Muntaḫab al-tavārīḫ - The Muntakhabu-’rukh, Volume 1

Who is Islem Khān, on the fifteenth of the month Rabī‘u-l-Awwal in the year 952 H. (1545 A.D.), acting upon the summons of the Amīrs^485g of Bhatta came by forced marches from the neighbourhood of Patna,^485h and by the co-operation of ‘Īsā Khān Ḥajjāb and the other men of influence and power,⁴⁸⁵ⁱ succeeded^485j to the imperial throne in room of his father, with the title of Islem Shāh, and the son of Mulla Aḥmad Junaid,⁴⁸⁶ who is well known,^{486a 375.} found this verse of the sacred word:^486b “And already we have written in the Psalms, after the admonition that ‘the earth shall my righteous servants inherit,’”^486c to give the date of his accession. He wrote a despatch to his elder brother ‘Ādil Khān and sent it to him in Ranthanbūr, of which the following is the substance. “Although the succession was really your right, still as you were at so great a distance there was a danger, nay a certainty of the occurrence of disturbances here before you could arrive. Accordingly with a view to keep down insurrections, I will take charge of the army for a few days as your deputy, and after you arrive I shall have no alternative but to submit to and obey you.” Leaving Kālinjar he made for^486d Āgra and in the vicinity of the township of Kūra Khātampūr,^486e Khawāṣṣ Khān arrived from Sihrind which was his jāegīr, and yielded a forced allegiance, because he was more inclined to favour the accession of ‘Ādil Khān as compared with Islem Shāh; a splendid banquet was held and he was anew placed on the throne. Afterwards when fresh despatches from Islem Shāh reached ‘Ādil Khān, he referred the question of his coming to the following four persons upon whose advice and opinion as to its expediency he made his action dependent: Quṭb Khān Nāib, ‘Īsā Khān Nīyāzī, Khawāṣṣ Khān, and Jalāl Khān Jilwānī,^486f all of whom were great Amīrs, men of eminence belonging to his family. Islem Shāh sent this body of men to him bearing an agreement by which he undertook to allow ‘Ādil Khān to depart to his jāegīr after the first interview, and to deliver to his control any place in Hindūstān which he might select. ‘Ādil Khān acting upon the advice of these Amīrs proceeded from the neighbourhood of Ranthanbūr to Fatḥpūr, otherwise called Sīkrī, and Islem Shāh⁴⁸⁷ left Āgra and came to Shikārpūr,^487a where the royal palace is at present, to receive him; and when they met they first fulfilled the duties of condolence, and ^376. evinced great cordiality, and after a short time set out together for Āgra. Islem Shāh had plotted treachery against ‘Ādil Khān, and had consequently made a stipulation that not more than two or three persons should be left in the fort with ‘Ādil Khān. This however was not carried out, and a large body of followers accompanied him; accordingly Islem Shāh was constrained, in order to avoid suspicion, to treat ‘Ādil Khān with extraordinary^487b fawning and flattery, saying “I have taken care of these unruly^487c Afghans so far by artful means,^487d now I make them over to you.”

Verse.

Subject the intoxicated and riotous one to the warning glance
of the cup-bearer.^487e

Having placed him upon the throne he himself assumed an attitude of submission and obedience, and from motives of worldly wisdom was most punctilious in the observance of courtesy.^487f Although ‘Ādil Khān was in the flower of his youth, and of great bodily strength (many well-known tales of his strength are told), nevertheless, since he was fond of ease, and was well aware of the craft and subtlety of Islem Shāh and his^487g ways of dealing, would not agree to that procedure, rose to his feet, and seating Islem Shāh on the throne again with all honour and ceremony,^487h swore allegiance to him, and offered him congratulations upon his accession, with the customary offerings⁴⁸⁷ⁱ and oblations. Islem Shāh, in accordance with the compact which had been made,^487j sent ‘Īsa Khān and Khawāṣṣ Khān to accompany ‘Ādil Khān, and having confirmed Baiāna to him as a jāegīr, permitted him to proceed thither. Two months later he appointed Ghāzī Maḥallī, who was one of his confidential attendants, to go and arrest ‘Ādil Khān.

‘Adil Khān, however, heard of this, and fled from Baiāna taking refuge with Khawāṣṣ Khān in Mīwāt. Khawāṣṣ Khān then summoned Ghāzī Maḥallī, and bound him with that same golden chain which he had brought for ‘Ādil Khān, and having gained ^377. over to his side all⁴⁸⁸ the Amīrs, set out for Āgra with a large army. Quṭb Khān and ‘Īsā Khān also, who were two of the chief nobles of the State,^488a with whose concurrence the compact^488b had been made, were annoyed at this breach of faith on the part of Islem Shāh,^488c and with great management summoned ‘Ādil Khān at a time agreed upon, namely at day break after the Shab-i-barāt,^488d so that they might own allegiance to him. It so chanced that ‘Ādil Khān and Khawāṣṣ Khān, having arrived at Sīkrī on the Shab-i-barāt,^488e spent that night as a vigil in the service of Shaikh Salīm Chishtī, in voluntary prayers^488f and benedictions, so that their departure for Āgra was delayed long past the time agreed upon, and it was breakfast time^488g when they reached the outskirts of Āgra. Islem Shāh who was alarmed,^488h spoke very courteously to Quṭb Khān and the rest of the Amīrs, and permitted them to go and present themselves before ‘Ādil Khān. His⁴⁸⁸ⁱ object was to get rid of his opponents, and that very instant to start alone^488j for the fortress of Chunār, seize the treasure which was there, and after collecting the necessary equipment for an army to return and again engage in war. ‘Īsā Khān Hajjāb warned him of the folly and absurdity of this project, and prevented him from sending his Amīrs to his enemy and from starting for Chunār. Eventually Islem Shāh, accompanied by a party of his own bodyguard, and two or three thousand old and trusty retainers, left Āgra with all haste and came out in force to fight, first recalling those Amīrs⁴⁸⁹ whom he had sent,^489a saying “I am by no means confident that ‘Ādil Khān will not deal treacherously with you; you had better return quickly and rejoin me, because the question between^489b him and me can only be settled by the sword.”

Verse.

In this case messengers and despatches can avail nothing,
The two-edged sword will make this matter clear.^489c

The Amīrs, however, who were friendly to ‘Ādil Khān, on seeing Islem Shāh take the field, refused^489d to return to his side and ^378. entered the ranks of the more powerful army; a severe battle ensued before Āgra, and ‘Ādil Khān was defeated^489e and fled alone toward Bhatta.^489f Khawāṣṣ Khān and ‘Īsā Khān Nīyāzī, who had a strong regard and unbounded loyalty for each other, took the road to Mīwāt and the township of Fīrūzpūr, engaged the force which had been sent in pursuit of them, and overcame it; but eventually, not having power to resist the army of Islem Shāh, proceeded to the hills to the north of Hindūstān, which^489g are called (the) Kumāon (hills), and took refuge with the Rājās of that district. Quṭb Khān Nāib, having been appointed to attack them, kept continually ravaging the country at the foot of the hills. In the meantime Islem Shāh proceeded to Chunhār, and sent the treasure which was there to Gwāliār, and on his return, when he reached the township of Kūrah Khātampūr, while engaged in playing chaugān with Jalāl Khān Jilwānī,^489h who was one of the married Amīrs of the Afghāns, and had been⁴⁸⁹ⁱ an adherent of ‘Adil Khān, and a great object of suspicion to Islem Shāh, by some treacherous device persuaded him to come to his camp, and cast him into chains together with his brother Khudādād, making them over to an Afghān who had a blood feud with them, and having put them to death under the cloke of vengeance, proceeded to Āgra, [and from thence to Gwāliār which he had made his capital],⁴⁹⁰ and setting himself to slay and eradicate a party who were favourable to ‘Ādil Khān, girded up his loins in enmity against them, and swept them one by one from the board of the world like so many pieces in the game of draughts or chess. Quṭb Khān also took fright, and fled from the foot of the Kumāon ^379. hills to Lahore, taking refuge with Haibat Khān, to whom Shīr Shāh had given the title of A‘zam Ḥumāyūn. Haibat Khān in obedience to a summons from^490a Islem Shāh, sent Quṭb Khān in chains to him. Islem Shāh sent him together with Shāhbāz Khān Lūhānī,^490b who was brother-in-law to Shīr Shāh,^490c and Barmazīd Kor who was the Dajjāl^490d of that sect, and the Hajjāj^490e of his age, and thirteen or fourteen other Amīrs^490f and Amīrs' sons, to the fortress of Gwāliār, where most of them quitted the body in imprisonment.^490g

[Among them was Maḥmūd Khān, son of ‘Ādil Khān, who in his seventh year had counselled Shīr Shāh to throw up a rampart of sand, in consequence of which Shīr Shāh had made him his heir-apparent, as has been related. Another was Kawāl Khān Ghakkar who will be mentioned shortly].^490h

And in this year Salīm Shāh summoned Ā‘ẓam Humāyūn from Lāhor, but he advanced some excuse⁴⁹¹ for not coming in person, and sent Sa‘īd Khān his brother, who was renowned for courage and sound judgment.^491a Islem Shāh received him with the utmost show of favour, and made much of him, advancing him to the highest place of intimacy, but inwardly cherished the intention of putting an end to him; at last one day, having summoned him to a private interview within the palace, he shewed him the heads of the Amīrs who had been immured alive in the walls, for instance Zain Khān Nīyāzī^491b and the others, saying: Do you recognize these persons, who they are? He mentioned the names of some whom he recognized. Previously to this he had thrown^491c the abovementioned Amīrs, men of ability, into a chamber in Gwāliār, and setting fire to it with gunpowder had burned them all except Kawāl Khān Ghakkar, who remained under the protection of the All-cherisher safe in a corner of the room.^491d [It is said that the ^380. following was the reason of his escaping; the sister of Kawāl Khān, who had been united by marriage to Islem Shāh, became aware of the couference and sent word to her brother, saying: This very night they intend to blow up the prisoners with gunpowder. She also sent from inside (the palace) four quilts stuffed with cotton, and several skins of water. Kawāl Khān poured quantities of water upon the quilts, and under pretence of taking a bath betook himself into a corner, apart from his friends, and rolling himself up in the quilts had gone to sleep when they set fire to the room, and all were burned to ashes, but he alone remained alive beneath the quilt. In the morning Islem Shāh came to inspect that prison house, and seeing Kawāl Khān alive said: It is right for me to release you seeing that fire had no power over you].^491e Then Islem Shāh having made him^491f take an oath that he would never again oppose him, released him, and appointed him to assist the Governor of the Panjāb to conquer the country of the Ghak-kars [where he arrived with all honour].^491g In short Sa‘īd Khān, who had been a witness of this sudden death, gave orders in obedience to which post horses were tied up along the road to Lāhor, so that he travelled the distance between Āgra and Lāhor within three nights. Day by day the scale turned more and more in favour of the Nīyāzī faction, and Ā‘ẓam Humāyūn read the Khuṭbah in his own name in Lāhor. Islem Shāh returned from that same camp and came to Āgra, and summoning a vast army from all sides marched for the Panjāb. Sazāwal Khān came from Mālwa to join this movement, and was received very graciously, and after bringing forward certain important matters took leave, while Islem Shāh, after halting for a few days in Dihlī and ordering his army, set out ^381. for Lāhor.⁴⁹² Ā‘ẓam Humāyūn and Khawāṣṣ Khān, and ‘Īsā Khān^492a Nīyāzī as well, (who had come down from the hill country to join him), came from the Panjāb with armies strong as the hills to receive Islem Shāh. In the early part of the^492b winter time a fierce battle was fought in front of^492c the township of Ambāla, and on the evening preceding the day on which the battle was to be fought, Ā‘ẓam Khān had asked Khawāṣṣ Khān: After the victory who will be selected as the successor to the throne? He answered: It may be that it will be ‘Ādil Khān who is the eldest son of Shīr Shāh^492d and is really fit to rule. It appears that the Nīyāzī faction said,^492e The kingdom is not by inheritance, but He who conquers, takes the booty.^492f It is a foregone conclusion, what sense is there in this that we should strike with the sword and the kingdom should come to others.

Khawāṣṣ Khān, who was heart and soul attached to the cause of Shīr Shāh, was displeased at this claim of theirs, consequently when the battle began to rage, he refused to fight,^492g and standing aloof left the battle field together with ‘Īsā Khān Nīyāzī. The Nīyāzī faction fought right manfully, without yielding a foot of ground, and were near carrying away the centre^492h of Islem Shāh's army, but in the end⁴⁹³ pluck told,^493a and their efforts were of no avail.

Verse.

Thy wound which utters presage of thy death
When it feels thy salt closes its lips.

