A study on universal peace and harmony in akbars religious policy with reference to din i ilahi and sulh i kul

Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 A Study on Universal Peace and Harmony in Akbar's Religious Policy (with Reference to Din-I-Ilahi and Sulh-i Kul) Nguyen Tran Tien* Abstract: Abu‟l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar popularly known as Akbar the Great (1556-1605) is considered as one of the greatest Mughal emperors for his achievements in the military, politics, and administration In fact, he was the real founder of the empire after his victory at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556 AD The victory has paved the way for Akbar to become the sole emperor in the Indian sub-continent and continued to wage wars against the Hindu rajahs During his reign, Akbar was credited with his liberal ideas and religious policies These religious policies emerged from different internal and external factors and his success stemmed from his religious policy that was based on Sulh-i Kul (universal peace and harmony between all his subjects regardless with their social, ethical or religious identities) In 1582 A.D, he propounded a new religious ideology namely the Din-i Ilahi (Religion of God) This was a syncretic religious movement and was one of the most substantial dimensions of mutual interaction and relationship between Hinduism and Islam This paper aims to examine the factors influencing Akbar’s religious policy and to critically analyze Akbar’s Din-i-Ilahi and Sulh-i Kul by dealing with its basic features and virtues which shaped his attitudes towards other religious and social groups Keywords: Mughal empire; Akbar; religious policy; Din-i-Ilahi; Sulh-i Kul Received 5th March 2018; Revised 2nd April 2018; Accepted 30th April 2018 second half of Mughal‟s period witnessed the decline of the Mughals, particularly after the demise of Aurangzeb in 1707 at a time when the Mughal empire was weak and besieged by serious resistance from the Hindus, power struggle among the royals, weakness, and incompetence of the rulers and invasion and intervention by foreign powers, particularly from Europe Among the Mughal emperors, Akbar was not only a great conqueror but a capable organizer and a great administrator as well In 1556 AD, a 13-year-old boy who would come to be known as Akbar the Great assumed the throne of the Mughal Empire With “bright flashing eyes,” a legendary military prowess, and a distinctly strong Introduction* The Mughal empire was a great Muslim power in the Indian subcontinent The advent of the Mughal rule in India brought in the rich culture and ethical changes Historically, the Mughal era can be divided into two periods, namely the consolidation and glory period (1526-1707) and the decline period (1707-1857) During the glorious period of the empire‟s history, India was ruled by Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb The * VNU-University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ha Noi, Viet Nam; email: ntrantienussh@gmail.com 277 278 Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 personality, “one could easily recognize even at first glance he was King” (Tancred Borenius 1943: 68) He set up a host of institutions that proved to be the foundation of an administrative system that operated even in British India (Thorpe 2009: 76) Akbar‟s rule also stands out due to his liberal policies towards the non-Muslims, his religious innovations, the land revenue system and Mansabdari system became the basis of Mughal military organization and civil administration Akbar‟s ability to mobilize the Mughal army and conquer Hindu kingdoms one by one undefeated was a feat not attained by anybody before him Because of this achievement, Akbar was recognized as the greatest Mughal ruler and given the accolade „Akbar The Great‟ Many historians agreed that Akbar was the greatest Mughal Emperor of all (Lee 2010: 51) Akbar consolidated his empire by marrying Hindu princesses from Rajputana and other powerful Hindu provinces He also founded his own Sufi order dedicated to “divine monotheism” and wanted to found a society based on “universal peace.” This is attributed to Mughal‟s achievement during his rule which saw the empire extended to the entire of India.1 As a strong personality and a notable ruler, Akbar gradually expanded the empire to annex Afghanistan with the Indian peninsula To unite the vast empire as well as to protect peace and order in a culturally and religiously diverse state, he adopted a distinctive political and religious policy Akbar first established his control over the scattered land then weld his collection of different states, different races and different religions into a whole For achieving this aim, Akbar firstly improved a See more: Bosworth, C.E 1967 The Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Handbook Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press religious policy and did his socio-cultural reforms Akbar was tolerating other religions He did not discriminate other religions but focused on the ideas of peace, unity, and tolerance Akbar accepted all his subjects equally regardless of their religious identities and cultural backgrounds This religious policy was based on the doctrine of Sulh-i Kul which means universal peace as well as tolerance for every individual and considered himself the ruler of all of his subjects, including Muslims, Hindus, and followers of other faiths Akbar did not persecute not-Muslims nor attempt to convert them to Islam He observed Hindu festivals, sponsored and placed Hindus in positions in his court and army, and abolished jizya (the tax on non-Muslims) and became a vegetarian and quit hunting (a sport he greatly enjoyed) so as not to offend Hindus Akbar financed Hindu temples and established a “House of worship,” where representatives from all religions could meet For this purpose, he firstly fulfilled various significant implements regarding with religious social, imperial and political issues which had an important role in the development of his religious policy and thoughts (Rizvi 1975: 409) Social and religious background for the formation of Akbar’s religious policies The development process of Akbar’s religious policy was a result of his interaction with not only Muslim society but