Al Masudi, Arab Traveller and Historian

Born in Baghdad, Al Masudi was a famous Arab traveler and historian who came to Malabar on the Western coast of India in 915-16 in the course of his visit to several countries and regions in the world. He compiled his travel account and geographical notes in his historical compendium Muruj-al-Zahab wa al-Ma-adin al-Jawahir (Meadows of Gold and Mines of Precious Stones).

Masudi is aptly known as 'Herodotus of the Arabs'.

We can get a fair amount of information about Western India from his work.

Chirag-i-Delhi: Chisti Sufi Saint of Delhi

Shaikh Nasiruddin Muhamud, better known as Chirag-i-Delhi (the lamp of Delhi), was a famous Sufi saint of Chisti silsilah, the most popular of the orders into which Sufis were organized. 


Last of the great Chisti saints at Delhi, Nasiruddin Muhamud was the disciple and successor of Shaikh Nizamuddin Aulia, the most prominent Sufi saint of the aforesaid order.

Chirag-i-Delhi’s famous disciple was Gesudaraz Syed Muhamad Husayni who is credited with the spread of Chisti order in South India.

When Muhammad Bin Tughlaq died in Sindh in 1351 during a military expedition, he was with the Sultan’s army. Firuz Shah Tughluq, the successor Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, held him in great respect as he had helped him ascend the Delhi throne.    

Tarikh-i-Firishtah

Tarikh-i-Firishtah is a general history of India with special emphasis on the Deccan from the beginning of the Muslim rule in India to 1607. It was written by Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astrabadi, popularly known as Firishtah or Firishta who was in the army of Sultan Murtaza Nizam Shah (1565-88) of Nizam Shahi kingdom of Ahmadnagar (1565-88). After Murtaza Nizam Shah was murdered by his son Miran in 1588, Firishtah left the services of Nizam Shahi dynasty and went in 1589 to Bijapur which was ruled at that time by Ibrahim Adil Shah II.

Completed in 1610, Tarikh-i-Firishtah is also called Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi on account of its being dedicated to Ibrahim Adil Shah. Another name of Tarikh-i-Firishtah is Tarikh-i-Naurasanama.

Srimanta Sankardev: Vaishnavite Saint of Assam

Srimanta Sankardev is to Assam what Chaitanya is to Bengal. Considered to be the greatest saint of Bhakti Movement in Assam, he gave great impetus to Vaishnavism and made it popular in the region.

Sankaradeva was born 1449 AD at Bardowa in the Nagaon district of Assam. His parents left the world when he was still a child.

This greatest religious reformer who flourished in the fifteenth century was an exponent of Krishnite form of Vaishnavism. The essence of his teachings is monotheism of God which has been named Eka-Sarana-Harinama-dharma (religion of taking refuge in one God) 

He rejected idol worship and therefore, no image of Lord Krishna is placed in the prayer hall. At the altar of god there is placed the Bhagavata Purana like the Grantha Sahib in the Shikh Shrines. He did not advocate the worship of Lord Krishna’s consort Lakshmi or Radha.

Sankardev denounced caste or class distinction and preached to all irrespective of caste or creed in their mother-tongue. The sect he founded came to be known as Mahapurushiya dharma which has made a deep impact on every aspect of life in Assam.

Sankardeva’s chief disciple was  Sri Madhavadeva who wrote  Nam-Ghosa and Bhakti-Ratnavali.

Narsi (Narsimha) Mehta: Saint Poet of Gujarat

Narsimha Mehta was a well-known poet saint of Gujarat in the fifteenth century. His songs which are composed in Gujarati depict the immortal love of Radha and Krishna. These songs form part of the Suratasangrama. 

One of Narsi’s bhajans ‘ Vishnava jana to teno kahiye’ was close to Mahatma Gandhi’s heart.

Ahmad Shah (1748-54): Imbecile Mughal Ruler

Ahmad Shah was a Mughal ruler whose reign lasted from 1748 to 1754. After the death of his father Muhammad Shah in 1754, he ascended the throne at an age of 22.  He was the son of Udham Bai, a dancing girl of low intellect and dubious character. Though he was a man of 22 at the time of his accession, he is said to have received no education and did not hold any civil or military office ever.

A pleasure seeking ruler with debased taste, Ahmad Shah was an illiterate and indulging in sensual pursuits. Spending time with women and eunuchs for weeks, he remained content by entrusting the task of running the state to the queen mother Udham Bai and her shameless paramour and powerful eunuch Javid Khan, who dominated the affairs of the state. Javid Khan was grated the title of Nawab Bahadur and Udham Bai was got the title of Qibla-i-Alam and the rank of 50,000 horses. Her brother Man Khan, a ill-mannered professional dancer, got the title of Mutqat-ud-Daula and the rank of 6,000.

During this period Safdarjang, the governor of Oudh, became the wazir or prime minster of the Mughal empire in 1748. Javid Khan and the court party controlled by the Turks (known as Turanis) took exception to his appointment as Safdarjang was an Irani. Things came to such a pass that Javid Khan was murdered in 1752 at the instance of Safdarjang. This made Udham Bai furious who got Safdarjang dismissed in 1753. Safdarjang retired to Oudh and died there on 5th October, 1754. In his place Amir Ghazi-ud-din Imad-ul-mulk, a grandson of Nizam-ul-mulk of the Deccan, was made wazir who deposed Ahmad Shah in 1754. Azizuddin Alamgir II was placed on the Mughal throne by Imad-ul-mulk. Ahmad Shah and Udham Bai were imprisoned and blinded by the formal order of Alamgir II. He died in prison in 1775.

It was during the reign of Ahmad Shah that Afghan chief Ahmad Shah Durrani invaded India twice in 1749 and 1752, when he marched up to Delhi. To make matters worse, the imbecile emperor made children of three years or less governors of Punjab and Kashmir when the empire was threatened with his invasion.

Dara Shikoh: The Mughal Scholar Prince

Born at Ajmer in 1615, Dara Shikoh (also spelt as Dara Shukoh) was the eldest son of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and his favourite too. He was appointed his successor to the Mughal empire by Shah Jahan who gave him the title of Shahzada-e-Buland Iqbal  (“Prince of High Fortune”). A pathetic figure in Mughal history, he was slain on the orders of his brother Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal, on the charges of heresy on 30th August 1659. 

Dara Shikoh was one the greatest scholars Mughal India had produced. With an excellent command on Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit, he authored several works on Sufi philosophy and has deep interest in mysticism.

In 1640 Dara completed Sakinatul Auliya, a compilation of biographical sketches of Muslim saints.

In 1657 together with the pandits from Varanasi, he translated the Upanishads into Persian which came to be known as Sirr-e-Akbar (The great secret). The work is considered one of the masterpieces of Persian literature. The Bhagavat Gita and the Yoga Vasishtha Ramayana were also translated into Persian by him.

His famous book Majm-ul-Bahrain (Mingling of the two oceans) recognizes that Hinduism and Islam lead to one goal.