And Sa‘īd Khān, the elder brother of Ā‘ẓam Humāyūn, attended by a body of men fully armed and equipped, disguised in such a way that no one would know him, came in under the pretext of offering congratulations, with the intention of putting an end to Islem Shāh, and with that object asked repeatedly, where is the Pādshāh that I may offer him my congratulations on his victory. An elephant driver of one of those elephants which had surrounded Islem Shāh recognised the voice of Sa‘īd Khān, and struck a blow at him with his spear, but he^493b made his way in safety through the crowd of elephants, great as it was,^493c and foiled in his purpose made his escape; the Nīyāzī faction fled ^382. and came to Dhankoṭ,^493d which is near Roh,^493e and the remainder were plundered by the Kawārs, while some were drowned in the nullahs of Ambāla. Islem Shāh pursued as far as Western Rohtās, and despatched Khwāja Wais^493f Sirwānī with a large army to oppose the Nīyāzīs, and returned towards Āgra. Leaving Āgra he went^493g to Gwāliār, and made it his capital.^493h When Khawāṣṣ Khān and ‘Īsā Khān Nīyāzī, who had made common cause, left the battle field, ‘Īsā Khān went to the hill country,⁴⁹³ⁱ [while Khawāṣṣ Khān with five or six hundred cavalry^493j fled to Lāhor]; [and (Islām Khān)^493k Islem Shāh appointed Shams Khān Lūhānī as Governor of Lāhor; and at a time when Shams Khān had come out for some undertaking⁴⁹⁴ to a distance of thirty krohs from Lāhor, Khawāṣṣ Khān,^494a with three^494b or four hundred cavalry, each individual man of whom could have withstood an army, advanced with the idea of taking Lāhor, and encamped^494c in the grove of Kāmrān Mīrza. The inhabitants of Lāhor shutting themselves up in the fort held the city till the arrival of Shams Khān, and Khawāṣṣ Khān, having cut down the lofty trees^494d of Safīdār and Chinār^494e of that grove, had set about making Sāṭūr^494f and ladders, when^494g his cavalry brought news that Rāi Ḥusain Jilwānī and other Amīrs of Salīm Shāh's party with an army of thirty thousand ^383. cavalry had arrived in the neighbourhood of Lāhor. Khawāṣṣ Khān, after a conference with ‘Īsā Khān, abandoned the siege, and went out some five or six krohs to meet (his enemy), and with five hundred veteran cavalry well tried in war hurled himself against that wall of steel. Rāi Ḥusain said to his men, leave the way open so^494h that this black calamity may pass through our midst. Accordingly⁴⁹⁴ⁱ he made a breach in the line of Salīm Shāh's army, and attacked them again from the rear and threw them into confusion. At this juncture he received a wound in the knee which bore him from his horse to the ground, but his opponents had not sufficient enterprise to come up to him and take him prisoner, and he was openly borne off the field upon a charpoy.^494j

Rāī Ḥusain forbade his men to give pursuit, and Khawāṣṣ Khān went off in safety towards Nagarkoṭ]⁴⁹⁵ whence he proceeded to the foot of the Kumāon hills. The final issue of his affairs will be related shortly^495a in its own place if God, He is exalted, so will it. The Nīyāzī faction set their hearts upon the government of Kashmīr, but by the craft of the Kashmīrīs were enticed into bye-ways, and eventually reached their rest in the corner of destruction, as will be mentioned, if God, He is exalted, so will it.

And in the year 954 H. (1547 A.D.) an Afghān named Uṯmān, whose hand Sazāwal Khān had cut off for some reason, one day laid an ambush in Āgra, and at the entrance to a road aimed a blow at Sazāwal Khān and wounded him. Sazāwal Khān went to the camp, and represented that this attack had been made at the instance of Salīm Shāh, he then took his way to Mālwa. Islem Shāh pursued him as far as Bānswāla, but seeing that Sazāwal Khān was hidden among the Zamīndārs of Sarūr,^495b Salīm Shāh left ‘Īsa Khān Sūr with twenty thousand cavalry in Ujjain, and reached the capital. In the early part of his reign ^384. Islem Shāh detailed five thousand cavalry for the chief sarkārs of Hindūstān. Among them Mubāriz Khān, the son of Niẓām Khān^495c Sūr, who was the cousin and wife's brother of Islem Shāh, and eventually received the title of Muḥammad ‘Adilī, was appointed as a commander of twenty thousand to the vicinity of Ajāwan in the Sarkār of Sanbal, in order that Khawāṣṣ Khān and the other Amīrs might not be able to raise disturbances in that province, and he appointed as his deputy Pābandh Khazak.^495d He had also given orders at the beginning of his reign, that between every two resthouses built by Shir Shāh, which were at intervals of one kroh, another rest-house of the same pattern should be built, with a temple, and a dwelling-place, and a conduit for water, and that a buttery and kitchen containing food both cooked and uncooked, for the use of travellers,^495e both Hindū and Musulmān, should be always open. Among other commands of his was this, that the madad-i-ma‘ash⁴⁹⁶ and aimah grants of the whole of the protected^496a provinces of Hindūstān which Shīr Shāh had given, and the rest-houses which he had furnished, and the pleasure-gardens he had laid out,^496b should remain just as they were, and should not be altered in the slightest degree. Another order was, that all the Pātars^496c should be taken by force from those Amīrs who kept Akhāras (these are well known in Hindūstān). He also seized^496d the elephants in the same manner, and did not leave in the possession of any one any but a wretched female elephant fit only for carrying baggage, and gave^496e orders that the red tent was confined solely to his own use. Another order was this, that he brought the whole country under his own personal control,^496f and in accordance with the regulations and custom of the dāghī system^496g which Shīr Shāh had instituted, the soldiery were paid in cash. A further step was to send written orders to all the Sarkārs containing comprehensive instructions on all important points of religion, and all political and civil questions,^496h entering into the minutest essential detail,⁴⁹⁶ⁱ and dealing with all regulations ^385. which might be of service to the soldiery and civil population, to the merchants and other various classes, and which the authorities were bound to follow in their jurisdiction.

All these points were written in these documents whether agreeable to the religious law or not,^496j so that there was no necessity to refer any such matters^496k to the Qāẓī or Muftī, nor was it proper to do so.^496l

Also the Amīrs of five thousand, ten thousand, and twenty thousand, used every Friday to pitch a lofty tent supported by eight poles,⁴⁹⁷ and bring the shoes of Salīm Shāh together with a quiver which he had given to the sardārs^497a in front of the throne; and first of all the commander of the troops, and after him the Munṣif, that is to say, the Chief Commissioner (Amīn) followed by the others in due precedence, with bowed heads and every expression of respect would take their seats in their appointed places. Then a Secretary would come and read aloud that order, chapter and verse, which occupied eighty sheets of paper more or less. Any question which presented any difficulty was referred by them in conclave to the various provisions and rulings of that document, by which it was finally decided, and if it should so happen that any Amīr acted in contravention of that order, the Secretary used to write a report of that action and despatch it to the Court, and the disobedient Amīr would forthwith be visited with punishment together with his family and relations. This procedure remained in force to the end of the reign of Islem Shāh. The writer of this Muntakhab, in the year 955 H. (1548 A.D.), when he was of tender age, went to the country of Bajwāra, one of the dependencies of Baiāna, with the army of Farīd Tāran, Commander of five thousand, in the company of his maternal grandfather, on him be the mercy of God, and witnessed these customs and rules of practice. And in the year 954 H. or in 955 H., God knows which, Khwāja Wais Sirwānī, who had been commissioned to proceed against A‘zam Humāyūn^497b [fought a battle with the Nīyāzīs in the vicinity of Dhankoṭ,⁴⁹⁸ and was defeated. A‘ẓam Humāyūn] having taken a strong force pursued him as far as Sihrind. Islem Shāh sent a large army against the rebels, and at last they fought another battle in the same country, and on this occasion also the ^386. Nīyāzīs suffered defeat, and some of their women were captured and sent to Gwāliār. Islem Shāh dishonoured them, and made over to the harlots in his camp the banners and tents and all the tokens of dignity of the Nīyāzīs who had fallen into his hands, and naming one Sa'īd Khān, and another Ā‘ẓam^498a Humāyūn, and a third Shahbāz Khān, in this way he distributed titles. Moreover he gave them drums which they used to play at their doors at the time of the naubat,^498b and the prostitutes used to give themselves airs^498c and used to say Sag-i-falakam.^498d This class used to come every Thursday evening, in accordance with the custom of the harlots of Hindūstān, to pay their respects to Islem Shāh, and the heralds and chamberlains used to call out with a loud voice, O King cast a gracious glance hither, for a certain Khān Nīyāzī, and Bahmān Khān are here to invoke blessings on thee. This used to annoy the Afghāns who were all of one tribe and of one mind, so that an intense disgust for him had sprung up in their hearts. Some assert that his conferring the titles of the Nīyāzīs and giving the ensigns and drums was on the first occasion.^498e God knows the truth. And Ā‘ẓam Humāyūn, who on the second occasion was defeated, was not able to gird himself again to war, and the Nīyāzī party being scattered asunder grew daily weaker, and at first took refuge with the Ghakkars in the neighbourhood of Rohtās, making the hill country adjoining the Kashmīr territory their asylum. Islem Shāh, in order to remove the cause of the mischief, marched with a large army, and reaching the Panjāb took up a strong position in the northern hill range, and by way of guarding his head-quarter post built five ^387. forts: viz., Mānkoṭ and Rashīdkoṭ and the others. For a space of two years he kept the Afghāns⁴⁹⁹ employed in carrying stone and lime, and had such a hatred of the whole tribe that he heaped^499a the dust of infamy and oppression on their heads. At this time he did not give them even the smallest coin^499b by way of recompense. A party of them, however, who had obtained exemption from this labour,^499c he detailed to oppose the Ghakkars, and they engaged in continuous warfare with them.

The Ghakkars in appearance like the tribe of ‘Ād,^499d daily fought with the Afghāns, and by night entered their camp like thieves, and used to carry off whomsoever they might find, woman or man, freed man or slave, and keep them in bonds with the utmost rigour, and sell them. The Afghāns^499e dragged them in the dirt, and gave them the nickname of Ruswāī (disgraced), but no one had the power to represent this state of things to Islem Shāh till at last one day Shāh Muḥammad Farmalī,^499f who was one of the most noted Amīrs for wit and good-humour in Hindūstān, and was also a specially favoured and forward boon companion said, “My Lord the King! Last night I saw in a dream three bags descend from heaven, in one of which was dust, in another gold, and in the third^499g paper. The dust fell upon the head of a soldier, the gold went to the house of the Hindū daftarī,^499h and the paper remained in the royal treasury.” Islem Shāh was pleased with this speech, and promised that after his return to Gwāliār he would make his accountants draw up an account of the soldiers' pay, and pay them in gold. As it happened that order was never carried out, for in those same days death seized him by the collar.

Verse.

Attend to my wants to-day for that draught is of no avail
Which is given to Sohrāb after his death.

In the end, the affairs of the Nīyāzīs came to this, that when ^388. their strength⁵⁰⁰ was broken, and they came into Kashmīr, the Kashmīrīs, who are^500a born traitors and deceivers, first of all invited the Nīyāzīs from Rājūrī after inflaming them with spurious ambition for kingdom, and in the end their guides leading them astray^500b brought the tribes of Kashmīr to oppose them, and at a hint from Islem Shāh held the head of the pass against them. The women even of the Nīyāzīs in defence of their honour girded on quivers, (among them were the mother and wife of Ā‘ẓam Humāyūn),^500c and fighting with the Kashmīrīs were attacked by a hail of stones which literally covered them, and not a soul escaped. It is said that in the reign of Shīr Shāh a body of the Afghāns of the tribe of Sanbal invited the Nīyāzīs to Dhankoṭ under treaty, and put two thousand of them to death in obedience to the orders of Shīr Shāh, putting their wives and children to the sword. Five years later the same thing happened to them,^500d and in this house of retribution they received the reward of their deeds, hand for hand. And^500e in these narrow passes they put all three brothers to the sword, sending their heads as an offering to Salīm Shāh. They also sent for him a girl from there. A part of this story has been elegantly told in the Tārīkh-i-Kashmīr,^500f the composition of which is ancient thought its arrangement is modern; and at the time when Islem Shāh, had sent troops against the Ghakkars and the Jānoha party who were strongly entrenched on the banks of the river Behat, he himself was occupied in building the fortress of Māngaṛh;^500g and Kāmrān Mīrzā, after fighting many battles with^{500h 389.} Muḥammad Humāyūn Padshāh, fled from Kābul and took refuge with Salīm Shāh, in the hopes that he would give him reinforcements which would enable him to capture Kābul, in the (vain) expectation that the water which had flowed away would return⁵⁰⁰ⁱ to its source. When Islem Shāh heard this tidings, he selected from his army the notorious Humūn^500j Baqqāl, who in those days, in virtue of his capacity for extorting taxes, had been promoted from being overseer of the market to a post of confidence, and sent him with another body of Afghāns to the neighbourhood of Rohtās to meet Mīrzā, and although Islem Shāh in his own mind thought this a reason for increased confidence in Mīrzā, being led to this by the want of confidence⁵⁰¹ he had in the Afghāns as a tribe, and the entire trust he reposed in Humūn, still Mīrzā himself made light of this, and^501a recognising that there were dregs in the very first draught of the cup was unwilling to come in person.

Verse.

Now indeed thou repentest but thy repentance profiteth thee
nothing.