other religious groups as well as local prominent rulers His religious policy was considered as one of the most liberal exponents of the policy of toleration among all Hindu and Muslim rulers in India Therefore, to understand Akbar‟s religious policies, one should also pay attention to the Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 religious challenges posed to him during his reign Akbar, whose parents were followers of the Sunni Hanafi way of Islam,2 was firstly affected by his religious environment and background The attitudes of narrowminded, as well as world seeking Muslim ulemas, had an important role to shape his religious mind and policy His early days were spent in the backdrop of an atmosphere in which liberal sentiments were encouraged and religious narrow-mindedness was frowned upon (Chandra 2007: 253) In his childhood, Akbar had come in contact with Islam and Sufism He was educated by scholars who were the follower of Shia tradition His childhood tutors, who included two Irani Shias, made an important contribution to Akbar‟s later inclination towards religious tolerance From his early age, therefore, Akbar was exposed to Sufism and Shia doctrines (Habib 1997: 81) It was also during his period that conflicts were both inter-religious and intrareligious One of the major intra-religious conflicts was between the Shia and Sunni sects Mughal emperors clearly had a close association with the Sunnis but followed a policy of tolerance, unlike their contemporary Islamic states Meanwhile, a large number of Shia migrations from the Safavid state took place, which followed a very orthodox policy Despite the high salaries of the Mughal court and open-policy of the state, the conflict between these two sects intensified In the beginning, Akbar was also inclined towards the sect of The Hanafi school is one of the four religious Sunni Islamic schools of jurisprudence (fiqh) It is named after the scholar Abū Ḥanīfa an-Nu„man ibn Thābit, a tabi„i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad alShaybani 279 Mahadawis The followers of this sect believed that the advent of a Mahdi or a messiah was forecasted and did not agree with the fact that the Prophet Mohammad was the last prophet This easily identifiable class was not well inclined to Mughal rule and could be easily be accused of disloyalty as well as of unorthodoxy The orthodoxy saw them as heretics, but the Mughal state did not persecute them for a very long time As a result, Akbar‟s religious policies were implemented in the background of such religious challenges, of which the most crucial one was the change in the relationship and the constant struggle between the emperor and the ulema Akbar remained a staunch Sunni Muslim during the period 1556 and 1562 He continued the practices of Islamic tenets as a devout Muslim and prayed five times a day, kept fast in the holy month of Ramazan and honored the ulemas of Islam He never hesitated to punish the opponents of Islam However, his views gradually changed after 1562 and one of the other important factors was the development of the Din-i Ilahi, Akbar’s religious policy Din-i Ilahi was Akbar’s a special inclination and sympathy for the society of various social identities such as Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians as well as a close association with religious leaders like Brahmins, missionaries, monks, and priests With Din-i Ilahi, Akbar aimed to express his tolerance to all kinds of religious systems As for the Rajputs and Hindus, his Rajput views and contact with Hinduism made an impression on his imaginative mind An astute ruler who genuinely appreciated the challenges of administering such a vast empire, Akbar introduced a policy of reconciliation and assimilation of Hindus (including Maryam al-Zamani, the Hindu Rajput mother of his son and heir, 280 Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 Jahangir), who represented the majority of the population He recruited and rewarded Hindu chiefs with the highest ranks in government He came into close contact with the Hinduism and had regular meetings and discussions with Hindu leaders He was impressed by their strong philosophical solution on the nature of man, the creation of world and existence of god and then he ordered to translate Hindu religious literature and history into Persian As a result of close association with Hindus and translation of some Hindu sacred texts to Persian or Arabic, Muslims began to obtain some important knowledge on Hindu religion and their history This process, on one hand, enabled to some informed Muslims to discuss with Hindus in a true manner, on the other hand, caused to reveal a new section among the Muslims who were called “muselman hindu ve mizaj”, Hinduminded Muslims (Siddique 2001: 97) Akbar’s deep intimacy with Hindus, especially with Raja Birbal and some converted Hindus like Bhavon played a significant role to lead him away from the orthodox way of Islam From the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Bhakti movement had created a new religious and political environment in India As a result, a lot of rulers in various parts of India adopted a more liberal policy of religious tolerance, attempting to set up communal harmony between Hindus and Muslim By the impact of Bhakti thinkers, who particularly emphasized on the devotion of Hindu gods like Rama and Krishna, Akbar also appreciated the value of Hindu gods and goddesses He made some coins in which pictures of Ram and Sita were engraved These liberation and quality songs are sung by the teachers and popular gurus of the Bhakti movement such as Guru Nanak, Kabir, and Chaitanya These outstanding and effective ideas of Bhakti leaders have also impacted the development of Akbar’s religious attitudes towards others (Chandra 2007: 253) Moreover, in the process of improvement of his religious discourses and ideas other religious traditions and their imminent leaders such as Christian missioners and Jainist monks had an important role (Siddique 2001: 109) So, in order to understand his unique religious policy of the Din-i-Ilahi and to carry out a critical evaluation of his religious policy the factors impacted on his mind should be clearly analyzed Akbar’s religious policy of Din-i Ilahi and Sulh-i Kul and its features Akbar‟s religious policy