Sher Shah Suri: Character and Estimate

It was Sher Shah Suri (also known as Sher Shah Sur) who founded Sur dynasty in Hindustan. This dynasty was founded during the years in which the reign of Humayun was broken and it took Humayun 15 years to re-establish his empire in India.

This interlude of fifteen years of the reign of Humayun is important mainly for two reasons. First, it was the last time that an Afghan Dynasty captured the throne of Delhi and ruled over North India from this capital town. And second, the dynasty reinvigorated and reformed the old administrative system in the country and catered her prosperity, order and peace.

Sher Shah Suri: An Introduction

Sher Shah Suri, originally known as Farid, was a man of humble origin. His grandfather, Ibrahim Sur, was a native of the mountainous region of Roh near Peshawar that is situated at the banks of river Gomal. Ibrahim traded in horses but in his business he could not succeed, so in search of employment he migrated to India during the early years of  Bahlol Lodi’s reign. Ibrahim Sur and his son, Hasan, settled at Bajwara (Hoshiarpur district of Punjab).

It was here (at Bajwara), that Farid was born in 1471 (this date was provided by Bhartendu Harish Chandra and Sayyid Ahmad Khan, both, were renowned writers of 19^th century). However, Dr. K.R. Qanungo, a great scholar and an accepted authority on Sher Shah, gives 1486 as Sher Shah’s birth year.

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Sher Shah Suri: As a Man

Sher Shah, as he was not born in a royal family, had to make his way in life through adversity. Perhaps it is the reason behind the assessment that ‘Sher Shah did not possess the culture and personal charm of a born aristocrat’.

After going through Tarikh-i-Daulat-i-Sher Shahi of Hasan Ali Khan, who was a first rate contemporary Persian authority, one comes to know that Sher Shah in his youth was frivolous and his morals were those of a spoiled young man. He had serious differences with his father who was greatly under influence of Sher Shah’s step mother, so he cannot be described as a dutiful son.

Sher Shah, despite he had a good knowledge of Arabic and Persian and he was fond of history and was well educated, cannot be termed as scholor. He cultivated his study of literature and history for their practical use as for Sher Shah study of them was not an end in itself. He used to read Quran every day, because it was necessary, he believed, for a pious Muhammadan to do so.

Sher Shah can be termed as a patron of learned men in the sense in which other Turk – Afghan Sultans of Delhi were; however, at his court no scholar created any outstanding work of politics, history, economics or even theology, what to say of the sciences. Some modern historians have praised Sher Shah for his patronage of learning without taking pains to find out whether it proved effective in promoting learning and producing work of merit. It is important here to mention that Malik Muhammad Jayasi, a very famous writer who flourished during his time, did not attend his court and was not given any patronage by Sher Shah.

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Sher Shah Suri: His Daily Routine

Sher Shah became king (in 1545), he himself remarked that God had granted him sovereignty in the evening of his life, at the ripe age of sixty eight. However, even at that age he exhibited such kind of physical and intellectual activity that could well be an object of imitation for a youth of twenty-five.

Almost all historians have agreed to the fact that Sher Shah used to spend more than sixteen hours a day to the business of the State. He believed in the motto that “It behoves the great to be always active”. Both Abbas Sarwami and Riaz-Ullah Mustaqi, medieval historians, have written that Sher Shah’ had the habit of getting up after two third of the might had passed. After abulation and prayer he would set himself to attend to the business of State: “For four hours he listened to the reading of reports on affairs of the country or on the condition of government establishments. Orders that he gave were reduced to writing, and were issued and acted upon: there was no need for further discussion. Thus he remained busy till the morning (fajar) arrived “(Waqayat-i-Mustaqi in Elliot).

After morning prayer, it was his routine, he would go for an inspection of the army. Then the time of breakfast came. After breakfast, he held the darbar and there till mid-day he openly executed business of the state. His main work at the Darbar was receiving nobles and vassals and envoys from foreign courts. He also scrutinized the revenue obtained from various parganas and verified the accounts of income and expenditure.