Nevertheless, in spite of this Mīrzā still believed that possibly Islem Shāh would overlook everything, and would treat him with honour and respect when the time of meeting arrived. However, on the day of public audience, he himself entered with arrogant assurance, and sitting on the seat of a Fara‘ūn or a Shaddād,^501b gave orders to Sarmast Khān^501c the Afghān, a Dā'ūd Za'i,^501d who held the office of Bārbak,^501e in accordance with which he directed Mīrzā to perform the customary salutations like the servants of the ordinary public. He accordingly performed the Kornish,^501f and those diabolical men^501g out of sheer inhumanity seized Mīrzā roughly by the nape of the neck, and shouted aloud several times saying, Your Majesty!^501h Be pleased to cast a glance hither, for Kāmrān the Muqaddam-zāda of Kābul invokes blessings. Islem Shāh after ignoring him for some considerable time, cast a haughty glance in the direction of Mīrzā,⁵⁰¹ⁱ and uttered a hypocritical ^390. “Welcome.” He then ordered a tent and canopy to be erected for Mīrzā near to his own tent, and bestowed upon him a horse and a robe of honour, and a slave girl and a eunuch so that they might spy into his affairs. He used also to summon the Mīrzā from time to time, and hold converse with him regarding poetry, but their intercourse was always disagreeable, and the Mīrzā was worried by those incessant ceremonial visits and shew of politeness, till he grew sick of his life, and was watching a favourable opportunity to make his escape. Moreover the Afghāns used to make jibes⁵⁰² at him in the Hindī tongue, and when he appeared in darbār used to say^502a Moro mī āyad^502b (Here comes the peacock). The Mīrzā enquired from one of the attendants, in the presence of Islem Shāh, “What do they mean by Moro?” He answered, “It is the name they give^502c to a man of great dignity.” The Mīrzā replied,^502d “At that rate Salīm Shāh is a first rate Moro and Shīr Shāh was a still finer.” Salīm Shāh consequently gave orders that no one was ever to use that word again,^502e nor to indulge in pleasantries at the Mīrzā's expense. At last one day Islem Shāh called upon the Mīrzā for a verse of poetry, when the Mīrzā recited this maṭla‘ off hand:

Gardish-i-gardūn-i-gardān gardanānrā gard kard
Bar sar-i-ṣāḥib-tamīzān nāqiṣān rā mard kard.^502f The revolutions of the circling heaven have brought low the
mighty,
And have made worthless men to lord it over men of intelligence.

Islem Shāh fully caught the meaning of this verse, and gave secret orders to his attendants to keep the Mīrzā under open arrest. The Mīrzā, however, by the help of the zamīndārs,^502g made an arrangement with one of the hill Rājas, and persuaded him, by holding out inducements of various kinds, to station post-horses along the banks of the river Chināb. One night he emerged from his tent with a woman's chādar⁵⁰³ drawn over his head. The guards imagined that it was one of the women of his harīm and offered no interference. ^391.

The Mīrzā crossed the river with his horse and saddle and succeeded in reaching the Rāja. From there he proceeded alone clothed in a burqa‘,^503a and taking a jilaudār^503b with him, was escorted^503c by some of the Rājas' subjects till he arrived in the vicinity of the village of Gharī Khū,^503d on the bank of the river Behat, and rested there one night. Inasmuch as that village is near Sulṭānpūr the residence of Sulṭān Ādam Ghakkar, at a distance of three krohs from the fortress of Rohtās, some one went to Sulṭān Ādam and informed him that a Mughūl woman was encamped at such and such a place, attended only by one jilaudār and that her intention was to proceed on the following morning. Sulṭān Ādam sent messengers to make enquiries, and then proceeded^503e in person, and had an interview with the Mīrzā, who by persistent entreaty prevailed upon him to give a promise that he would send him in safety to a place of refuge. Sulṭān Ādam accordingly wrote a letter to Muḥammad Humāyūn Pādshāh, who had recently arrived in that neighbourhood, begging him to spare the Mīrzā's life.^503f

The Pādshāh wrote an order in accordance with this request^503g of his, and sent it to him; but eventually, two years later, he again seized the Mīrzā, and^503h after blinding him with a lancet (nīshtar). sent him to the holy city of Makkah. The word nīshtar records the date of this occurrence.⁵⁰⁴ These incidents have only been briefly alluded to here, because they are related^504a fully in the Akbar Nāma and the (Tārīkh-i-) Niẓāmī.^504b Among the events which took place during the reign of Islem Shāh was the affair of Shāh Muḥammad of Dihlī, of which the following is a brief account. Shāh Muḥammad, in the reign of Shēr Shāh, had come from the country of ‘Irāq^504c to Hindūṣtān, and had given himself out^504d to be a Saiyyid. There was some hesitation among the people as to this claim; however, he used to live in accordance with the customs^504e of the Shaikhs and holy ^392. men, and was acquainted with the science of invocation of the mighty names,^504f and was not without an admixture of deceit.^504g

Verse.

What is expected of Shaikhs is the performance of miracles
and prayer-stations.
Whereas what we really see in them are ecstatic^504h and incoherent ravings.

In spite of all, Shīr Shāh gave him credit for being a wālī, and Islem Shāh⁵⁰⁴ⁱ also had reposed great confidence in him from the time he was a prince, and used to go and do reverence to him, and as is the custom of kings, used to take omens^504j concerning (his accession to) the kingdom, and from the excessively high opinion he had of him used to lift (the Saiyyid's) shoes. The story goes that one day they had brought a basket^504k of melons as a present to Shāh Muḥammad and just then^504l Islem Shāh arrived. The Saiyyid pointed to Islem Shāh and said, I present you with this basket confident in its being as a royal umbrella to you,⁵⁰⁵ rise, and place it on your head and be gone. Islem Shāh without hesitation lifted the basket accepted it as a lucky omen and took his departure.

How good it is to take a lucky omen,
Not to strike one's cheek (in grief) but to give mate with the
rook.^505a

But eventually this matter became a source of annoyance to him^505b as is generally the case. At all events, when Islem Shāh succeeded to the kingdom, during his reign two Saiyyids of good birth, men of ascetic habit, clean-living, dignified, and agreeable, one of whom was named Amīr Abū^505c Ṭālib who was the inferior, and the other named Mīr Shamsu-d-Dīn who was his superior and brother's son to him, arrived from the country of ‘Irāq at the camp of Islem Shāh in the Panjāb, and came to Dihlī, where they took up their abode in one of the quarters of the city, and were resorted to by all classes. Amīr Abū Ṭālib was so marvellously skilled in the abstruse science of medicine, that the majority of the sick who came under his treatment obtained cures, and used to bring him presents and offerings in return, to ^393. say nothing of perquisites.^505d A report was spread that he was in possession of the ring of ‘Alī,^505e may God be satisfied with him, one of the properties of which was that no one who was suspected (of being of bastard origin) could stand in presence of that ring, and retain the power of seeing it. God knows the truth. Relying upon his former intimacy with Shāh Muḥammad, he desired to give his daughter in marriage to the nephew of Mīr Abū Ṭālib, but he was by no means inclined to agree to this proposal, and folk began to entertain increased suspicion against him, and both small and great talked openly about him. Shāh Muḥammad summoned these two holy men into his own private dwelling for safe custody, and took great pains to entertain them. One night, not long afterwards, an armed band entered his⁵⁰⁶ house by the upper story and martyred both father and son who were engaged in their night's devotions. They then left the house, and in the morning the governor of the city came and enquired of Shāh Muḥammad how this had occurred. He absolutely denied any knowledge of the circumstances, and stated that he had no idea who the murderers were; then he prepared a report of the affair under the Great Seal, and sent it together with a despatch to Islem Shāh at his camp. Islem Shāh thereupon sent to Dihlī Makhdūmu-l-Mulk Mullā ‘Abdu-llāh of Sulṭānpūr,^506a who was Shaikhu-l-Islām and Ṣadru-ṣ-ṣudūr, to investigate this matter, and also despatched circular letters summoning the Chief ‘Ulamā of the time, for example Mīyān Ḥātim Sanbalī, Mīyān Jamāl Khān Muftī, and others. This conflict lasted two months after this time, and after great argument and enquiry it was with tolerable certainty conjectured^506b that the murderers were agents of Shāh Muḥammad.^506c This result was reported to ^394. Islem Shāh, but before any reply could be received Shāh Muḥam-mad, who had sunk from so high dignity to the depths of disgrace, could not endure the anxiety, underwent venesection and took sour milk in addition, and endured voluntarily humiliating penance. Report also says even more than this, but, every one knew perfectly well that all these austerities and self-inflictions, were the outcome of hypocrisy and deceit, and not inspired by religious motives.

Thou hast forsaken the world for the sake of the world.
Quatrain.

This long time thou hast made thy tongue like a sword,
So that thou givest the attributes of a lion to one who is but
a dog.
Thou turnest upside down the storehouse of falsehood
In order to satisfy thy own hungry belly.

This event took place in ths year 956 H. Another important incident was the affair of Shaikh ‘Alāī Mahdī of Baiāna,⁵⁰⁷ which closely resembles the affair of Sīdī Maula,^507a which took place during the reign of Sulṭān Jalālu-d-Dīn Fīrōz Shāh, in fact the proverb, One shoe is like its fellow,^507b is exactly applicable here.

The following is a brief exposition of this affair: The father of the aforesaid Shaikh ‘Alāī was called Ḥasan, and was one of the great Shaikhs of the country of Bangāla, and on his arrival from Bangāla on the occasion of his pilgrimage to the holy city of Makka with his younger brother Shaikh Naṣru-llah, who was one of the most eminent of the ‘Ulamā, came from there to Hindūstān and took up his abode in the province of Baiāna. The words Jā‘a nasru-llāhi wal fatḥ,^507c were found to give the date of that event. The elder brother gave his attention to irshād^507d and hidāyat, and the younger^507e to fatwā^507f and instruction in religious knowledge.^507g

Shaikh ‘Alāī, who was the most orthodox of the sons of the Shaikh, the tablet of whose forehead was from early boyhood distinguished by the marks of nobility and uprightness, and the evidences of a youth to be spent in the worship of God and in following the ordinances of the prophet of God, may the peace and blessing of God rest upon him, in the service of his venerable father devoted himself to the acquirement of exoteric and esoteric sciences, and to the improvement of his character, disposition, and behaviour, and in a short time^507h having read all the routine works by the aid of his natural quickness of apprehension and clear intellect, engaged in tuition and instruction. ^395.

Verse.

Continual learning is requisite with application and exertion,
Always by day argument and by night repetition.
Piety, asceticism, worship and reverence,
Without these, all acquisitions are wondrous vain.

After the death of his revered father, having abandoned the ordinary conversation and giving up all connection with the delusive phantoms of the world, he set himself to follow consistently the paths of obedience and austerity, firmly occupying the prayer carpet of the Shaikhs, and used to engage in the direction and instruction⁵⁰⁸ of seekers of the right way. Nevertheless he still retained a residue of evidences of worldly desires, and in accordance with the saying, “The last thing to leave the head of the just is the love of glory,”^508a seeking as he did to claim superiority over his fellow-men, he was unwilling that any other Shaikh in that city should share his dignity; this he carried so far that on the day of the festivals, from his excessive jealousy^508b and envy, he caused one of the leaders of the contemplative^508c and ascetic^508d Shaikhs of the Sūfī party to descend from his litter, thus inflicting a grievous blow to his dignity. He used to arrogate to himself alone the dignity of Shaikhdom. His other brothers, who in respect of years and experience were his superiors, used also to yield submission to him and pride themselves upon it.^508e

In the meanwhile Mīyān ‘Abdu-llah, a Nīyāzī^508f Afghān, who was at first one of the most noted lieutenants of Shaikh Salīm Chishtī of Fatḥpūr, and who eventually with his permission proceeded on a pilgrimage to the sacred city of Makka, and performed various kind offices and favours for him, taking part with Mīr Saiyyid Muḥammad of Jaunpūr,^508g may God sanctify his holy resting-place, who had claimed to be the promised Mahdī, and adopting the manners of a Mahdī, on his return from the Ḥijāz took up his abode in Biānah, and making his dwelling in the corner of a grove far from the haunts of men on the borders of a tank, used to cast water upon his head; and when the times of prayer came round, used to gather together certain of the labourers, hewers of ^396. wood and drawers of water who had to pass by that way, and compel them to form an assembly for prayer,⁵⁰⁹ with such a degree of enthusiasm, that if he met any man disinclined for the meeting he would give him a few coins^509a and encourage him, thus not allowing the reward of the assembly^509b to escape him.

When Shaikh ‘Alāī saw his conduct he was greatly pleased,^509c and said to his own followers, This is religion and true faith which Mīyān ‘Abdu-llah Nīyāzī has, whereas the path in which we are held is nought but idolatry and infidelity.^509d

So long as a hair's breadth of existence remains to thee^509e
The danger of idol-worship still remains for thee;
Thou sayest I have broken my idols and my Zunnār, I am free,
This idol however, thy slavery to self-conceit, remains to thee.

Abandoning the customs of his forefathers, and giving up his claims as a Shaikh and a leader of religion, trampling under foot his self-esteem and conceit, he devoted himself to the care of the poor of his own neighbourhood, and with the utmost self-mortification and humility gave himself up to the service of those whom he had formerly^509f vexed, and abandoning his madad-i-maāsh^509g and his alms-house and monastery,^509h entering the valley of self-renunciation and abnegation, bestowed⁵⁰⁹ⁱ all his worldly possessions even to his books upon the poor, and said to his wife,⁵¹⁰ “The pains of the search after God have gotten hold of me, if thou canst endure poverty and hunger come with me in God's name, but if not take^510a thy portion of these goods; and take the reins of choice into thine own hands, and go thy way.”

