Essay on the Religious Policy of Firuz Tughluq

While Firuz has been praised for other reforms, he has been criticized for his religious policy. He was a staunch Sunni Muslim and was prepared to help all those who belonged to his faith. He gave the Ulemas a high place in society and government. It is their decisions that bound the Sultan.

He did nothing without consulting them. He arranged for the marriages of the daughters of poor Muslims. He set up schools and colleges and maintained them at the state expense. However, he was intolerant towards the Hindus and even the Muslim dissenters. He pulled down Hindu temples and “killed the leaders of infidelity who seduced others into error.”

He built mosques in place of the temples. While referring to the Hindus who had assembled for worship in the new temple at Kohana, the Sultan wrote thus: “The people were seized and brought before me. I ordered that the perverse conduct of the leaders of this wickedness should be publicly proclaimed and that they should be put to death before the gate of the palace.

I also ordered that the infidel books, the idols and the vessels used in their worship which had been taken with them, should all be publicly burnt. The others were restricted by threats and punishments, as warning to all men that no Zimmi could follow such wicked practices in a Mussalman country.”

Two Sayyids were put to death in Katehar. When Firuz heart of it, he personally went Katehar and ordered a general massacre of the people. Thousands of innocent person’s were to death and 23,000 persons were made prisoners and converted into slaves. During the next five years, the Sultan visited Katehar every year and repeated the story.

The cruelty was so great the spirits of the murdered Sayyids themselves arose to intercede. That shows the ferocity of t Sultan to punish those who had the audacity of laying their hands on a Sayyid.

During the expedition against Jajnagar, the Sultan caused the idol at Jagannath to be uprooted and treated with every mark of indignity. The new idol temples built in villages of Maluh Tughluqpur and Salibpur near Delhi and in the town of Gohana in the Punjab, were demolish.

It was reported to the Sultan that a certain Brahman was inviting Muslims to worship do The Sultan referred his case to the Ulema, Mashaikh and Muftis. All of them demanded t conversion of the Brahman to Islam. In case he refused to do so, he was to be burnt alive. The Brahman was given the option but as he stuck to his principles, he was burnt to death.

The Sultan imposed Jizya on the Brahmans who had never been taxed before. He called meeting of the Ulema and Mashaikh and addressed them in these words: “The Brahmans are t’ very keys of the chamber of idolatry and infidels are dependent on them. They ought, therefore to be taxed first. The Ulema and Mashaikh also agreed that they should be taxed.”

The Brahmans naturally protested againsts the action of the Sultan and threatened to and burn themselves alive before his palace. It is stated that the Sultan was so much impressed the sincerity of the Brahmans that he reduced the amount of Jizya to be realised by them.

The Sultan offered all kinds of temptations to induce people to embrace Islam. To quote t’ Sultan, “I encouraged my infidel subjects to embrace the religion of the Prophet and I proclaim that every one who repeated the creed and became a Mussalman should be exempt from the Jizy a poll tax.

Information of this came to the ears of the people at large and great numbers of Hind presented them and were admitted to the honour of Islam.” The Hindus who beca: Muslims were not required to pay Jizya. They were also offered temptations of Jagirs, rewards’ cash, titles, hondur and state employment in case they became Muslims.

The Sultan was intolerant towards the Shias and other nor.-Sunni Mussalmans whowe₍ considered to be heretics by the orthodox Sunnis. About the Shias, the Sultan observes thus:’ seized them all and I convinced them of their errors. On the most zealous I inflicted capital punishment and the rest I visited with censure and threats of public punishment. Their books burnt in public and by the grace of God, the influence of this sect (Shias) was entirely suppressed. The Mulhid and the Abahtiyan were imprisoned and banished and their religious practices we stopped.

The Mehdwis were punished and their leader Rukn-ud-Din was convicted of hearsay and he was killed with some of his supporters and disciples. The Sultan tells us that the people to Rukn-ud-Din to pieces and broke his bones into fragments. A similar treatment was given to Sufis.

It is pointed out that “Firuz’s iconoclasm is somewhat incongruous, in view of his tremendo interest in the historical ano cultural past of India. A visit to a library in Kangra led him to ord the translation from Sanskrit into Persian and Arabic of various manuscripts on the subject Hinduism.

He saw the pillars of Asoka at Meerut and Topra and was so fascinated by them he had them transported to Delhi, difficult as this was, and one of them was placed in a command position on the roof of his citadel.

He was curious to know what the inscription said, but no o could read it, the script has changed since the time of Asoka. He was told that it was a magic charm and that it was associated with religious ritual-. If objects of infidel worship had indeed bee so abhorrent to Firuz, he would have had the pillars destroyed: instead, they were placed positions of prominence.”

The Sultan had great regard for the Khalifa of Egypt. He styled himself as the deputy of the Khalifa. During the first six years of his reign, the Sultan received twice a patent of rulership and robes of honour from the Khalifa.

He associated the name of the Khalifa on his coins along with his own name. The name of the Khalifa was read in the Khutba, along with that of the Sultan. A reference may be made to some minor aspects of the domestic policy of the Sultan. The Sultan wanted to make atonement for the sins of Muhammad Tughluq.

He ordered the heirs of those who had been executed during the reign of Muhammad Tughluq and those who had been deprived of a limb, nose, eye, hand or foot to be satisfied with gifts and reconciled to the late king. They were required to give declarations in writing duly attested by certificates.

Those written pardons were put in a chest placed near the tomb of Muhammad Tughluq so that it might help him on the Day of Judgment. All those who had been deprived of their villages, lands and ancient patrimonies during former reigns, were restored to their rights. Their claims were fully examined in courts of law and when those were proved; their property was restored to them.

A plot was formed in 1358 against the life of Firuz. His cousin. Khudavandzada and her husband arranged that the king should be assassinated by armed men on the occasion of the visit of the Sultan to their house.

However, the plot was frustrated by her son Davar Malik who was not in sympathy with the stepfather. He indicated to the Sultan by sings that his Life was in danger and thus caused him to leave before arrangements for his assassination were complete.

On returning to his palace, the Sultan ordered troops to surround the house and the men who would have murdered, the Sultan were arrested. Instead of hanging Khudavandzada, she was merely imprisoned and her wealth was confiscated. Her husband was also banished.