“Thy name is a fortress, and thou art its foundation,
Thou art holy, and there is no God but God.”
The Rájah Birber conceived in his mind that the sun is an object all comprehensive; that he causes the ripening of the grain, of the sown fields, of the fruits, and of all vegetables; and gives splendor and life; likewise, fire and water, and stones and trees, all are manifestations of God; he gave the mark on the forehead and the zunar. The learned brought it nearly to certainty that the sun, the great, the exalted luminary, is the benefactor of the world, and the protector of monarchs. The Yezdánian said, that the sun is the world of spirits, the self-existent being; and the sun of the world of bodies is a luminary (a soul)[73] which is the Khalifah, “the vicar,” of God. A sect of the fire-worshippers stated also that the learned entertain conflicting opinions about the existence of spirits, of unity, and the self-existing being; and other sects denied this; but no denial is possible about the existence, the splendor, and the beneficence of the sun. His Majesty, Akbar, as he was ordered by God, used to read prayers, containing the praise of the sun, in the Persian, Hindi, Turkish, and Arabic languages, among which all was one prayer which is proper to the Hindus, and which they sing at midnight and at sun-rise. Besides, the emperor forbade his subjects to kill cows and to eat their flesh because medical men have declared that cow’s flesh causes itch, dry scab, leprosy, elephantiasis, and the like diseases, and is difficult to digest. The Hindus say also that, as many advantages are derived from the cow, it is not right to kill it. The Yezdánian maintained that it is tyranny to kill harmless animals, and a tyrant is an enemy of God, the Almighty. But the learned of the time showed in the book Serat´ ul mustakím, “the right road,” composed by the Imám Majeddin Muhammed, son of Yàkub, son of Muhammed, Fírózábádí,[74] that what is known
“The most excellent meat of both worlds is flesh.”
This has not been firmly established, and in the subject of the excellence of hersiah, a kind of pottage, nothing appeared, nor on the subject of the virtues of the white cock;[75] and on the subject of bastards it is known:
“The illegitimate son has no access to paradise.”
This was not firmly established, and is futile. His Majesty, the khalífah of the all-just, proclaimed himself the joyous tidings, that cows ought not to be killed.
In like manner, the fire-worshippers, who had come from the town of Nóusarí, situated in the district of Gujerát, asserted the truth of the religion of Zoroaster, and the great reverence and worship due to fire. The emperor called them to his presence, and was pleased to take information about the way and lustre of their wise men. He also called from Persia a follower of Zardusht, named Ardeshir, to whom he sent money; he delivered the sacred fire with care to the wise Shaikh Abu ’l Faźil, and established that it should be preserved in the interior apartment by night and day, perpetual henceforth, according to the rule of the Mobeds, and to the manner which was always practised in the fire-temples of the Kings of Ajem, because the Ití set was among the sentences of the Lord, and light from among the lights of the great Ized. He invited likewise the fire-worshippers from Kirman to his presence, and questioned them about the subtilties of Zardusht’s religion; and he wrote letters to Azer-Káivan, who was a chief of the Yezdáníán and Abádáníán, and invited him to India; Azer-Káivan begged to be excused from coming, but sent a book of his own composition in praise of the self-existing being, of reason, the soul, the heavens, the stars, and the elements; as well as a word of advice to the King; all this contained in fourteen sections: every first line of each was in Persian pure derí; when read invertedly, it was Arabic; when turned about, Turkish; and when this was read in reversed order, it became Hindí. The Nawab, the wise Shaikh Abu ’l Fazil placed a full confidence in Azer Káivan; he called the inhabitants of Ajem and Arabia “infestors of roads,” and the people of Islám “accursed.” The wise Shaikh Abu ’l Fazil said in Fatah púr to Abd ul Káder Bedávaní: “I have to complain of the authors of books for two reasons: the first is, that they have not explicitly enough written the account of ancient prophets, similar to that of their own prophet; the second is, that nothing remained of the industrious men whose name is not mentioned in the Tazkeret-ul-awlía, ‘the Story of the Saints,’[76] and the Nafhát alúns,[77] ‘the fragrant Gales of Mankind,’ and the like; and the family of the prophet, what was their guilt that their names were not admitted into them?” Abd ul Káder gave no satisfactory answer. Ghází Khán Baddakshi, who had not his equal in logical science, treated explicitly and laboriously in sections of the just Imám (Alí), and established by investigation his superior merit in other treatises; and other learned men exercised their sagacity upon this subject.
In the month Rajeb of the year of the Hejira 987 (A. D. 1579), the Emperor Akbar was ordered (by Heaven) to fix the sentence: “There is but one God, and Akbar is his Khalifah,” to be used. If the people really wished it, they might adopt this faith; and his Majesty declared, that this religion ought to be established by choice, and not by violence. In this manner, a number of men, who were more pious or wise than those of their times, chose this creed according to their conscience. The command came from God, that the attachment to the cause of the Lord God and to one’s master has four degrees, which are: sacrifice of property, life, reputation, and religion. The command of the Ilahi, “divine,” faith means that, in case of an indispensable conflict, if one does not sacrifice all he possesses, he must renounce these four degrees. Further, it is the divine command, that one may relinquish something of the four degrees, but never make an abandonment of his God.
The Emperor further said, that one thousand years have elapsed since the beginning of Muhammed’s mission, and that this was the extent of the duration of this religion, now arrived at its term.