Follow my fortunes, or else depart far from me
She of her own accord was highly pleased with this determination of his.^510b
397. There are some women who perform perhaps even better than
men the duties of religion,
Just as in boldness the lioness surpasses the lion.

Then approaching Mīyān ‘Abdu-llah, with all respectful submission to him, he took instruction in the ceremonial observance of Ẕikr^510c in the manner which obtains among that sect.

The interpretations of the Qur‘ān, and the delicate points and minutiæ and true meanings of that sacred book were easily revealed to him, and a large number of the friends and companions who were in accord with him, and believed in him, some of them unmarried and some with families, chose companionship with him even at the risk of their lives, and following the path of his guidance with the foot of reliance in God, three hundred householders, abandoning all other source of gain and traffic, agriculture and skilled labour, spent their time with him. And whenever anything was given by Providence they used to divide it justly, apportioning to each individual an equal share. If nothing came,^510d comforting themselves with the sacred word, “Men whom neither merchandise nor selling divert from the remembrance of God,”^510e even had they died of hunger, they would not have uttered a sound, and if any person abandoning his vow made according to their mutual compact engaged in any lucrative occupation, of a surety he would expend a tithe of it in the service of Almighty God. Twice daily after the morning prayer and another prayer, great and small would gather in that assembly, and listen to an exposition of the Qur‘ān. Shaikh ‘Alāī had such a marvellous power of attraction that when he was expounding the Qur‘ān almost every one who heard him, of his own accord withheld his hand from all worldly occupation, and elected to join that assembly,⁵¹¹ abandoning his family and relations and children, enduring the hardships of poverty, hunger and religious warfare never troubled himself again about his work or gains; and if he had not that degree of fortitude, his penitence and repentance of his sins and iniquities would certainly have availed nothing, while many a one thought it his duty to empty his cooking vessels at nightfall of all the necessities of life even to salt and flour and water, and let them remain upside down, and ^398. they kept nothing in the way of means of existence by them, from their extreme faith in the providence of Almighty God, and the saying “Each new day brings a new provision” was the basis of their practice.

A short account of this sect is given in the Najātu-r-rashīd^511a which should be consulted.^511b

In spite of this they were in the habit of keeping arms and implements of war always with them^511c as a protection against their enemies, so that anyone who was unacquainted with the truth of the matter would be apt to think they were wealthy; The ignorant think them to be rich because of their modesty.^511d And whenever they saw any irreligious or forbidden action either in the city or the market, they went and called the offenders to account by main force,^511e and admitted no investigation by the governor, and on most occasions they got the best of it; they aided every magistrate of the city who acted in conformity with their religious tenets and principles^511f in carrying out his measures, while no one who was opposed to their views could [stand against them. Matters came to such a pass that fathers left their sons, brother left brother, and wife left husband]⁵¹² and entered the charmed circle of the Mahdī, voluntarily submitting to poverty and extinction. Mīyān ‘Abdu-llah when he saw that Shaikh ‘Alā'ī had lost his influence with rich and poor alike, and that his day was over, was much vexed, and speaking with gentleness and moderation, said by way of advice, The time cannot away with affairs of this kind, and truth nowadays has become more bitter than colocynth. It were wiser for you to quit this vale (of iniquity) and either retire into obscurity or determine upon a journey to the Ḥijāz.

Verse.

Alas! for him who escapes not from public turmoil,
Alas! for him who sets his heart upon the men of this world.
The hand of the faqīr holds no other coin but that of leisure,
^399. Alas! for him if he abandons that also.

Shaikh ‘Alā'ī,^512a retaining that selfsame habit and conduct^512b which he always had, accompanied by six or seven hundred families, set out for Gujrāt in the hope that in the companionship of the chiefs^512c and leaders of this sect he might learn the customs of the inmates of cloisters.^512d At the time of his arrival at the township of Basāwar from Baiāna, my late father took me, the writer of these pages, to do homage to him. In consequence of my tender years, his form remained fixed in my memory as a dream or a vision. On his arrival at Khawāṣpūr which is near Jodhpūr, Khawāṣṣ Khān who had been appointed to that district, at first came out to receive him and joined the circle of his adherents: but in consequence of his devotion to musical entertainments and pastimes,^512e whereas now every Thursday night Sūfīs used to assemble in his house, and Shaikh ‘Alā'ī forbade music and other prohibited^512f pastimes, and enjoined^512g that which was lawful and opposed that which was forbidden by law, accordingly their association was not agreeable, besides which opposition and disagreement arose with regard to the upholding of the rights of the soldiery: The saying—

is a well known proverb. Shaikh ‘Alā'ī in consequence of certain opposition which arose, turned back in the middle of the journey and returned to Baiāna, and at the time when Islem Shāh had taken firm possession of the throne of power in Āgra, and the rumours regarding Shaikh ‘Alā'ī reached his ears, he sent for Mir Saiyyid Rafī‘u-d-Dīn the traditionist, and Mīyān^513a Abul-fatḥ of Thanesar and other learned doctors of Āgra, and summoned Shaikh ‘Alā'ī from Baiāna, at the instigation of Makhdūmu-l-mulk Maulāna ‘Abdu-llah of Sulṭānpūr. He accordingly, accompanied by a party of select^513b companions, all of whom wore mail and were fully armed, came to the Court, and paying no heed to the customary observances of kingly assemblies,^513c greeted the whole assemblage in the manner appointed by the laws of Islām.^513d Islem Shāh acknowledged his salutation with indignation, as the appearance of the Shaikh greatly displeased^513e him and his courtiers.

Makhdūmu-l-Mulk had fully persuaded Islem Shāh that ^400. Shaikh ‘Alā'ī was a revolutionary who laid claim to being the Mahdī, and that the Mahdī himself would be king of the whole world: consequently as he presumed to revolt he was deserving of death. ‘Īsā Khān^513f Ḥajjāb who held a very confidential post, and the other Amīrs, when they saw Shaikh ‘Alā'ī in this displeasing attire, with ragged clothes and worn out shoes, said to Islem Shāh: “This fellow, in this condition and with this miserable appearance, wishes to take away the kingdom from us, doe he imagine that we Afghāns are all corpses!”

Prior to the convening of the assembly for discussion, Shaikh ‘Alā'ī in accordance with his invariable custom, had expounded a few verses of the Qur'ān, and delivered such a profitable discourse, in most elegant language, comprising a criticism of the world, and a description of the last judgment, and contemptuous remarks regarding the learned men of the time, and all their faults and failings,⁵¹⁴ that it had the most profound effect^514a upon Islem Shāh and the Amīrs who were present in the assembly, notwithstanding their hardness of heart, so that it brought tears to their eyes and left them amazed and confounded. Islem Shāh then rose from the assembly, and giving the matter his own attention sent refreshments from inside the palace for the Shaikh and his companions. ^514b The Shaikh, however, refused to touch^514c the food himself, and moreover when Islem Shāh entered^514d he did not pay him any respect, and merely said to his friends: Any one who chooses may eat of it. When they enquired of him the reason of his abstaining from eating the food he replied: “Your food is due to Muslims because you have possessed more than was yours by right, contrary to the dictates^514e of the law of Islām.” Islem Shāh notwithstanding this repressed his anger, and referred the enquiry into the truth of that dispute,^514f and the decision of that contention to the ‘ulamā.

Shaikh ‘Alā'ī vanquished every one of them in argument by virtue of his quickness of intellect and clearness of apprehension, ^401. and whenever Mīr Saiyyid Rafīu-d-Dīn (who died in the year 954 H.) was engaged^514g in citing the traditions which existed relating to the appearance of the promised Mahdī, and the signs by which he would be known, Shaikh ‘Alā'ī used to say, “you are a Shāfī‘ite by religion^514h and we⁵¹⁴ⁱ are Hanifites, the fundamentals of your traditions are different from those of our's;” How can we accept^514j your explanations and interpretations on this question? Nor did he spare^514k even Mulla ‘Abdu-llah himself in his criticism of a single point, saying to him, “you are one of the learned men of the world and a thief of religion, and you engage in so many illegal practices that you have put yourself outside the pale of equity, so that even to this time the sound of pipe and tabor may be plainly heard issuing from your house, and in accordance with the true traditions of the prophet, upon him be peace and blessing, a fly which settles upon filth is by degrees better than learned men who⁵¹⁵ have made kings and emperors the object of their ambition and gad from door to door.

Verse.

Learning which exists for the sake of palace and garden
Is like a lamp to the night loving thief.

In accordance with these premisses he uttered so many scathing satires [on those who preach but do not practise, citing in support of his^515a arguments examples from the Qur'ān and Traditions] that Mulla ‘Abdu-llah was not able to say a single word in defence. One day in the midst of the argument it happened that the learned Mulla Jalāl Bhīm^515b of Āgra, having turned up that tradition which relates to the description and evidences of the promised Mahdī,^515c read as follows,^515d Ajallu-l-jabhah,^515e on the form of the af‘alu-t-tafẓīl derived from jalāl; Shaikh ‘Alā‘ī smiled, and said, “Good Heavens!^515f You have given yourself out to the world as a marvel of learning, and yet you cannot read with a proper pronunciation, you have no knowledge of the delicacies, and subtleties and minutiæ of the science of tradition.⁵¹⁶ The real reading is Ajlāu-l-jabhah^516a which is the form Afa‘alu-t-tafẓīl from jalā, not from jalāl which is your own name.”

^402. He was abashed and said not another word.^516b They likewise relate concerning Shaikh Mubārak^516c that he was an ally^516d of Shaikh ‘Alā'ī in this assembly, and from that day^516e he became known^516f as Mahdawī, and Islem Shāh being deceived^516g by his speech and explanations used to say “You must have been in the habit of expounding the meaning of the Qur'ān,” he also gave a message to the Shaikh in these words “Give up this claim of yours to be the promised Mahdī,^516h and renounce this pretensiou secretly⁵¹⁶ⁱ in my hearing, and I will make you chief overseer of religion in the whole of my dominions, and whatever lawful orders you have been in the habit of issuing without my authority, continue henceforth to issue these same commands with my permission. Otherwise, the ‘Ulamā of this time have given their decision that you should be killed and gibbetted, but I will revise their sentence, for I am not willing that your blood should be shed. The|Shaikh, however, who had been successful at every step, and in this easy pretension and partial object of attainment had got beyond the power of even Islem Shāh,^516j cared nought for any ruler and addressed⁵¹⁷ him in these words, “why should I change^517a my own belief at your bidding.”

If thou desirest safety, reproach is right
If safety is lost, reproach is a mistake.

In the meantime tidings reached Islem Shāh^517b daily “To-day such and such an Afghān^517c general has gone over to the following of the Shaikh and sided with him, giving up all worldly considerations.”

The following day Bahmān and Mulla ‘Abdu-llah spent every moment in urging Islem Shāh to put the Shaikh to death. At last Islem Shāh gave orders for his expulsion,^517d and forbade him to remain in his kingdom, and ordered him to go to the Dakkan. Shaikh ‘Alā'ī who had for years^517e desired to travel in the Dakkan and to see how the Mahdawī ideas were progressing there, hearing this good tidings recited^517f the text Verily God's earth is wide.^517g

Then he arose and started without delay for that country.

Qāsim, curtail thy speech, arise, and take thy way, ^403.
Cast the sugar to the parrots, cast the carcase to the vultures.

On his arrival at Handīya,^517h which is the frontier of the Dakkan, Bihār Khān, who was entitled Ā‘ẓam Humāyūn Sirwānī, the governor of that place, kept him for some time in his own family, and having embraced his tenets used to go daily to hear his preaching, and half⁵¹⁷ⁱ his army, nay more than half, sided with him; this news was brought to Islem Shāh by runners, and roused his indignation. Makhdūmu-l-Mulk took great pains to paint the event in glowing colours, and misrepresented it to Islem Shāh so that orders were issued summoning Shaikh ‘Alā'ī. Just at this juncture Islem Shāh had left Agra for the Panjāb⁵¹⁸ with the intention of quelling the disaffection of the Nīyāzī faction; when he arrived opposite to Baiāna at the halting-place of Bahrsūr, Makhdūmu-l-Mulk said to Islem Shāh “we have earned a few days respite^518a from the lesser evil” by which he meant Shaikh ‘Alā'ī, “but the great evil, that is Shaikh ‘Abdu-llah Nīyāzī, who is the instructor of Shaikh ‘Alā'ī and the spiritual guide of the Nīyāzī faction, and always remains in the hill country of Baiāna accompanied by three or four hundred men fully armed and equipped, and raises disturbances there, is still flourishing.” The fire of the anger of Islem Shāh, who was thirsting for the blood of the Nīyāzīs, was fanned into flame by this breath^518b of suggestion, and he ordered Mīyān Bahwa Lūhānī^518c the Governor of Baiāna, who was one of the special adherents^518d of Shaikh ‘Abdu-llah, to produce the Shaikh. Mīyān Bahwa went to the Shaikh and said: It seems to me to be the best course for you to hide yourself for a few days in accordance with the saying “one should avoid misfortune” and migrate from this city to some other place, then perchance the king will forget^518e all about you and never make an attempt of this kind again,^518f and you will have met the emergency,^518g while I for my part shall have a good excuse.

