Ziauddin Barani - Revision history

2409:4073:105:DDAA:0:0:18BA:70A5: /* Fatwa-i-Jahandari */Historically incorrect paragraph as there is no source provided and contemporary rulers were not that broad minded

2021-11-16T17:08:56Z

Fatwa-i-Jahandari: Historically incorrect paragraph as there is no source provided and contemporary rulers were not that broad minded

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	'''Ziauddin Barani''' (1285–1358 CE) was a [[Muslim]] political [[Intellectual\|thinker]] of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] located in present-day ~~[[North~~ India]] during [[Muhammad bin Tughlaq]] and [[Firuz Shah Tughluq\|Firuz Shah]]'s reign. He was best known for composing the '''''Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi''''' (also called Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi), a work on [[medieval India]], which covers the period from the reign of [[Ghiyas ud din Balban]] to the first six years of reign of [[Firoz Shah Tughluq]] and the ''Fatwa-i-Jahandari'' which promoted a hierarchy among Muslim communities in the [[Indian subcontinent]], even if historian [[M. Athar Ali]] says that it's not on a racialist basis or even like the [[Hindu caste system]], but taking as a model [[Sassanid]] [[Iran]], which promoted an idea of aristocracy through birth and which was claimed by Persians to be "fully in accordance with the main thrust of Islamic thought as it had developed by that time", including in the works of his near-contemporary [[Ibn Khaldun]].<ref>M. Athat Ali, "Elements of Social Justice in Medieval Islamic Thought" in Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri, ''Recording the Progress of Indian History: Symposia Papers of the Indian History Congress, 1992-2010'', Primus Books, 2012, p. 197</ref>		'''Ziauddin Barani''' (1285–1358 CE) was a [[Muslim]] political [[Intellectual\|thinker]] of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] located in present-day Northern India during [[Muhammad bin Tughlaq]] and [[Firuz Shah Tughluq\|Firuz Shah]]'s reign. He was best known for composing the '''''Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi''''' (also called Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi), a work on [[medieval India]], which covers the period from the reign of [[Ghiyas ud din Balban]] to the first six years of reign of [[Firoz Shah Tughluq]] and the ''Fatwa-i-Jahandari'' which promoted a hierarchy among Muslim communities in the [[Indian subcontinent]], even if historian [[M. Athar Ali]] says that it's not on a racialist basis or even like the [[Hindu caste system]], but taking as a model [[Sassanid]] [[Iran]], which promoted an idea of aristocracy through birth and which was claimed by Persians to be "fully in accordance with the main thrust of Islamic thought as it had developed by that time", including in the works of his near-contemporary [[Ibn Khaldun]].<ref>M. Athat Ali, "Elements of Social Justice in Medieval Islamic Thought" in Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri, ''Recording the Progress of Indian History: Symposia Papers of the Indian History Congress, 1992-2010'', Primus Books, 2012, p. 197</ref>

	==Life==		==Life==
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	The ''Fatwa-i-Jahandari'' is a work containing the political ideals to be pursued by a Muslim ruler in order to earn religious merit and the gratitude of his subjects.<ref name=mahajan/> It is written as nasihat(advices) for the Muslim kings, is a classical work on statecraft which can be compared with Kautilya's Arthashastra and Machiavelli's Prince.<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Roy\|first=Himanshu\|title=Indian Political Thought Themes and Thinker\|publisher=Pearson\|year=2020\|isbn=978-93-325-8733-5\|page=81}}</ref>		The ''Fatwa-i-Jahandari'' is a work containing the political ideals to be pursued by a Muslim ruler in order to earn religious merit and the gratitude of his subjects.<ref name=mahajan/> It is written as nasihat(advices) for the Muslim kings, is a classical work on statecraft which can be compared with Kautilya's Arthashastra and Machiavelli's Prince.<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Roy\|first=Himanshu\|title=Indian Political Thought Themes and Thinker\|publisher=Pearson\|year=2020\|isbn=978-93-325-8733-5\|page=81}}</ref>

