word that they should separate them from their guards, and put them into a boat, and take them by way of the Jamná to Gwályár. Afterwards he sent another order that they should be made away with. So they put the guards into one boat, and them into another old one, and when they were in deep water ordered the sailors to swamp the boat of the lives of the two in the whirlpool of destruc­tion. After some days Qází Yáqúb came from Bengál and the Emperor sent him to follow the other two. And one by one he sent all the Mullás, against whom he had any suspicions of dis­satisfaction, to the closet of annihilation. And having banished the Ulamá of Láhor, he separated them from one another like a disheveled thread. Of the number of these was Qází Çadr-ud-dín Láhorí, whose free-thinking was greater than that of Makhdúm-ul-mulk; him he appointed Qází of Bahroṇch in Gujrát. And Mullá 'Abdu-sh-shukúr Gúldár he appointed Qází of Jounpúr, and Mullá Muḥammad Ma'çúm he appointed to Bihár. And Shaikh Munawwar he banished to Málwah, and made him Çadr of that district. In this way each of them obtained the promotion he wished, but away from home. But on account of his advanced age, and because the Mullás had refused him the title of Shaikh, looking on him, as they did, as a mere travester, and a regular enemy and ill-wisher to the Faith, and an unfortunate old beggar, the Emperor made an exception in the case of Shaikh Mu'ín, grandson of Mulláná Mu'ín, the celebrated preacher, and giving him no trouble left him at Láhor. He died in the year nine hun­dred and ninety-five. And Ḥájí Ibráhím Sarhindí he made Çadr of Gujrát, and set him thither. He abstracted much treasure and gold from the fief-lands by means of bribes, and so heaped up quantities of gold. If they would not pay the bribes he used to confiscate their lands. This matter was represented to the Emperor, and Ḥájí Ibráhím had to sue for permission to retire to the Dak'hin, until on suspicion of (P. 278) rebellion the Emperor sent for him, and committed him to the keeping of Ḥakím 'Azím-ul-Mulk. His Majesty used to send for him to attend the evening séances, and he inventing such things as would please the Emperor presented a pamphlet containing all sorts of lies about the great ones of the Faith. But this forgery and deception was found out. The sum-total of it is that he wrote in a clumsy manner in an old worm-eaten book a spurious expression purporting to have emanated from Shaikh Ibn 'Arabí (God sanctify his tomb!), to the effect that the Khalíf of the age would have many wives, and would shave his beard; and he included many other peculiarities of the Em­peror. So his Majesty became again propitiated, and admitted him once more among his courtiers. And according to report Ḥájí Ibráhím had interpolated in an old pamphlet, one of the works of Mullá Abu Sa'íd, nephew of Miyán Pánípatí, a tradition to the effect that a son of one of the Companions of the Prophet came in shaven into his presence (God bless him, and his family, and grant them peace!), and that he said: “The people of Paradise will look like that.” When he took to boldly disputing with Sháh Fatḥ-ulláh, and Shaikh Abu-l-Fazl, and Ḥakím Abu-l-Fatḥ, and satirizing them, the Emperor sent him to the castle of Rintam-b'hor. There he died; and after the razing of the fortress, they found his dead body, which was tied up with long strips of cloth, and the story got abroad that he had thrown himself down from the top of the fortress. This event took place in the year nine hundred and ninety-four:—