Verse.

^404. Fear not a misfortune when the night intervenes between it
and you.

Shaikh ‘Abdu-llah would not agree to this suggestion^518h of his, and said, “this is an arrogant monarch and Makhdūmu-l-Mulk is always watching for an opportunity. If they go still further away and then send for me it will cause me great annoyance; for this reason, seeing that he is only ten krohs distant, I had better interview him now, and as for the question of mastery here and there, it will be all one whether it is to be now or in the future, since whatever is predestined will come to pass.”

Man proposes and God disposes.

Verse.

The reins of affairs are not in the hands of one who looks to
advisability,
Yield the reins into the hands of Fate, this is the advisable
course.

Accordingly he set out by night from Baiāna, and had an interview with Islem Shāh in the morning as he was mounted ready to march, and greeted him with ‘Peace be to you.’ On the instant Mīyān Bahwa seized him by the nape of the neck and bent his head down saying:⁵¹⁹ “My friend the Shaikh this is the way they salute^519a kings.” The Shaikh looked savagely in his direction ^519b and replied: “The salutation which is in accordance with the sunnat,^519c and which is that which the friends of the Prophet, may the peace and blessing of God be upon him and his family, used to make,^519d and which he, may the peace and blessing of God be upon him and his family, used to give them in response, is this very form of salutation, I know no other.” Islem Shāh, with evident aversion asked:^519e Is this the master of Shaikh ‘Alā'ī? Mulla ‘Abdu-llah who was lying in wait for him said: The very man. By order of Islem Shāh he was at once seized and most unmercifully beaten with sticks, and kicked and cuffed; the Shaikh as long as he retained consciousness kept repeating this text of the sacred word “Lord forgive us our sins, and our extravagance in our affairs; and make firm our footing, and help us against the misbelieving folk!”^519f Islem Shāh enquired what he was saying Mulla^519g ‘Abdu-llah said: He is calling you and the rest of us unbelievers; Islem Shāh becoming exceeding wroth waxed still fiercer in his efforts to punish and torture him,^519h and kept his retinue ^405. standing⁵¹⁹ⁱ an hour longer while they cudgelled him, and when he thought that the breath had left^519j his body—

One single breath was left as a mediator (between Life and
Death),
That mediator also rose and departed.

he desisted, and went on his way.

A spark of life however remained⁵²⁰ in the Shaikh, so they wrapped him in a raw hide, and kept him warm for a night and a day before a fire, till he recovered. This occurrence took place in the year nine hundred and fifty-five. When he had regained his health he left Baiāna, and commenced travelling, and spent some time in Afghanīstān (Rūh), and some time among the Afghāns of Pattan in the Panjāb,^520a on the confines of Bajwāra between Ambér and Amritsar,^520b and was in the habit of saying:^520c This was the fruit of consorting with argumentative people.

Oh ye lords of contemplation, all my trust is in you,
But ye masters of discussion. I'll have none of you.

Finally he came to Sirhind,^520d and giving up all connection with the manners and customs of the Mahdawī party (moreover he turned all the Mahdawī party from that faith) began to deal with all the followers of Islām according to the tenets of the orthodox school, till eventually in the year 993 H., at the time when the Emperor was on his way to Benares, he summoned Shaikh ‘Abdu-llāh and granted him a portion of madad-i-maāsh^520e land in Sirhind with remainder to his children. And in the year 1000 H., he bade farewell to this transitory world at the age of ninety or thereabout.

Rubā‘ī.

If the courser of the sky give the reins into your hand,
And if the world gives you wealth as the dust under your feet
If your wisdom surpasses the wisdom of Aflāṭūn,^520f
406. These are all as nought, at last you must die.

After that Islem Shāh had overcome the Niyāzī faction, and had returned to Āgra, Mulla ‘Abdu-llāh set about inciting him,⁵²¹ and giving him a song which reminded him of former intoxications, again induced him to summon Shaikh ‘Alā'ī from Hindīya, and to order punishment to be executed upon him, and spared no pains to remind him in the vilest possible way, that Shaikh ‘Alā'ī had been condemned to banishment, whereas now Bahār Khān had become his disciple and follower, and the whole army had shewn their leaning towards him. Seeing that his own relations had sought absolution from him and had adopted his faith, there was great probability of disturbance in the kingdom. Accordingly Islem Shāh summoned Shaikh ‘Alā'ī thence, and used still more strenuous exertions than before^521a to bring matters to a satisfactory settlement, and knowing as he did the ambitious nature of Shaikh ‘Alā'ī, and recognising that there was no other man among the learned men^521b of Dehlī and Āgra capable of settling this dispute, he therefore directed Shaikh ‘Alā'ī to be sent to Bihār to Shaikh Budh^521c the learned physician, in whom Sher Khān had the very utmost confidence, and who is renowned for the authoritative commentary which he wrote upon the Irshad-i-Qāẓī,^521d and bade him act in accordance with his directions.^521e When Shaikh ‘Alā'ī went thither, he heard the sound of singing and musical instruments proceeding from the rooms occupied by Shaikh Budh the physician, and saw in his assembly certain other things repugnant both to the natural feelings and^521f to religious law^521g also, the very mention of which is disgraceful, so felt constrained to enjoin^521h what was lawful and to forbid what was prohibited. Since Shaikh Budh was very infirm⁵²¹ⁱ and aged, and was not strong enough to speak, his family answered for him that certain customs and observances which have obtained vogue in Hindustān are of such a nature that if one should forbid them in any way whatever, worldly injury, and loss both bodily and spiritual⁵²² would inevitably result to the prohibitor, also that the women of Hindustān who as a class are worthless, consider that loss ^407. as the result of restrictive measures, and for that reason become infidels. In any case legalising incontinence was probably a less sin than legalising infidelity.^522a Shaikh ‘Alā'ī said that this is an iniquitous conjecture,^522b as is proved by the fact that, whensoever worldly loss according to their belief is the result of the interference^522c with some prohibited pleasure, and the injunction to obedience is held by them to be the cause of personal death and injury to their property and position, they have not even the fundamental properties of Muslims, so that their conformity to Islām need not even be considered. Seeing that the argument concerns the validity of Nikāḥ,^522d why should one regret^522e the fact of their not being Muslims? for it is said, That which is based upon iniquity is most iniquitous of all.^522f That class therefore stand condemned. Shāikh Budh the physician however,^522g having regard to equity became their apologist and entered a plea for them, praising^522h Shaikh ‘Alā'ī and treating him with the utmost courtesy and respect.

First of all he wrote a letter to Islem Shāh in the following terms, “Seeing that the Mahdawī question is not indissolubly bound up with the faith of Islām, and very great difference of opinion exists as⁵²²ⁱ to the veritable signs by which the Mahdī is to be distinguished, it is accordingly impossible to convict Shaikh⁵²³ ‘Alā'ī of infidelity and impiety. At any rate, all doubts regarding him should be removed. Here books^523a are very scarce, whereas there are sure to be many^523b books in the library of the learned men of your country, let them settle the truth of the matter.”

The sons of the Shaikh impressed upon him that Makhdūmu-l-Mulk ^523c was the Ṣadru-ṣ-ṣudūr,^523d and said, “This opposition of theirs to him has undoubtedly been the cause of your being summoned. At your great age it is far from wise for you to undertake so long a journey, and to undergo the severe fatigue incidental to it.” They accordingly cancelled his first letter^523e and, whether he would or not, secretly wrote another letter^523f as if from Shaikh Budh, couched in terms of flattery of Mulla ‘Abdu-llah, and sent it to Islem Shāh, saying, “Makhdūmu-l-Mulk is one of the most discriminating of the learned doctors of the day. What he says is the truth and his decision is the sound decision.”

At the time when Islem Shāh was encamped in the Panjāb ^408. Shaikh ‘Alā'ī arrived at the camp of Bin Bāū; when Islem Shāh read the sealed letter of Shaikh Budh the physician, he called Shaikh ‘Alā'ī to come close to him and said to him in a low tone of voice, “Do you only^523g say to me in my own ear that you are penitent for having made this claim, you shall then be accorded complete liberty to go where you will^523h and do as you please.” Shaikh ‘Alā'ī however refused to give ear to his proposals and paid no heed to him; Islem Shāh in despair⁵²³ⁱ said to Mulla ‘Abdu-llāh, I leave him in your hands.^523j This he said, and gave orders for him to receive a certain number of stripes in his own presence.^523k Shaikh ‘Alā'ī himself had a wound in his neck, the result of an operation for the pestilence which raged in that year throughout the whole of Hindustān, and had destroyed the greater part of the people.⁵²⁴ This wound had to be kept open by a tent,^524a in addition to which he was suffering from the fatigue of his journey, and had hardly a breath of life left in him, so that at the third lash his lofty soul quitted its humble frame and took its flight to the abode promised in the words “In the seat of truth, in the presence of the powerful king”^524b and rested in the pleasant places of which it is said “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard neither hath it entered into the heart of man.” And after his death they tied his delicate body^524c to the feet of an elephant, and trampled him to pieces^524d in the street of the camp, and issued orders forbidding the burial of his corpse,^524e and appointed agents (to see to this). At that very time a vehement whirlwind arose and blew with so great violence, that people thought that the last day had arrived,^524f and great lamentation and mourning^524g was heard throughout the whole camp, and men were in expectation of the early^524h downfall of the power of Islem Shāh.

And they say that in the course of the night such a wealth of flowers was scattered over the body of the Shaikh that he was completely hidden beneath them and was so to speak entombed in flowers.

After this event⁵²⁴ⁱ the power of Islem Shāh lasted barely two years. It was in fact an exact counterpart of the affair of Sulṭān ^409. Jalālu-d-Dīn Fīroz Shāh Khiljī after the execution of Sīdī Maula,⁵²⁵ save that the decay of the kingdom of Salīm Shāh was even more rapid than that of Jalālu-d-Dīn. People considered Mulla ‘Abdūllāh, who was always vexatious to the holy men, to be the cause of all this heart-burning, and this was really the case.

This event took place in the year 957 H. (1550 A.D.) the writer of these pages was at that time ten years of age, and invented the two following chronograms: The first is Ẕākiru-llāh, the second Saqāhum rabbuhum sharāban.^525a

Among the events which happened in the reign of Islem Shāh was the murder of Khawāṣṣ Khān, of which the following is a brief account. When Khawāṣṣ Khān, after the battle with the Nīyāzīs fled to the foot of the hills, Islem Shāh appointed to that district Tāj Khān Karrānī who was the brother of Suleimān Karrānī, and the most learned and able of the whole Afghān line, and wrote a command from his camp at Bin Bāū, that they were to induce Khāwaṣṣ Khān, even if it were by means of treaty oaths, to come down from the hills, and put an end to him. However Tāj Khān was unable to effect^525b anything owing to the impregnability of that mountain retreat, and accordingly sent Khawāṣṣ Khān the message of Islem Shāh promising him safety.^525c He, relying upon the word of a Muslim, came^525d and had an interview with Tāj Khān, who instantly^525e had him put to death and sent his head^525f to Salīm Shāh at the township^525g of Bin (Bāū), and after burying his body^525h at the township of Sarastu, in the neighbourhood of Sambal, transferred it thence to Dihlī. This event happened in the year 959 H. (A.D. 1551). As a chronographical record they invented the words Muṣībat ba‘ālam shud,⁵²⁶ that is to say, A calamity for the world.

One of his magnanimous acts was the following. On his arrival ^410. at Kalpī in the company of Shīr Shāh he gave two laks of rupees to the sweetmeat sellers of that city so that they might send sugarcane to Rautanbhor without intermission. In the same way also he gave money to all the mango gardens of Baiāna, so that they might send mangoes day after day^526a to the halting-places for the poor and necessitous.

In the meantime Shīr Shāh died, and Salīm Shāh appointed persons who recovered the sum of twenty-four thousand rupees^526b which remained of that money, and on receiving it put it into the treasury.