	His fatwa would condone segregation of the Muslim ''ashraf'' upper ~~classes~~ and ''ajlaf'' low ~~classes~~, in addition to the ''azral'' ~~underclasses~~ or the converted Muslims who are regarded as "ritually polluted" by the ashraf.<ref name="one">[http://www.anti-caste.org/social-stratification-among-muslims-in-india.html Social Stratification Among Muslims in India] {{webarchive \|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718181635/http://www.anti-caste.org/social-stratification-among-muslims-in-india.html \|date=18 July 2011 }} by Zarina Bhatty</ref>{{sfn\|Partap C. Aggarwal\|1978}}{{sfn\|Bhimrao Ambedkar\|1945}} [[Muzaffar Alam]] argues that, contrarily to what many think, through this aristocratic view of power he doesn't follow secular models (Iranian or Indian), "rather, the interests of the Muslim community define the contours of his ideas on the heredity question", as he saw that during times of political troubles "frequent changes within ruling classes lead to the ruination of illustrious Muslim families", and thus preserving these upper class families, themselves at such place for diverse administrative or military qualities, would lead to the advent of more capable rulers and in the longer run help Muslim interests, Alam to conclude that this hierarchization "was a conscious choice exercized by Barani to serve the narrowly sectarian interests of the early Islamic regime in India<ref>Muzaffar Alam, ''The Languages of Political Islam in India: c. 1200-1800'', The University of Chicago Press, 2004, pp. 41-42</ref>		His fatwa would condone segregation of the Muslim ''ashraf'' upper castes and ''ajlaf'' low castes, in addition to the ''azral'' under-castes or the converted Muslims who are regarded as "ritually polluted" by the ashraf.<ref name="one">[http://www.anti-caste.org/social-stratification-among-muslims-in-india.html Social Stratification Among Muslims in India] {{webarchive \|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718181635/http://www.anti-caste.org/social-stratification-among-muslims-in-india.html \|date=18 July 2011 }} by Zarina Bhatty</ref>{{sfn\|Partap C. Aggarwal\|1978}}{{sfn\|Bhimrao Ambedkar\|1945}} [[Muzaffar Alam]] argues that, contrarily to what many think, through this aristocratic view of power he doesn't follow secular models (Iranian or Indian), "rather, the interests of the Muslim community define the contours of his ideas on the heredity question", as he saw that during times of political troubles "frequent changes within ruling classes lead to the ruination of illustrious Muslim families", and thus preserving these upper class families, themselves at such place for diverse administrative or military qualities, would lead to the advent of more capable rulers and in the longer run help Muslim interests, Alam to conclude that this hierarchization "was a conscious choice exercized by Barani to serve the narrowly sectarian interests of the early Islamic regime in India<ref>Muzaffar Alam, ''The Languages of Political Islam in India: c. 1200-1800'', The University of Chicago Press, 2004, pp. 41-42</ref>

	The work delves into aspects of religion and government and the meeting of those two, as well as political philosophy. He notes:		The work delves into aspects of religion and government and the meeting of those two, as well as political philosophy. He notes:
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	Barani's ''Fatwa-i-Jahandari'' provides an example of his extreme views on religion. He states that there is no difference between a Muslim king and a Hindu ruler, if the Muslim king is content in collecting ''jizya'' (poll-tax) and ''khiraj'' (tribute) from the Hindus. Instead, he recommends that a Muslim king should concentrate all his power on holy wars and completely uproot the "false creeds". According to him, a Muslim king could establish the supremacy of Islam in India only by slaughtering the [[Brahmin]]s. He recommends that a Muslim king "should make a firm resolve to overpower, capture, enslave and degrade the infidels."{{sfn\|Banarsi Prasad Saksena\|1992\|p=355}}		Barani's ''Fatwa-i-Jahandari'' provides an example of his extreme views on religion. He states that there is no difference between a Muslim king and a Hindu ruler, if the Muslim king is content in collecting ''jizya'' (poll-tax) and ''khiraj'' (tribute) from the Hindus. Instead, he recommends that a Muslim king should concentrate all his power on holy wars and completely uproot the "false creeds". According to him, a Muslim king could establish the supremacy of Islam in India only by slaughtering the [[Brahmin]]s. He recommends that a Muslim king "should make a firm resolve to overpower, capture, enslave and degrade the infidels."{{sfn\|Banarsi Prasad Saksena\|1992\|p=355}}

