Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak: Difference between revisions

| name          =Abul Fazl

'''Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak''', also known as '''Abul Fazl''', '''Abu'l Fadl''' and '''Abu'l-Fadl 'Allami''' (14 January 1551 – 22 August 1602<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Abu al-Faḍl ʿAllāmī |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |date=10 January 2021 |access-date=18 January 2021 |url= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abu-al-Fadl-Allami }}</ref>), was the [[grand vizier]] of the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Akbar]], from his appointment in 1579 until his death in 1602.<ref>{{cite book |author= Alfred J. Andrea, James H. Overfield | url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Human_Record_To_1700/QJsx7eQ0rwAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=1579+abul+fazl+chief+advisor&dq=1579+abul+fazl+chief+advisor&printsec=frontcover |page= 476 |title= The Human Record: To 1700 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |quote= Abul Fazl(1551-1602), the emperor's chief advisor and confidant from 1579 until Abul Fazl's assassination at the instigation of Prince Salim, the future Emperor Jahangir(r. 1605-1627)}}</ref> He was the author of the ''[[Akbarnama]]'', the official history of Akbar's reign in three volumes, (the third volume is known as the ''[[Ain-e-Akbari|Ain-i-Akbari]]'') and a [[Persian language|Persian]] translation of the [[Bible]].<ref name="abu">[http://persian.packhum.org/persian/bio?anum=0007 Abu al Fazl Biography and Works] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207061715/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/bio?anum=0007 |date=7 February 2009 }} persian.packhum.org.</ref> He was also one of the [[Navaratnas|Nine Jewels]] ({{lang-hi|script=Latn|Navaratnas}}) of Akbar's royal court and the brother of [[Faizi]], the poet laureate of Emperor [[Akbar]].

Abul Fazl ibn Mubarak‘s ancestors hailed from [[Yemen]]. However, it was common during the [[Delhi Sultanate]] and [[Mughal Empire]] for individuals to embellish their ancestral heritage to raise their stature.<ref>{{cite book |page=5 |author=Alvi Azra |title=Socio Religious Outlook of Abul Fazl |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-210-40543-7 |publisher=Vanguard Books |location=Lahore Pakistan}}</ref> He was a descendant of [[Shaikh]] Musa who lived in Rel near Siwistan ([[Sehwan]]), [[Sindh]], until the close of the 15th century. His grandfather, Shaikh Khizr, moved to [[Nagaur]] which had attained importance as a [[sufi]] mystic centre under Shaikh Hamid-ud-din Sufi Sawali, a [[Tariqa#Khalif|khalifa]] of Shaikh [[Moinuddin Chishti|Muin-ud-din]] [[Chisti]] of [[Ajmer]]. At Nagaur Shaikh Khizr settled near the tomb of Shaikh Hamid-ud-din.

Abul Fazl's father, Nagul fazl<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.stetson.edu/secure/history/hy10430/badaoni.html |title=Al-Badaoni. Emperor Akbar |publisher=.stetson.edu |access-date=8 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205201624/https://www2.stetson.edu/secure/history/hy10430/badaoni.html |archive-date=5 December 2013 }}</ref> was born in 1506 at Nagaur. Soon after Fazl's birth, Khizr travelled to Sindh to bring other members of his family to Nagaur but he died on the way. Khizr's death and a famine and [[Plague (disease)|plague]] that ravaged Nagaur caused great hardship to the destitute Mubarak and his mother. Despite these hardships Mubarak's mother arranged a good education for him. One of Mubarak's earliest teacher was Shaikh Attan'who was known for his piety.<ref>{{cite book |page=225 |author=Shattari Ghausi |title=Gulzar-i-Abrar (Rotograph of MS in British Museum) |publisher=Department of History |location=Aligarh}}</ref> Another important teacher who influenced Shaikh Mubarak was Shaikh Fayyazi, a disciple of Khwaja Ubaidullah Ahrar.<ref>Abu'l-Fazl 'Allami, A'in-I Akbari (3 vols.). Vol. 3 trans. H. S. Jarrett, 1894. Vol. 3, pp. 420.</ref> Later he went to [[Ahmedabad]] and studied under Shaikh Abu'l Fazl Gazruni<ref>{{cite book |page=6 |author=Alvi Azra |title=Socio Religious Outlook of Abul Fazl |year=1985 |isbn=978-0-210-40543-7 |publisher=Vanguard Books |location=Lahore Pakistan}}</ref> (who adopted him as a son), Shaikh Umar and Shaikh Yusuf.