In this same year Shaikh ‘Abdu-l-ḥaiyy, the son of Shaikh Jamālī Kanbāwī of Dihlī,^526c who was adorned with excellencies of science and poetry,^526d and was a devout man,^526e and the boon companion and specially favoured intimate of Islem Shāh, delivered up the life entrusted to his keeping, and Saiyyid Shāh Mīr of Āgra invented the following chronogram:— He said —

My name in itself would furnish the tārīkh
At such time as ‘abd (the slave) was not in the midst of it.^526f

Among the events which happened during the time that Islem Shāh was encamped at Bin was the following. One day in the interval between two times of prayer Islem Shāh was sitting at ease upon his roadster,⁵²⁷ and was proceeding with a small escort from the camp to visit the fort of Mān Gaṛh,^527a which lies at a distance of five or six krohs or thereabouts, in accordance with his usual custom, when suddenly a man sprung up in front of him and blocking the road, holding a sword concealed in his armpit like the proverbial Taabaṭa Sharran,^527b under pretence of seeking redress (for some grievance) came forward and aimed^527c a blow at him. Salīm Shāh, however, with great adroitness caught the blow upon the head of his whip. The handle of the whip was cut through and a slight wound was inflicted upon his face. When the man raised his arm to strike a second blow Salīm Shāh sprang forward and hurled himself upon that ruffian, and wrested the sword from his hand. At this instant Daulat Khān Ajyāra, the son of Saẓāwal Khān, who was the chosen intimate and bosom friend of Islem Shāh, galloped up and dealt a blow at that ^411. miscreant. Others also came up and enquired from him the reason for his action. Salīm Shāh did not approve of this^527d and said: ‘This wretch will destroy the houses of numberless people, lose no time in taking due vengeance on him.’ However he recognised that sword as the one he had given to Iqbāl Khān. This Iqbāl Khān was one of the scum and off-scourings of Hindustān who had rendered Shīr Shāh several services. He was so exceedingly ill-favoured,^527e mean-looking, and oafish in appearance that they used to call him Raḥmatu-llāhī, which in Hindustān is the term applied to a weaver.⁵²⁸ Islem Shāh himself^528a had raised him from the very lowest of the low, and had given him a position of intimacy with the highest, so that he made him the envy of the noble Amīrs,^528b and would not permit him to be out of his sight for one moment. From that day forward, when he recognised that sword, he deprived him of his rank, so that^528c he made him an example^528d of the saying: Everything returns to its original state; but in spite of the incitation of the Amīrs of the Afghāns that he should put him to death, he replied, “I am heartily ashamed to destroy the man of my own training.^528e

Verse.

Water cannot swallow down wood, knowest thou why?
It is ashamed^528f to destroy that which it has reared.

Islem Shāh, who had for this same reason become distrustful of Afghāns, now became afflicted with complications of his disease, and increased the opium in his wine,^528g and the snake-bitten one drank a draught of poison,^528h and thirsting for the blood of the Afghāns, became more than ever⁵²⁸ⁱ set upon eradicating them. The crisis was as though it was saying to him:

Verse.

Thou hast laid a foundation, which will destroy thy family,
Oh, thou whose family is destroyed, what a foundation thou
hast laid!

After these events Islem Shāh returned⁵²⁹ towards Gwāliār, which he had made his metropolis, and had arrived at Dihlī^529a when tidings arrived that Muḥammad Humāyūn Pādshāh had reached the banks of the Indus, with the aim of conquering Hindustān. Islem Shāh just at the^529b very moment when this tidings arrived, ^412. had applied a leech^529c to his throat, but instantly took it off, dashed some water upon his head,^529d and binding up his throat with linen rags^529e ordered his army to proceed, and^529f the first day covering three krohs, encamped, and the rank and file of his army who were at the last gasp from drunkenness, involuntarily followed him as though led by a halter round their necks. Certain of the Vazīrs who were well-disposed to him^529g represented that inasmuch as a powerful foe had come against him, and his soldiery were worthless, it would be just as well if orders were given for their pay to be issued to them. Islem Shāh replied that if^529h he were to give them money at that particular time they would attribute it to his being weak and in straits, so I will wait, said he, till my return after this victory,⁵²⁹ⁱ when I will give them, with one stroke of the pen, two years pay. The soldiers had patience and without a murmur awaited what fortune Providence would bring them, at the same time expecting some sudden calamity,^529j and in spite of their state of unpreparedness arrived at the encampment. When it was reported to Islem Shāh that the artillery was ready, but that, as the bullocks^529k for the gun-carriages had been left at Gwāliār, they awaited his orders, he replied, ‘What possible use are such a crowd of thousands of infantry and cavalry, are they to get their monthly pay for nothing?’ accordingly he made them all do the work of bullocks,⁵³⁰ and ordered them to drag the gun carriages, thus proving the truth of the following:—

Verse.

These whom you see are not all human beings,
Most of them are tailless oxen and asses.

Some of the large mortars were of such a size that it took one or two thousand men, more or less, to drag each one.^530a At this rate of speed they reached the Panjāb in the course of seven days. Humāyūn Pādshāh in person, in accordance with certain advantageous plans he had formed, advanced as far as Banbhar,^530b at the skirt of the mountain range to the north of the Kashmīr ^413. frontier,^530c and then returned towards^530d Kabul. A short resumé of these events will be given in its proper place if the Most High God so will it.^530e

Islem Shāh also upon hearing this tidings^530f fled^530g with all haste from Lāhor to Gwāliār. In the course of his retreat arriving in the neighhourhood of the township of Anberī,^530h he was occupied in hunting, when a band of ruffians,⁵³⁰ⁱ at the instigation of certain of the Amīrs, blocked his path, and meditated doing him harm, but a messenger arrived who informed Islem Shāh of this design, and he consequently entered the city by another road,^530j and after putting to death^530k a number of men, among whom were Bahāu-d-Dīn and Maḥmūd and Madā,^530l who were^530m the fountain heads of the rebellion attempted by the mutineers, imprisoned all persons against whom he entertained suspicion, afterwards putting them to death. Then he threw open the doors of the treasury and issued a public order directing the issue of two years pay to the soldiery,⁵³¹ and sent written despatches to the Amīrs of five thousand and ten thousand to this effect. Some of the troops received the pay, others did not. At this very time the army of Fate, who is the most powerful of all powerful foes, made an onslaught upon him.^531a

Verse.

That man owned a single ass, but had no pack-saddle,
He found a pack-saddle, but in the meantime the wolf had
made off with the ass.^531b

^531c Among the forces which overthrew him was, it is said, a carbuncle which appeared in the neighbourhood of his seat, others assert that it was cancer.

He was beside himself with pain and^531d had himself bled, but without relief. Whilst in this state of distress and prostration, he used from time to time to say, ‘I had no idea that God was so extremely powerful,’^531e and while in this condition, as long as he retained consciousness he ordered Daulat Khān to sit facing him, and would not cast a glance in any other direction save on ^414. his face alone.^531f

Verse.

Maḥmūd gives not a soul to the Angel (of Death)
Until he sees him in the form of Ayāz.

Notwithstanding the fact that he had lapsed into unconsciousness, he would now and hen open his eyes, and these words would come⁵³² to his lips ‘Where is Ajyāra.’^532a They say also that although he found it excessively difficult to turn from one side to the other, yet he would not consent to their giving Daulat Khān the trouble of coming in front of him, but he would say, ‘Please turn my face in his direction.’

One day he saw that Daulat Khān was absent and asked ‘where can he be?’ They replied he has probably gone to the house of one of his relatives. Then he knew that to all appearance he was playing a time-serving part with others. At that moment Daulat Khān arrived and Islem Shāh quoted this verse:—

Thou knowest my value, how faithful I am^532b
Stay! before thou seekest the companionship of other friends.

It is reported on excellent authority also that Islem Shāh had ordered^532c the treasury-officer that he should give Danlat Khān every day for his personal expenses as much as a lak of tankas, as a matter of course and unasked,^532d but that if asked for a larger sum he should produce it for his use. At last seeing that his condition became more grave day by day, nay, hour by hour, his physicians despaired of relieving him.

Verse.

In one small detail the whole of the philosophers have been
found wanting,
For what can man do against the Eternal decree.^532e
When the natural causes of the pulse depart from the fundamental movement,^532f
The foot of Aflaṭūn himself becomes fixed in the mire of helplessness.
When the conduct of nature turns towards disorder,
The Qānūn⁵³³ of Bū ‘Alī lies useless in the hand. ^415.

At last he left this world of regrets, wounded by countless sorrows, and abandoned his kingdom to the desire of his enemies. The duration of his reign was nine years. His body was taken to Sahsarām and buried by the side of his father. This event occurred in the year 961 H.,^533a and by a coincidence it happened that in the course of this (self-same) year^533b Sulṭān Maḥmūd of Gujrāt, who had adorned the throne with justice^533c and equity and the fear of God, drank the cup of martyrdom at the hands of his servant Burhān.^533d Niẓāmu-l-Mulk Baḥrī,^533e the king of the Dakhan, also took his way to the ocean of non-existence, and Mīr Saiyyid Na‘matu-llāh, whose poetical name was Rusūlī,^533f who was one of the incomparable learned men and a close companion of Islem Shāh, wrote this chronogram:—

Verse.

At one time came the decline of three emperors,
Whose justice made Hindustān the abode of safety:
One was Maḥmūd the Emperor of Gujerāt,
Who, like his empire, was still in the pride of youth;
The second was Islem Shāh, that mine of beneficence,
Whose beloved son⁵³⁴ was Sher Khān;
The third was Niẓāmu-l-Mulk Baḥrī
Who as Emperor was seated on the throne of the Dakhan.
If you ask of me a tārīkh for the death of these three^534a
Emperors?
I answer Zawāl-i-khusrūān.^534b

Islem Shāh notwithstanding his not having read poetry had ^416. many apt quotations in his memory, and being a clever critic, used constantly to practise the art of versification with Amīr Saiyyid Na‘mat Rusūlī,^534c and used to compose many elegant verses and to enjoy listening to those of his fellow poet. Moreover he was highly esteemed by the learned and religious men^534d of his time. They say that when he reached Alwar on his way to the Panjāb, he one day caught sight of Mulla ‘Abdu-llāh of Sulṭānpūr^534e who was at some distance coming towards him; addressing his attendants he said: “Have you any idea who this is who is approaching.” They replied: “Who is it, please inform us.”^534f He said: “Bābar Padshāh had five sons, of whom four^534g left Hindustān and one remained.” They said “and who is that one?” He replied: “This Mulla who is approaching.” Sarmast Khān said: “What is the use of keeping up connection with such a vicious person?”^534h He replied⁵³⁴ⁱ “What can I do, when I can find^534j no better than he?” And when Mulla ‘Abdu-llāh came up he ordered him to sit upon his own throne, and bestowed upon him a bead-roll of pearls, valued at twenty thousand rupees,^534k which had at that moment arrived as a present from some place. He never missed the public prayers, and never touched any intoxicants⁵³⁵ not even jauz,^535a [and Shaikh Salīm Chishtī of Fatḥpūr and Ḥāfiẓ Niẓām of Badāou were both of them his imāms].^535b

Who was called Fīrūz Khān, was raised to the throne in succession to his father at the age of twelve^535c with the title of Pādshāh.^535d The affairs of the kingdom did not prosper in his hands, and Mubāriz Khān the son of Niẓām Khān^535e Sūr, who was brother's son to Islem Shāh,^535f after three days attempted the life of that innocent one, and although Bībī Bā'ī, who was the sister of Mu-bāriz Khān,^535g and the wife of Islem Shāh, fell at his feet and besought him piteously saying: “Ah my brother, spare the life of ^417. this poor harmless boy, and let me take my own way and bear him away^535h to some place where no one will have a trace of him, and where he will have nothing to do with sovereignty, nay, will not even mention the name of kingship.”⁵³⁵ⁱ That pitiless tyrant would not heed her, but entered the palace and cut^535j off the boy's head under the very eyes of his mother. At this day his issue is cut off just as the line of Islem Shāh; and it is said that Islem Shāh had made several attempts upon the life of Mubāriz Khān, and used to say to his wife, “If you value your child keep clear of your brother,⁵³⁶ and if you wish to preserve the one, take away all hope of life from the other.” She used to say in a deprecatory way, “My brother spends all his time in amusing himself,^536a and the robe of royalty is in no way suitable to his standard of ambition; give up the idea of destroying him.”^536b Islem Shāh however, whenever he saw Mubāriz Khān used to say to his wife in a reproachful way, “In the end you will regret this at a time when regret will avail nothing.” And at last the prophecy of Islem Shāh, which he had made by his judgment of physiognomy, was confirmed to the letter.^536c

Verse.

Whatever the young man sees the mirror,
The old man sees that same in the unbaked brick.^536d

Who was the son of Niẓām Khān Sūr,^536f 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.^536g The general public however used to ^418. call him ‘Adlī, and that name even^536h they perverted to Andhlī which has the commonly accepted signification of “blind.”⁵³⁶ⁱ At the commencement of his reign, having heard of the conduct of Muḥammad ‘Ādil ibn Tughlaq Shāh,^536j he used to imitate him in lavishing money, and having opened the doors of his treasury he aimed at securing⁵³⁷ the goodwill of great and small: and he had made arrows tipped with^537a gold of a money value of five hundred tankahs and used to throw them. Whatever^537b 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^537c 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^537d 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.^537e He now gave him the superintendence of all important affairs both military and civil.