	At the same time, the book makes it clear that the kings of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] did not hold similar views. Barani rues that they honoured and favoured the Hindus, and had granted them the status of [[dhimmi]]s (protected persons). The Muslim kings appointed Hindus to high posts, including governorships. Barani further laments that the Muslim kings were pleased with the prosperity of Hindus in their capital Delhi.

	===Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi===		===Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi===
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			{{Historians of Islam}}
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	[[Category:Historians of India]]		[[Category:Historians of India]]
	[[Category:Indian Muslim historians of Islam]]		[[Category:Indian Muslim historians of Islam]]
			[[Category:Indian political philosophers]]

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{{Short description|Indian Muslim historian and political thinker (1285–1357)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2018}}
'''Ziauddin Barani''' (1285–1358 CE) was a [[Muslim]] political [[Intellectual|thinker]] of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] located in present-day [[North India]] during [[Muhammad bin Tughlaq]] and [[Firuz Shah Tughluq|Firuz Shah]]'s reign. He was best known for composing the '''''Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi''''' (also called Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi), a work on [[medieval India]], which covers the period from the reign of [[Ghiyas ud din Balban]] to the first six years of reign of [[Firoz Shah Tughluq]] and the ''Fatwa-i-Jahandari'' which promoted a hierarchy among Muslim communities in the [[Indian subcontinent]], even if historian [[M. Athar Ali]] says that it's not on a racialist basis or even like the [[Hindu caste system]], but taking as a model [[Sassanid]] [[Iran]], which promoted an idea of aristocracy through birth and which was claimed by Persians to be "fully in accordance with the main thrust of Islamic thought as it had developed by that time", including in the works of his near-contemporary [[Ibn Khaldun]].<ref>M. Athat Ali, "Elements of Social Justice in Medieval Islamic Thought" in Saiyid Zaheer Husain Jafri, ''Recording the Progress of Indian History: Symposia Papers of the Indian History Congress, 1992-2010'', Primus Books, 2012, p. 197</ref>

==Life==
Barani was born to a Muslim family in 1285 in which his father, uncle, and grandfather all worked in high government posts under the [[Sultanate of Delhi|Sultan of Delhi]]. His family were natives of Meerut and Bulandsahar. His maternal grandfather Husam-ud-Din, was an important officer of [[Ghiyas ud din Balban]] and his father Muwayyid-ul-Mulk held the post of ''naib'' of Arkali Khan, the son of Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji. His uncle Qazi Ala-ul-Mulk was the ''Kotwal'' (police chief) of Delhi during the reign of Ala-ud-Din Khalji.<ref name=mahajan>Mahajan, V.D. (1991, reprint 2007). ''History of Medieval India'', Part I, New Delhi: S. Chand, {{ISBN|81-219-0364-5}}, pp.174-6</ref> Barani never held a post, but was a ''nadim'' (companion) of [[Muhammad bin Tughlaq]] for seventeen years. During this period he was very close to [[Amir Khusro]]. After Tughlaq was deposed, he fell out of favor. In "Exile" he wrote two pieces dealing with government, religion, and history, which he hoped would endear him to the new sultan, [[Firuz Shah Tughluq]]. He was not rewarded for his works and died poor in 1357.{{sfn|A. L. Basham|1958|p=458}}

His gravestone lies in the courtyard of Nizamuddin Auliya's [[Nizamuddin Dargah|dargah]] in Delhi, at the entrance of the ''dalan'' of Mirdha Ikram, and near the tomb of Amir [[Amir Khusrow|Khusrau]].
[[File:Ziauddin Barani.JPG|thumb|Tombstone of Barani|334x334px]]