Yusuf advised Mubarak to go to [[Agra]] and set up a [[madrasah]] there. Mubarak reached Agra in April 1543 and on the suggestion of Shaikh Alawal Balawal<ref>{{cite book |pages=280–81 |author=Dehlavi Shaikh Abdul Haqq Muhaddis |title=Akhbar-ul-Akhyar}}</ref> set up his residence at [[Charbagh]], which was built by [[Babur]] on the left bank of [[Yamuna]]. Mir Rafi'ud-din Safavi of Inju ([[Shiraz]]) lived close by and Mubarak married a near relative of his. Mubarak established his madrash in Agra where his special field of instruction was philosophy and he attracted a number of scholars to his lectures such as [['Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni|Mulla Abdul Qadir Badauni]]. He also spent some time in Badaun, holy land of Sufism.[[File:Court of Akbar from Akbarnama.jpg|thumb|The court of [[Akbar]], an ill ama]]The orthodox group of ulama criticised Mubarak and accused him of changing his views.<ref>{{cite book |page=74 |author=Mulla Abdul Qadir Badauni |title=Muntakhab-ul-Twarikh Vol III}}</ref> Khwaja Ubaidullah, who was brought up in the house of Shaikh Mubarak's daughter, was of the opinion that Mubarak's views changed with the change in the political climate and he adopted the religious attitudes of rulers and nobles of those days out of expediency.  For example, he was a [[Sunni]] during the reign of [[Ibrahim Lodi|Sultan Ibrahim Lodi]], became a [[Naqshbandi]] during the [[Suri dynasty|Sur]] period, was a [[Mahdavia]] during the reign of [[Humayun]] and a protagonist of [[Din-i Ilahi|liberal thought]] under [[Akbar]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Azra Alavi |title=Socio-religious Outlook of Abul Fazl |year=1983 |page=17}}</ref>

Akbar also records witnessing the passage of the [[Great Comet of 1577]].<ref name="comet1577">{{cite journal|title=Abū'l Faẓl, independent discoverer of the Great Comet of 1577|journal=Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=249–260|last=Kapoor|first=R. C. |bibcode=2015JAHH...18..249K |year=2015 }}</ref>

==Assassination/Death==

The Inshā-i-Abu'l Fazl or the Maqtubāt-i-Allami contains the official despatches written by Abu'l Fazl. It is divided into two parts. The first part contains Akbar's letters to [[Abdullah Khan II|Abdullah Khan Uzbeg]] of [[Turan]], [[Abbas I of Persia|Shah Abbas]] of Persia, [[Raja Ali Khan]] of [[Khandesh]], Burhan-ul-Mulk of [[Ahmadnagar Sultanate|Ahmadnagar]] and his own nobles such as [[Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana|Abdur Rahim Khan Khanan]]. The second part consists Abu'l Fazl's letters to Akbar, Daniyal, Mirza Shah Rukh and Khan Khanan.<ref name="Majumdar" /> This collection was compiled by [[Abd al-Samad|Abd-us-samad]], son of Afzal Muhammad, who claims that he was Abu'l Fazl's sister's son as well as his son-in-law.<ref name="Blochmann, H. 1927" />

With respect to sovereignty, Abul Fazl considered it to be present in nature. The king established his sovereignty through his absolute power, he had the final authority in governance, administration, agriculture, education and other fields. According to Abul Fazl, it was impossible to challenge the king and nobody could share his power.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Roy|first=Himanshu|title=Indian Political Thought themes and thinkers|publisher=Pearson|year=2020|isbn=978-93-325-8733-5|pages=|page=130}}</ref>

Sovereignty was not linked to any particular faith. Abul Fazl promoted the good values of different religions and assembled them for the maintenance of peace. He provided relief to people by making them free from bound thoughts. He also justified the views of Akbar by presenting him as a rational ruler.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roy|first=Himanshu|title=Indian Political Thought themes and thinkers|publisher=Pearson|year=2020|isbn=978-93-325-8733-5|pages=|page=131}}</ref>

[[Category:Indian Muslims]]

[[Category:Historians in the Mughal Empire]]

[[Category:Persian-language writers]]