Then at noon he sat down for another prayer and retired for rest. He usually spent his evenings in reading Quran and in the company of learned men unless an important work needed his personal attention. There was hardly any change in his routine whether Sher Shah was at his capital or engaged in military campaign.

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Sher Shah Suri: His love of Justice

As a ruler the most important feature of Sher Shah’s character was his love of Justice. He famously said, and perhaps used to say, “Justice is the most excellent of religious rites and it is approved alike by the kings of infidels and of the faithful”. He constantly administered even-handed justice as he considered it as his duty to get to the exact truth about the oppressed and the suitors of justice. He never showed any mercy to oppressors even though they might have been his relatives or his nobles.

Sher Shah, following in the footsteps of most of the ancient India’s kings, practiced the liberal policy of helping the poor and the disable. A large amount of money was spent in charity. Sher Shah set a Charity Kitchen’, where whoever came to the court was fed, at the capital on which 500 tolas of gold were expended every day. This charity alone cost the treasury Rs. 18,25,000 per year.

Sher Shah Suri: Place in History

Sher Shah’s devotion to duty, numerous reforms and love of justice have secured for himself a place of eminence in Indian history. No medieval ruler except Akbar the Great had contributed so much for the welfare of the people. Whether assessed as a leader of men or as a builder of institutions or as an administrator or Statesman he stands undoubtedly above his predecessors. His place in history is very high indeed. It is next to Akbar, who as Dr. K.R. Qanungo has observed, “is justly entitled to a higher place in history than Sher Shah”.

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Evolved into a well developed movement, the Sufi movement, by the 11^th century, Sufism had emerged in the 8^th century and the early known Sufis were Rabia-al Adawiya, Al-Junaid and Bayazid Bastami. The followers of Sufism believe, as the fundamental to Sufism is God, Man and the relation between them that is Love, that from man emerged the theories of ruh (soul), qurbat (divine proximity), and hulal (infusion of the divine spirit) and that from relation between God and Man came into being ideas such as Ishq (divine love) and Fana (self-annihilation).

The Sufis were considered as people who kept their heart pure and sought to establish communication with God through their ascetic practices and doctrine of divine love and union with God. The murid (disciple) has to pass through maqamat (various stages) in this process of experiencing communication with divine.

In India, the Sufi Movement commenced in  11^th century AD. The oldest Sufi in the sub-continent was Al Hujwiri who established himself in North India and was buried in Lahore. In the history of medieval India are recorded the activities of different Sufi orders of Sufism. The most important Sufi Orders of the period were: Chishtitiya, Suharwardiya, Qadiriya and Naqshbandiya. These ‘Sufi Orders’ were popularly known as ‘Sufi Silsilas’.

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The principal features of the Sufi Movement, as it emerged in India, are:

• It was believed by Sufis that for Union with God one needs a spiritual guru or a
• The Sufi pirs lived in Khanqah (the hospice).
• The Sufis were organized in a number of ‘Sufi Orders’ (Silsilas).
• These orders (silsilas), mostly, were led by some important pir or Sufi saint. Generally a silsila was named after the pir and was followed by his disciples.
• The Khanqahs evolved as important centres of learning that were different from madrasas.
• In their Khanqahs many Sufi enjoyed the sama (the musical congregation). Qawwali, a musical form, developed during this period.
• An important form of ritual pilgrimage, the Ziyarat meaning pilgrimage to the tombs of the Sufi saints, developed.
• Almost all pirs were linked with the miracles as most of the Sufis believed in the performance of miracles.
• The different Sufi orders (silsilas) had different approaches about the matters of polity and state.

The Chisthi Silsilah

Muinuddin Chisthi, the founder of the Chisthi Silsilah in the chain of the Sufi Movement, came to India after the invasion of  Muizzuddin Muhammad Ghori and subsequently to Ajmer in 1206. He became popular as Khwaja Muinuddin after his death in 1235, his grave was visited by Muhammad Tughlaq. In the fifteenth century it was Mahmud Khalj of Mqalwa who erected the mosque and dome. After the Mughal Emperor Akbar the dargah’s patronage peaked.

