Who is ziauddin barani

The short bibliography also reveals that his introduction relies on outdated secondary literature. This is very helpful from a European perspective in particular: Whereas two of the three known manuscripts of the first recension belong to the Bodleian Library in Oxford and are quite easy to access at least as scans , the third manuscript is preserved in Rampur Raza Library in India and has been difficult for foreign scholars to access in the past.

Zilli further describes how his translation came into being by stating that as the number of scholars able to read Persian has decreased, he hopes that his translation would "be instrumental in stimulating interest in the history of Delhi Sultanate" [ sic ] IX. The volume closes with a comprehensive index listing names, places and specific Persian terms Zilli translated the latter in brackets following the transcribed Persian term, which is very helpful in bringing readers closer to the original text.

In contrast to the reviewed edition above, Zilli is concise in his five-page preface. In the last section of his introduction, which is regrettably very short, Zilli discusses his method of translation: "While translating the text, it has been my constant endeavour to keep it as literal as possible.

There were, however, places where Barani in his exuberance has resorted to words and phrases which would defy literal translation while at other places a literal translation would not be perhaps proper. In any case an attempt has been made to remain as faithful to the text and its general sense as possible. His use of footnotes or endnotes is quite minimal, as he uses them in the second of the seven chapters only.

These notes are exclusively content-related. For example, they indicate phrases of Quranic origin or explain who the four Rightly Guided Caliphs were. While these basic annotations are helpful for non-specialists, Scholars would likely find additional annotations on the above-mentioned problematic passages to be of greater relevance.

A proper bibliography or at least a commented shortlist for further reading would also have been a helpful addition to this volume. As it is, the only few available references, which are unfortunately outdated, are listed in the endnotes of Chapter 1.

Zilli describes this edition in his preface but does not clearly mention that he used it as a basis for his translation. Although the use of this edition is evident when comparing both books, he should have mentioned this in his preface for those who are unfamiliar with the facts.

The translated text is structured into the introduction and six chapters. It remains uncertain why Zilli chose to number only some of the section headings of the edition. Besides the problematic passages that are difficult to identify because of the missing annotations, the translation itself is mostly literal.

Another helpful addition of Zilli's is the italicization of specific Persian terms. This text of Barani throws light on the period between Balban and Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. Barani was having a different conception and ideal of history writing. He takes history as a religious work so he was suffering from some sense of guilt because he is grieved at the fact that he could not oppose Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq when Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq took an anti-religious step. This is the reason he appears to be a bit of critique of Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq.

Sometimes we find the writing of Barani is very orthodox with a strong anti-Hindu tinge but when we observe minutely, we find that actually, the dissatisfaction of Barani just reflected the conflict between Hindu and Muslim nobility.

Limitation: We underline some limitations as well in the account of Barani. Firstly, he is much careless about the dates and chronology of events. Secondly, sometimes he appears to be too much prejudiced.

Conclusion: But in spite of the limitations mentioned above, the accounts of Barani is important source material for the study of Delhi Sultanate. From the writings of Barani, we not only get the information about administrative and economic affairs but also we get the reflection of the intellectual development of society.

His full name was Abul Hassan Yaminuddin Khusrau. He is popularly known by his pseudonym of Amir Khusrau. He was a disciple of the famous Sufi Saint Nizamuddin Auliya. Barani was born to a Muslim family in in which his father, uncle, and grandfather all working in high government posts under the Sultan of Delhi.

His family were natives of Meerut and Bulandsahar. Barani never held a post, but was a nadim companion of Muhammad bin Tughlaq for seventeen years. During this period he was very close to Amir Khusro. After Tughlaq was deposed, he fell out of favor. In "Exile" he wrote two pieces dealing with government, religion, and history, which he hoped would endear him to the new sultan, Firuz Shah Tughluq.

He was not rewarded for his works and died poor in His gravestone lies in the courtyard of Nizamuddin Auliya's dargah in Delhi, at the entrance of the dalan of Mirdha Ikram, and near the tomb of Amir Khusrau.

The Fatwa-i-Jahandari is a work containing the political ideals to be pursued by a Muslim ruler in order to earn religious merit and the gratitude of his subjects. His fatwa would condone segregation of the Muslim ashraf upper classes and ajlaf low classes, in addition to the azral underclasses or the converted Muslims who are regarded as "ritually polluted" by the ashraf. The work delves into aspects of religion and government and the meeting of those two, as well as political philosophy.

He notes:. Barani's Fatwa-i-Jahandari provides an example of his extreme views on religion.