Inasmuch as ‘Adlī had originally been accustomed to the profession^537f 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 appears⁵³⁸ 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],^538a whereupon his son Sikandar, who was a brave, handsome, and well built youth spoke fiercely with regard to this jāgīr. Shāh Muḥammad however admonished^538b 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;^538c 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^538d that this dog-seller^538e 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^538f hell-dogs so heavy of head and sleep-stricken⁵³⁹ that they will never wake^539a 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.^539b

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^539c 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^539d others, at last made towards ‘Adlī and^539e 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^539f and took to flight, and were going about distractedly, till at last, after Sikandar had done as much mischief as salt in the yeast,^539g they attacked him simultaneously from all sides. This contest went on for three or four hours, when^539h Sikandar fell to a blow from the sword of Ibrāhīm Khān⁵³⁹ⁱ Sūr, sister's husband to ‘Adlī, and Shāh Muḥammad was struck down by the sword of Daulat Khān Lūḥāni,^539j 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 autocratic⁵⁴⁰ ruler of the province of Bengal, and gave himself the title^540a 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^540b 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,^540c and am ^421. going outside. Do you too come with me and follow my lead,^540d 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,^540e 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^540f himself also started to follow him, in front of the township of Chhapramau^540g 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,⁵⁴¹ and Tāj Khān turning in flight made the best of his way to Chhinār,^541a wherever he found the authorities favourable to ‘Adlī he made prisoners^541b 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,^541c and the Karrānīs on the banks of the river^541d 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^541e 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^541f 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^541g 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.^541h ‘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,⁵⁴¹ⁱ and sent a message saying: “If Rāī Ḥusain Jilwānī,^541j and Bihār Khān Sarwānī, to whom Islem Shāh gave the title of Ā‘ẓam Humāyūn, with some others^541k of the Amīrs noble and renowned, will come and reassure me,^541l then will I in reliance upon their assurances agree to make submission to you.” ‘Adlī⁵⁴² accordingly sent them, and no sooner had they arrived than they gave in their allegiance to Ibrāhīm Khān, giving him the title of Sulṭān Ibrāhīm, and thus putting^542a a different complexion upon the dispute, raised the standard of insurrection against ‘Adlī.

The Khuṭbah was read in the name of Ibrāhīm Khān in Āgra and certain other districts, while ‘Adlī, realising that he was not able to cope with him, left Gwālīar for Bhatta, and thence returned towards Chunār^542b taking with him^542c large amounts of treasure, many elephants and a large following.

After the death of Islem Shāh, at the time when the kings of clans arose,^542d Aḥmad Khān Sūr, one of the cousins of Sher Shāh, who had to wife the second sister of ‘Adlī, a man of distinguished bravery and endurance, sat in conference with^542e the Amīrs of the Panjāb, and implanted in their minds all sorts of evil notions regarding ‘Adlī and of his unfitness, (they being already ill-disposed towards him) and with the aid and assistance of Tātār ^423. Khān Kāsī,^542f and Ḥabīb Khān, and Naṣīb Khān Ṭughūjī, who had attained this title from Sher Shāh,^542g declared open war against ‘Adlī, and^542h assuming the title of Sulṭān Sikandar and reading the Khuṭbah, and entertaining hopes of still further increase of power⁵⁴²ⁱ proceeded to Dihlī and Āgra.^542j

On the other hand, Ibrāhīm having collected a large army confronted Sikandar at Farah,^542k which is situated at a distance of ten krohs from Āgra.

Most of the noted Amīrs, such as Ḥājī Khān Sulṭānī, Governor of Alwar, who was virtually a king, and Rāī^542l Ḥussain Jilwānī^542m and Mas‘aūd Khān and Ḥusain Khān Ghilzāī were on the side of Ibrāhīm. To some two hundred of them Ibrāhīm had given royal tents and standards, and ensigns⁵⁴³ and kettle drums, and it frequently happened that to anyone who came and brought with him ten or fifteen horsemen he gave a sort of makeshift flag-staff with a bit of red rag wrapped round it, simply to gain favour and to attract people, bestowing upon him also a grant of dignity and a jāgīr.^543a In this way nearly eighty thousand men flocked to him; and on the day when Ḥājī Khān came from Alwar and gave in his allegiance to him, he shewed him great favour bestowing upon him a lofty and spacious tent covered on the outside with saqirlāṭ^543b of Portugal, and on the inside with Frankish velvet, had it freshly pitched for him. Moreover he lavished upon Ḥājī Khān magnificent carpets, and vessels of gold and silver and all other requirements on the same scale: accordingly he entered the tent without hesitation and there took up his abode. This treatment occasioned great envy and jealousy^543c among the Amīrs of pure Afghān blood who became disheartened and spared not to express their discontent among themselves. Iskandar, who had a following of twelve thousand men, inasmuch as he estimated the army of Ibrāhīm as being more numerous than his own, shilly-shallied and made overtures for peace, and wrote a treaty in the following terms, that from Dihlī to the eastern extremity of Hindustān as ^424. far as could be arranged,^543d should belong to Ibrāhīm Khān,^543e and that the country of the Panjāb and Multān as far as possible should belong to Sikandar, so that he might attain the object for which the Mughuls came to Hindustān. The Afghāns of both armies, who were blood-relations or connections of each other, were pleased at the prospect of a peaceful settlement, and Kālā Bhār⁵⁴⁴ the brother of Sikandar, and the Amīrs of the Panj Bhaiya which means “the five brothers,” who were^544a with the sword the marvel of the age, made this additional stipulation that if after that Ibrāhīm (Khān)^544b gets possession^544c of the treasury of ‘Adlī and the kingdom of Bhatta, which is near being realised, he shall make us partners in both of these gains, then all well and good,^544d but if not we will annul the peace. Sikandar agreed to this proposition,^544e and the majority of the Amīrs of Ibrāhīm (Khān)^544f impressed upon him that there was no danger to be apprehended from agreeing^544g to this proposal, inasmuch as the treasury and kingdom of Bhatta would certainly be theirs, “and then,” said they, “it will require a man to oppose^544h us (successfully), while for the present, at any rate, we shall have tided over this difficulty satisfactorily:

Verse.

Be not proud, for I hold the staff of wisdom in my hand,
The arm of riot is long (and)⁵⁴⁴ⁱ a stick has two ends.

Ibrāhīm came round to this view but Mas‘ūd Khān and Ḥusain Khān Ghilz'ai with some of the new Amīrs said: “Seeing that in the end the matters in dispute between us and Sikandar will one day have to be decided by the sword, now that our party has increased, while his following is exceedingly small, why should we not decide^544j the matter at once,^544k and not desist until we have secured ourselves against a repetition of this in the future. To agree to peace now will be a confession^544l of weakness on our part, ^425. and an admission of the bravery of our enemies.”^544m Upon ‘Adlī also, who has crept like a rat into his hole, with all his elephants and retinue, the desire of conflict with us is creeping, and that peace which had been concluded has been confounded.” Ibrāhīm Khān put off fighting till after the arrival of Mīyān Yaḥya Tūran, governor of Sambhal, who was famous both as a warrior and as a man of sound judgment. Miyān Yaḥya in the year 961 H. during the disturbances, gave battle in Badāon to twenty of ‘Adlī's Amirs who had been appointed to the district of Sambhal, and defeated them; he then fought a great battle on the plain⁵⁴⁵ of the township of Kandarkhī with Rāja Matar Sen Kahtarīya, who was the former ruler of Sambhal and had collected a great force, and defeated him. The author of this Muntakhab, who was at that time accompanying his father, now deceased, was in the twelfth year of his age,^545a and had gone to Sambhal to study, wrote this chronogram: Chi bas khūb karda and^545b (How well have they done)! Before that he could convey the news to his teacher,^545c the prince of learned men, the guide of connoisseurs, the exemplar of the intelligent,^545d the master of masters, the Mīyān Ḥātīm of Sanbhal, this^545e tidings had already reached him. At the time when he was by way of benediction and blessing giving instruction in the Kanz-i-Fiqh, he said, “Count the letters of this tārīkh which I have spoken without forethought, Fatḥhā-i-āsmānī shud.”^545f I replied nine hundred and sixty, which^545g is one unit short. He answered,^545h I said it with the hamza of Iẓāfat, that is to say, Fatḥhā-i-āsmanī, which is in conformity with the ancient spelling in respect to the value of letters: and in this way it is correct.⁵⁴⁵ⁱ He gave his blessing, and fixed a time for the lesson, and adding a few pages, written with his own hand to the pages which I had ^426. written containing the instruction of the Qāẓī, gave them to me as a souvenir, and entrusted my instruction to Mīyān Shaikh Abūl Fatḥ, the son of Shaikh-allahdīyah⁵⁴⁶ of Khairābād, may God be merciful to him, who is now seated on the throne of instruction and guidance in the room of his father; and inasmuch as Mīyān Yaḥya after taking forcible possession of^546a the country of Kānt^546b -o-Golah and that district, going by way of Badāon had built a bridge across the Ganges at the township of Ahār,^546c and had gone towards Ibrāhīm Khān, I accompanied my father, now departed, may he rest in peace, to Amroha,^546d and was thus separated from that army;^546e and being introduced to the presence of the late Mīr Saiyyid^546f Muḥammad Mīr ‘Adl, may God have mercy on him,^546g with whom he had some hereditary connection, remained some time under his instruction. In short on the day on which Mīyān Yaḥya joined Ibrāhīm Khān, on that very morning Ibrāhīm Khān had drawn up his army and placed Mīyān Yaḥya in the command of the advance guard, while he appointed Hājī Khān to the command of the left division, and Rāi Ḥusain Jilwānī with the Ghilz'ais to the right division. He himself taking the centre drew up in line of battle. On the other side Sikandar Sūr also drew up his forces and came out⁵⁴⁷ from his camp. The right wing of Sikandar's forces (the Panj Bhaiya), carried away the left of Ibrāhīm's army by sheer weight, and after sacking^547a the camp went on to Āgra and pillaging the city issued a proclamation on behalf of Sikandar.^547b

The right of Ibrāhīm Khān's army, however, carried away the left of Sikandar's force, and driving them back pursued them as far as the township of Hodal^547c and Palwal,^547d shouting, Prosperity to Ibrāhīm Khān.^547e Ḥājī Khān at the instant the two opposing ranks closed, passing by the side of his tent,^547f and seeing it had been torn to shreds by the pillaging party,^547g in pretended ignorance of what had occurred hastened to Alwar. A slight engagement ensued with Mīyān^547h Yaḥya Paran who commanded the advanced guard of Sikandar's army, and a wound was inflicted upon the hand of Mīyān Yaḥya and two of his fingers were cut off.⁵⁴⁷ⁱ He did not draw rein till he arrived at Sambhal. Ibrāhīm Khān took up a position on the lower ground with four hundred^547j men, and with his front facing down-hill^547k awaited the attack of Sikandar, the shots from whose mortars^547l passed over the heads ^427. of his men, so that they could not move a step.

When Ibrāhīm saw that the field remained empty and that his troops were scattered like motes in a sun beam,^547m he realised that Sikandar himself was present with the opposing army, so yielding to necessity⁵⁴⁷ⁿ he proceeded to Itāwa. His canopy and all his regalia^547o were taken. Sikandar pursued him as far as Itāwa,^547p where he heard that Jannat Āshīyānī had reached^547q Hindustān: retracing his steps thence he proceeded by continuous marches as far as Sihrind,⁵⁴⁸ he eventually fought a battle there and was defeated. Ibrāhīm leaving there went to Sambal, and collecting an army procured a fresh gold-embroidered canopy, and a month later crossed (the river) with a force of three^548a thousand sowārs by the ford of Kīstī,^548b and (?) made towards Kalpī in order that having collected a fresh army,^548c he might fight ‘Adlī again. At this juncture ‘Adlī had appointed Hīmūn the grocer, who was his vazīr and uncontrolled agent, and had sent him from Chinhār with certain eminent Amīrs, and five hundred elephants like storm clouds (for blackness), and unlimited treasure to proceed to Āgra and Dilhī.

Hīmūn, regarding Ibrāhīm as his own especial prey, considered it essential to overthrow him;^548d Ibrāhīm came out to oppose him^548e ready for battle, and taking up a strong position shewed a resolute determination to withstand him, such as perhaps Rustum, if anyone, displayed before.^548f But for all this, by the decree of the Almighty^548g He was not successful.^548h He was the possessor of all the praiseworthy qualities which should belong to kings.⁵⁴⁸ⁱ He was well formed and well spoken, modest, cultured and refined,^548j daring and liberal, but success in war is God-given,^548k and it is not in mortals to command it, it was not his fate^548l to win. Accordingly in this space of two years of disorder he must have fought^548m sixteen or seventeen battles, and on every occasion after gaining a success ^428. met with a defeat. God preserve us from failure after success.⁵⁴⁸ⁿ