==Works==

===Fatwa-i-Jahandari===
The ''Fatwa-i-Jahandari'' is a work containing the political ideals to be pursued by a Muslim ruler in order to earn religious merit and the gratitude of his subjects.<ref name=mahajan/> It is written as nasihat(advices) for the Muslim kings, is a classical work on statecraft which can be compared with Kautilya's Arthashastra and Machiavelli's Prince.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roy|first=Himanshu|title=Indian Political Thought Themes and Thinker|publisher=Pearson|year=2020|isbn=978-93-325-8733-5|page=81}}</ref>

His fatwa would condone segregation of the Muslim ''ashraf'' upper classes and ''ajlaf'' low classes, in addition to the ''azral'' underclasses or the converted Muslims who are regarded as "ritually polluted" by the ashraf.<ref name="one">[http://www.anti-caste.org/social-stratification-among-muslims-in-india.html Social Stratification Among Muslims in India] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718181635/http://www.anti-caste.org/social-stratification-among-muslims-in-india.html |date=18 July 2011 }} by Zarina Bhatty</ref>{{sfn|Partap C. Aggarwal|1978}}{{sfn|Bhimrao Ambedkar|1945}} [[Muzaffar Alam]] argues that, contrarily to what many think, through this aristocratic view of power he doesn't follow secular models (Iranian or Indian), "rather, the interests of the Muslim community define the contours of his ideas on the heredity question", as he saw that during times of political troubles "frequent changes within ruling classes lead to the ruination of illustrious Muslim families", and thus preserving these upper class families, themselves at such place for diverse administrative or military qualities, would lead to the advent of more capable rulers and in the longer run help Muslim interests, Alam to conclude that this hierarchization "was a conscious choice exercized by Barani to serve the narrowly sectarian interests of the early Islamic regime in India<ref>Muzaffar Alam, ''The Languages of Political Islam in India: c. 1200-1800'', The University of Chicago Press, 2004, pp. 41-42</ref>

The work delves into aspects of religion and government and the meeting of those two, as well as political philosophy. He notes:
{{cquote|Religion and temporal government are twins; that is, head of religion and the head of government are twin brothers.{{sfn|A. L. Basham|1958|p=458}}<ref>Barani, ''Fatawa-yi-Jahandari'', folios 247b-248a</ref>}}

Barani's ''Fatwa-i-Jahandari'' provides an example of his extreme views on religion. He states that there is no difference between a Muslim king and a Hindu ruler, if the Muslim king is content in collecting ''jizya'' (poll-tax) and ''khiraj'' (tribute) from the Hindus. Instead, he recommends that a Muslim king should concentrate all his power on holy wars and completely uproot the "false creeds". According to him, a Muslim king could establish the supremacy of Islam in India only by slaughtering the [[Brahmin]]s. He recommends that a Muslim king "should make a firm resolve to overpower, capture, enslave and degrade the infidels."{{sfn|Banarsi Prasad Saksena|1992|p=355}}

At the same time, the book makes it clear that the kings of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] did not hold similar views. Barani rues that they honoured and favoured the Hindus, and had granted them the status of [[dhimmi]]s (protected persons). The Muslim kings appointed Hindus to high posts, including governorships. Barani further laments that the Muslim kings were pleased with the prosperity of Hindus in their capital Delhi.

===Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi===
The ''Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi'' or ''Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi'' (Firuz Shah's History) (1357) was an interpretation of the history of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] up to the then-present [[Firuz Shah Tughlaq]]. Then interpretation noted that the sultans who followed the rules of Barani had succeeded in their endeavors while those that did not, or those who had sinned, met the [[Nemesis (mythology)|Nemesis]].{{sfn|A. L. Basham|1958|p=458}} Barani is an unfair narrator and generally considered a very unreliable source.<ref name=unreliable1>[url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924073036737#page/n107/mode/2up Sir H. M. Elliot (Henry Miers) & John Dowson, "The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period (Vol 3.)", "chapter 15. Táríkh-i Fíroz Sháhí, of Ziauddin Barani", Trübner & Co., London, pp95]</ref>