It was Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki who established the presence of the Chisthi Silsilah in Delhi who had come from Transoxiana in 1221 and settled there. By Kaki’s presence the Suharwardis, another order of the Sufi Movement, were threatened and tried to force him to leave by leveling charges against him. However, Iltutmish, the then Sultan of Delhi, dismissed these attempts of Suhrawardis and forced them to relent.

The pirs of the Chisthi Silsilah placed great emphasis on the simplicity of life (life soul of the Sufi Movement), poverty, humility and Selfless devotion to God. According to the pirs of the Chisthi Silsilah, to maintain a spiritual life it is necessary to have control of the senses and this control could only be realized by the renunciation of worldly possessions. Khwaja Muinuddin Chisthi spread the message that the highest form of devotion or God was to rectify the misery of those in distress, fulfilling the requirement of the helpless and to feed the hungry. This Chisthi Silsilah of the Sufi Movement refused to accept any grant for their maintenance from the Sultans.

The best known Chisthi saint of the Sultanate period was Nizamuddin Aulia, who lived in the fourteenth century, the period marked by political change and turmoil. There are numerous stories about the life of Nizamuddin Auliya; famous among them were stories of confrontations between him and the Sultans of Delhi. It is said that the Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya used to maintain a strict policy of not engaging himself with the group and factions of the Sultan’s Court in Delhi, that earned him respect of many people. Nasiruddin Chiragh Delhi was another famous Chisthi saint of Delhi who played an active role in the political affairs of the period.

In the Deccan the Chisthi Silsilah was established by Shaikh Burhanuddin Gharib in the 13^th century. Muhammad Banda Nawaz is among the famous pirs in the region; the Deccan city of Bijapur emerged as an important centre for the Sufi movement.

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The Suhrawardi Silsilah

As the constituent of the Sufi Movement, the Suhrawardi Silsilah was founded by Shihabuddin Suhrawardi in Baghdad. In India it was established by Bahuddin Zakariya. The Suhrawardi, unlike Chisthis, accepted maintenance grants from the Sultans. They believed that a Sufi should own the three attributes of property, knowledge and hal (mystical enlightenment). Suhrawardi saints took the position that this was necessary to ensure that they served the poor better. They stressed on observance of external forms of religious belief and advocated a fussion of ilm (scholarship) with mysticism.

The practices of the Chisthi Order were rejected by the pirs of Suhrawardi order; these practices involved bowing before time of initiation into silsilah. After the death of Bahuddin Zakariya, the silsialh continued to play an important role in Punjab and Sindh.

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Naqshbandi Silsilah

This Silsilah was established in India by khwaja Bahauddin Naqshband. From the very beginning the mystics of this order emphasized on the observance of Sharint and denounced all innovations or biddat. According to the philosophy of this Silsilah, the relationship between man and God was that of between the slave and the master and not the relation of a lover and beloved. They, in fact, tried to harmonize the doctrines of mysticism and teachings of orthodox Islam.

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The Qadri Silsilah

The Quadiriyya Silsilah was popular in Punjab. The pirs of this Order supported the concept of Wahadat al wajud. Miyan Mir was one of the famous pirs of this silsilah; he had enrolled the Mughal princess Jahanara and her brother Dara as disciples. In the works of the prince the influence of the Sheikh’s teachings is evident.

Shah Badakhshani, another pir of this Silsilah while dismissing orthodox elements, declared that, the infidel who had perceived reality and recognized reality was an infidel.

There was a constant tension between the liberal and orthodox view in Islam during medieval period. However, the Sufis, the flag bearers of Sufi Movement, featured on both sides. On the one side there were those like the Chisthis who held a liberal view and favoured the assimilation of local traditions’ and at the other side there were others like representatives of the Qudiriyya Silsilah who held the view that the purity of Islam was being diluted. This orthodox view was represented by the Ulema that advocated from the perspective of being upholders of the Shariat. The liberal opinion found its voice among many Sufis who were entirely against the narrow definition of Islamic laws by the ulema; and this was the main objective of the Sufi Movement that was a natural response to the growing cult of orthodoxy during the medieval period.

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