Ibrāhim Khān after this⁵⁴⁹ defeat, leaving Kalpī made straight for^549a Baiāna with all speed, and Hīmūn pursuing him arrived at Baiāna. Ibrāhīm Khān taking a body of the Nuhānī^549b and Afghān cultivators^549c and landholders of Baiāna, again^549d went out to meet Hīmūṇ, and, making a night attack upon him, the following morning fought a fierce battle with him near to the township of Khānwah, ten krohs distant from Baiāna, but could not prevail against his destiny, and Hīmūn said ‘It is easy to smite a stricken foe’ and rolled him up and inflicted a defeat upon him, so that^549e he was compelled to fortify himself in the fortress of Baiāna, which is a fort of exceeding loftiness and strength. Hīmūn thereupon, making that fortress the centre of his operations, attacked it continuously every day, subjecting the fort to a heavy bombardment;^549f Ghāzī Khān the father of Ibrāhīm Khān^549g kept the fort provided^549h with supplies by way of the mountain passes to the westward of Baiāna. Hīmūn kept up the siege of this fort for three months, and made inroads on the districts of Baiāna on all sides, pillaging and destroying.⁵⁴⁹ⁱ Nearly all the books which my late father^549j possessed in Baṣāwar^549k were destroyed. A severe famine prevailed throughout the eastern^549l portion of Hindūstān, especially in Āgra, Baiāna, and Dihlī. It was so severe a famine that one ser of jawārī^549m grain had reached two half-tankahs, and was in fact not to be had (even at that price). Men of wealth and position had to close their houses, and died by tens or twenties or even more in one place, getting neither grave⁵⁴⁹ⁿ nor shroud. The Hindūs also were in the same plight, and the bulk of the people were fain to live on the seeds of the Mughailān thorn⁵⁵⁰ and on wild herbs,^550a also on the skins of the oxen which the rich slaughtered and sold from time to ^429. time; after a few days their hands and feet swelled^550b and they died. As a date for that year the phrase Khashm-i-Īzad^550c (Divine wrath) was invented.^550d The writer of these pages with these guilty eyes of his saw man eating his fellow-man in those terrible days. So awful was their aspect that no one dared let his glance rest upon them; and the greater part of that country, what with scarcity of rain, and shortness of grain,^550e and desolation, and what with the constant struggle and turmoil, and two years continual anarchy^550f and terror, was utterly ruined, the peasantry and tenants disappeared, and lawless crowds attacked^550g the cities of the Muslims. Among the strange^550h incidents of the year 962 H., during the time of the war between Sikandar and Ibrāhīm, was the fire which occurred in the fort of Āgra. The following is a short account of this incident. During the time when Āgra⁵⁵⁰ⁱ was emptied of the troops of ‘Adlī,^550j one of the Amīrs^550k of Ghāzī Khān Sūr entered the fort of Āgra and took up his abode there,^550l to make certain preparations and to take charge of the supplies; while he was engaged in inspecting^550m the rooms of the warehouses, he happened to go early one morning into one of the rooms,⁵⁵⁰ⁿ and was going round^550o carrying an open lamp,^550p a spark from which fell in one of the rooms which was full of gun powder. In the twinkling of an eye an explosion occurred,⁵⁵¹ and the flames shot up to the sky, attended with a violent shock, which led the people of the city to imagine that the judgment-day had arrived, and starting from their sleep they began repeating the formula of Tauḥīd (Declaration of Unity),^551a and Tauba^551b (Repentance), and Istighfār (seeking for pardon). Heavy slabs of stone and massive pillars were hurled^551c through the air to a distance of several krohs across the river Jamna, and great number of people were killed,^551d in fact human hands and feet, and the limbs of all kinds of animals were thrown five or six^551e krohs. As the name of the citadel of Āgra was originally Badal Gaṛh, the words Ātash-i-Badal gaṛh^551f made a chronogram to record the date.

In the days when Hīmūn blockaded the fortress of Baiāna God's people were crying for bread and taking each other's lives,^{551g 430.} a hundred thousand sacred lives were as nought for a single grain of barley, whereas the elephants of Hīmūn's army, which numbered five-hundred, were fed solely upon rice, and oil, and sugar; the senses^551h were shattered by anguish upon anguish in that terrible time:—

Verse.

We cherish enemies, we also destroy friends,
What mortal has the power to question our decrees.

On one occasion Hīmūn was one day presiding at a public banquet, and summoning the Afghān Amīrs⁵⁵¹ⁱ into his presence, to the head of the table⁵⁵² urged them to partake of food, saying: “Help yourselves to the largest morsels,” and if he saw anyone of them eating slowly no matter who he was,^552a he would address him^552b in terms of the foulest abuse saying: “How can such a nondescript nonentity as you who are sluggish in eating your victuals hope to contend against your own son-in-law the Mughul in battle.” As the fall of the Afghān power was near at hand,^552c they had not the courage to say a word to that foul infidel, and laying aside all that disregard of superior force^552d for which they were renowned, swallowed his insults^552e like sweetmeats, either from fear or hope,^552f this had become a regular practice with them.

Verse.

Lay not your hand obsequious on my foot,
Give me but bread, and brain me with your boot!

In the meanwhile news reached Hīmūn that Muḥammad Khān Sūr, Governor of Bangāla, had assumed the title of Sulṭān^552g Jalālu-d-Dīn, and was marching with an army^552h like the ants and locusts for multitude from Bangāla, and having reduced Jaunpūr was making for⁵⁵²ⁱ Kālpī and Āgra. Just at this juncture an ^431. urgent summons^552j arrived from ‘Adlī to Hīmūn in these words: “At all costs come to me at once as I am confronted by a powerful enemy.” Hīmūn thereupon abandoned the siege, and when he arrived at Manḍāgar,^552k which is distant six krohs from Āgra, Ibrāhīm (Khān)^552l like a hungry hawk which leaves^552m its nest and pursues the crane, pounced upon him, and hurled against him in battle, but being defeated went towards Alwar. Then, after obtaining⁵⁵³ reinforcements from Hājī Khān Alwarī,^553a he again set about^553b accomplishing his own objects, and Hīmūn detailed^553c his brother's son named Thar Yāl^553d with a fully equipped army to pursue him. Thar Yāl^553e marching with restless haste pursued Ibrāhīm for two stages, and joined Hīmūn; Hājī Khān was not pleased at Ibrāhīm's coming, nor would he send him any assistance. Ibrāhīm being disheartened^553f turned aside, and bidding farewell to his father, brothers, and all his blood-relations, left them in Hindūn, and, with a small band of followers took the road to Bhatta. Eventually Ghāzī Khān a short time after, fell a prisoner into the hands of Ḥaidar Khān Chaghta in Baiāna, relying upon assurances,^553g and great and small of his party were put to death, and not a single one of that line was left, as will be related in its proper place,^553h if God Most High so will it; and now that kingdom and empire, and the independence of that family have become as an idle tale. How wonderful are the ways of God!

Maṯnavī.

The world is a juggler decrepit and bowed,
It brings to pass one thing but promises another;
It calls you with kindness but drives you away with rancour;
All its dealings are invariably of this nature.
If it calls you know not whither it calls you,
If it drives you forth you know not whither it drives you.
All of us, old and young, are destined to death,
No one can remain in the world for ever.

Inasmuch as everyone liked Ibrāhīm Khān who was considered by all to have a wonderful fortune in store for him, in a short time large numbers gathered to him from all parts. He fought ^432. with the army⁵⁵³ⁱ of Rām Chand, the ruler of Bhatta, but was forced to flee⁵⁵⁴ and was taken prisoner. Rājā Rām Chand, in accordance with the customs of landholders,^554a made him a present of a bow, and treated him with the utmost honour and respect,^554b and in a personal interview^554c presented him with a royal tent, with the apparatus of royalty, and attendants: then seating him upon the throne, standing humbly as a servant, performed the offices of attendance.

Ibrāhīm Khān^554d spent some time there, till Bāz Bahādur the son of Sazāwal Khān, Ruler of Mālwa, who eventually read the Khuṭbah in that country, became involved in a quarrel with the Miyānī Afghāns, who summoned Ibrāhīm Khān^554e and raising him to the supreme command, sent him against^554f Bāz Bahādur. Rānī Durgāwatī the ruler of the country^554g of Kara Katanka also, who was embroiled with Bāz Bahādur on account of the proximity of her kingdom, rose up^554h to assist Ibrāhīm, and went out to fight against Bāz Bahādur, who made overtures for peace⁵⁵⁴ⁱ and dissuaded the Rānī from assisting Ibrāhīm. She, accordingly, returned to her own country, and Ibrāhīm, not considering it advisable to remain there any longer, went off bag and baggage to Orissa, which is the boundary of Bangāla, and lived on good terms with the zamīndārs. Suleimān Karrānī, when he took possession ^554j (of Orissa), made terms with the Rājā, and sending for Ibrāhīm with assurances of safety, slew him treacherously in the year 975 H.

Verse.

Fix not thy heart on this world, for it has no foundation,
Speak not of life, for that too is ruined.
The tent of life which thou placedst at first,
Death^554k will surely uproot, were it of solid steel.

Hīmūn proceeded by rapid marches till he joined ‘Adlī.⁵⁵⁵

‘Adlī and Muḥammad Khān Gauria were at that time sitting down over against one another, with the river Jamna between them, at a place called Chhappar Khatta, fifteen krohs from Kalpi. ^433.

Gauria, confidently relying upon his superior force to overcome the forces of ‘Adlī, had drawn up his cavalry and infantry and elephants to a number surpassing all computation, and was every moment^555a expecting victory, when suddenly the scale turned against him, and Hīmūn swept down upon him like a comet, and no sooner did he reach the ranks of the picked elephants after crossing the river Jamna,^555b than he swooped down upon the army of Gauria, taking them unawares as does the army of Sleep, and making a night-assault gave no one time so much as to lift his hand.

They were in such utter confusion^555c that no man knew his head from his heels, nor his turban from his shoes. The greater part of his Amīrs were slain, while the remnant who escaped chastisement took to flight. The wretched Gauria was so effectually concealed that up to the present not a trace of him has been found, and all that retinue and paraphernalia of royalty^555d and grandeur became “like the scattered moths and like flocks of carded wool,”^555e and became in a moment the portion of the enemy. The kingdom is God's, the greatness is God's.

Verse.

In one moment, in one instant, in one breath,^555f
The condition of the world becomes altered.

After this heaven-given victory and unforeseen triumph, ‘Adlī proceeded to Chinhār and appointed Hīmūn,^555g who who was the commander-in-chief of his army, with abundant treasure and a countless host, elephants of renown, an ornament to the army and a terror to the enemy, to repel the forces of the Mughul which had taken possession of the country as far as Itāwa and Āgra, as will be presently related if God Most High so will it.

Just at this juncture Khiẓr Khān, the son⁵⁵⁶ of Muḥammad Khān Gauria, who had been killed, succeeded his father in Kor,^556a issuing the currency and reading the Khuṭbah in his own name, with the style and title of Sulṭān (Muḥammad)^556b Bahādur, and collecting a huge army to revenge his father's death, came up against ^434. ‘Adlī, who notwithstanding his distress^556c fought bravely on that field, and contrary to expectation met with fierce resistance. After fighting manfully ‘Adlī was killed, and joined Muḥammad Khān whose life-blood was yet freshly spilled, fighting in hot blood. This event occurred in the year 962 H. and Gauria bikusht^556d was its chronogram.

Verse.

My soul, do thou look at the world and take what it gives to
thy heart's desire;
Live at thine ease therein a thousand years like Nūḥ.^556e
Every treasure and every store which kings have laid by,
That treasure and that store seize^556f and take for thine own.
Every pleasure which the world contains do thou consider as
made for thee;
Every fruit which grows in the world^556g do thou taste and
take.
In the final round which brings the end of thy life,
A hundred times seize the back of thy hand with thy teeth
and gnaw it (in despair).

‘Adlī was so highly skilled in singing and dancing that Mīyān Tāusīn, the well-known kalān-wat⁵⁵⁷ who is a past master in this art^557a used to own to being his pupil, and Bāz Bahādur, son of Sazāwal Khān, who was also one of the most gifted men of his age and had no equal in this life-wasting accomplishment acquired the art (of music) from ‘Adlī.

Verse.

They owned no rival, but surpassed them all,
May God He is exalted and glorified, pardon them.

One day a performer from the Dakhan brought into his assem- ^435. bly an instrument called pakhāwaj,^557b which is in length^557c equal to the height of a man, so large that the hands of no man could reach^557d the two ends of it, as a sort of challenge to those who were present, and all^557e the performers of the kingdom of Dihlī were unable to play it; ‘Adlī, however, found out by his knowledge of other instruments how to play it, and placing a cushion on the floor beat^557f the drum now with his hand and now with his foot. The assembled people raised a shout and all the skilled musicians owned their allegiance to him, and praised him exceedingly; and at the time when he was an Amīr, and as a commander of twenty-thousand held a jāegīr,^557g a Bhagat boy^557h handsome and comely who had acquired perfection in his art, used to come to his assembly from some of the villages near Badāon, and used to play.⁵⁵⁷ⁱ ‘Adlī was so fascinated by his beauty and skill that he kept him in his own service and took pains to educate him, giving him the name of Mujāḥid Khān.^557j When he attained to kingly power he made him a commander of ten thousand. His natural elegance and refinement were such that one day upon returning from the polo ground of Badāon⁵⁵⁸ he said, “I am hungry.” Ghāzī Khān Sūr whose tent^558a was at the head of the road said “What I have ready is at your service.” ‘Adlī, for politeness sake, felt constrained to accept his hospitality; first they brought some fried sheep's liver.^558b No sooner had he smelt it than he leapt from his seat, and was so disgusted that he left the company^558c and drew rein nowhere till he reached his house; they say also that the sweepers used to gather up the remains of camphor of the finest quality two or three times daily from his dressing-room, and whenever a necessity arose^558d he would first grow red, then pale and livid,^558e and would faint while his countenance changed. In spite of all this leisure and luxuriousness, his fasts and prayers were never duly ^436. performed;^558f he had entirely given up the use of intoxicants, and the day he left the world the treacherous time even grudged him two yards of cloth, and it was never known where his corpse went.^558g

Verse.

Oh ye lords of wealth beware! beware!
And you, ye lords of state, beware! beware!^558h

After him, the kingdom fell away from the race of Afghāns and returned to its original holders, and right once more became established.