But, though Barani refers many times to the sources of information, he did not consult his contemporary works. This resulted in the sketchy description of Ala-ud-Din Khalji’s wars in Chittor, Ranthambhor and Malwa and the Deccan campaigns of [[Malik Kafur]]. The later medieval historians, Nizam-ud-Din Ahmad, Badaoni, [[Ferishta]] and Haji-ud-Dabir depended upon the ''Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi'' for their account of history of the period covered in this work. Abdul Haq Dehlvi in his ''Akhbar-ul-Akhyar'' depended upon the work for the biographical sketches of Nizam-ud-Din Auliya and the other Sufi saints.<ref name=mahajan/>

<u>'''Zawabit'''</u><ref>{{Cite book|last=roy;singh|first=himanshu;M.P.|title=Indian Political Thought|publisher=Pearson|year=2020|isbn=978-93-325-8733-5|page=86}}</ref>

Barani categorized the law into two kinds , the [[Sharia]]t and the Zawabit. The Zawabit were the state laws formulated by the monarch in consultation with the nobility in the changed circumstances to cater to the new requirements which the [[Sharia]]t was unable to fulfill.

The Zawabit, he said must be in the spirit of the Shariat and enumerated four conditions for its formulation as guidelines. They are-

* The Zawabit should not negate the [[Sharia|Shariat.]]
* It must increase the loyalty and hope among the nobles and common people towards the Sultan
* Its sources and inspiration should be the [[Sharia]]t and pious Caliphs
* If at all it had to negate the [[Sharia]]t out of exigencies, it must follow charities and compensation in lieu of that negation

===Other works===
* Salvat-i-Kabir (The Great Prayer)
* Sana-i-Muhammadi (Praises of Prophet Mohammad)
* Hasratnama (Book of Regrets)
* Tarikh-i-Barmaki
* Inayat Nama-i-Ilahi (Book of Gods Gifts)
* Maasìr Saadat (Good Deeds of the Sayyids)
* Lubbatul Tarikh.
Fatawa-i-Dindari

==Work online==
*{{cite book|last=Elliot|first=H. M. (Henry Miers), Sir|author2=John Dowson|title=The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians. The Muhammadan Period (Vol 3.)|chapter=15. Táríkh-i Fíroz Sháhí, of Ziauddin Barani| chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924073036737#page/n107/mode/2up|publisher=London : Trübner & Co.|year=1867}}

==See also==
*[[Caste system among South Asian Muslims]]
*[[List of Muslim historians]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |author=A. L. Basham |author-link=A. L. Basham |title=Sources of Indian Tradition |volume=1 |series=Introduction to Oriental Civilizations |year=1958 |editor=Wm. Theodore de Bary |editor-link=Wm. Theodore de Bary |url=https://archive.org/stream/sourcesofindiant008209mbp#page/n5/mode/2up |publisher=Columbia University Press }}
* {{cite book |author=Banarsi Prasad Saksena |author-link=Banarsi Prasad Saksena |chapter=The Khaljis: Alauddin Khalji |editor=Mohammad Habib and Khaliq Ahmad Nizami |title=A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanat (A.D. 1206-1526) |volume=5 |edition=Second |year=1992 |publisher=The Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_9cmAQAAMAAJ |oclc=31870180 }}
* {{Cite book |author=Bhimrao Ambedkar |author-link=B.R. Ambedkar |title=Pakistan or the Partition of India |publisher=Thackers |year=1945 |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00ambedkar/ambedkar_partition/ }}
* {{cite book |author=Partap C. Aggarwal |title=Caste and Social Stratification Among Muslims in India |publisher=Manohar| year=1978 }}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barani, Ziauddin}}
[[Category:1285 births]]
[[Category:1357 deaths]]
[[Category:14th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:Chroniclers]]
[[Category:Delhi Sultanate]]
[[Category:Historians of India]]
[[Category:Indian Muslim historians of Islam]]