of peace, harmony, and synthesis among all the religions did not emerge all of a sudden but after a long process This is the reason why his religious policies can be understood in diverse manners as representing a much wider change in Akbar‟s perspective on religion and the development of his religious ideas We can also link the changes that were introduced in the organization of the Mughal government and religious policy to the structure, composition, and changes under Akbar or a changing attitude towards the ulema and divides Akbar‟s reign in the context of his religious ideas At the beginning of his reign (15561574), Akbar seems to be in agreement with the Islamic orthodoxy There is also a tentativeness in the manner in which he dealt with different groups He made serious departures from the traditional Sunni system of government In 1562, the pilgrimage tax on Hindus was abolished Abu Faz‟l informs us about the abolishment of Jiziya in 1564 (a tax on non-Muslims), and also the abolishment in the practice of enslaving the Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 prisoners of war and their families These changes had great political implications In this context of the political challenges, Akbar had to face the side of his Turani nobility and had to look for new support groups and he turned to Rajputs as possible allies Jiziya was thus abolished in order to win them over However, even after adopting liberal policies as such, not all Rajput groups joined him As a result, Akbar had to change stance and took some aggressive measures against the Rajputs in 1567 Also, in the same year, Chittor was attacked, and in a Fathenama issued by him after the victory, identified it as a jihad, subjugation of the infidels In 1569, a farman was issued to the Muhtasib of Bilgram, to stamp out all kinds of infidel worship (idol worship) in his pargana Despite these policies were in favor of the Hindus, Akbar remained largely Islamic The nobility was also dominated by Muslims His inclination towards the leading orthodox Sunni personalities prevented any overt break with the ulema and he gave them full and independent control over the religious affairs Meanwhile, dominant scholars included Makhdumul Mulk Sultanpuri and Shaikh Abdul Nabi, were highly conservative Sunni Mullahs This period kept Akbar quite busy because of his several military conquests, and reforms implemented in revenue, military, and other sectors Thus, ulema had full control over affairs and were never satisfied with Akbar‟s concessions Under these elements, the non-conformists groups like the mahadawis were also persecuted During the period of 1574-1580, there gradually emerged a tangible change in Akbar‟s religious beliefs In his early age, Akbar had held a special interest in the spiritual matters and felt that the orthodox view of Islam was not giving him the 281 needed answers Hence, this was a period of intense discussions and introspection which led to radical change in his religious views that affected his future policies His growing awareness of repercussions of the traditional orthodox Sunni dominance over his administration compelled him to an active search for new solutions He, therefore, encouraged the emergence of a new elite group Furthermore, Akbar was very much aware of this diversity in the country of India It would not be possible for him to rule the country with the support of any one group As a result, after the Gujarat campaign, he had to bring all on one platform by establishing the Ibdad Khana,3 in 1575 at Fatehpur Sikri in 1575 With the help of Shaikh Mubark and his sons Faizi and Abdul Fazal, Akbar collected a library of books on history, religion, philosophy and sciences (Mahajan 1965: 93) These were read out and explained to him by Faizi The result was that Akbar‟s views on religion became very liberal and he wanted to go deep in religious matters4 After long discussions between religious leaders, it was concluded that salvation is to be achieved only by the knowledge of Truth and by following the precepts of the “Great Namus” i.e reason (Rizvi 1975: 411-12) In Akbarname the explanation of the emperor on the building of the “Ibadat Khana” was cited as follows: I have organized this “majlis” (gathering) for this aim only that the facts of every religion, whether Hindu or Muslim, be brought out in the open The closed hearts of our (religious) leaders and The term was translated as the House of Worship or house of worship, gathering for searching/realization of the Truth For this he thought of providing a meeting ground for discussion between Sunnis and Shias as well as other religious groups such as Jews, Christians and Hindus held in the presence of Akbar 282 Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 scholars be opened so that the Muslims should come to know (essentially) who they are Because most of them, unfortunately, are unaware of their religion (Rezavi 2008: 197) The purpose of Ibadat Khana was to resolve disputes within groups through discussions Initially, it was open only for the Muslim sects, but later it was opened to the representatives of other religions and faiths too The exponents of Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Christianity began to be invited All the scholars were given due respect Akbar had a keen interest in the religious and intellectual debates and discussions and thus took part in them in the hope that he would educate himself in spite of the fact that he never got a chance to formally educate himself Abu Fazl, the Grand vizier of the Mughal emperor Akbar, and author of the Akbarnama, the official history of Akbar's reign recorded that these discussions very useful, which according to him guided the people away from the darkness and enlightened them These deliberations were not conducted only for the sake of inquiry and search but most of the participants hoped for a way to obtain favors and promotions from the court As far as the composition of the intellectuals is concerned, Ibadat Khana included scholars from across the religions Special efforts were made to associate distinguished Sufis with the activities of Ibadat Khana The debates were open to the Shias as well, Hindus were also being favored as the new alliance was budding between the crown and the Rajputs Akbar also invited Zoroastrian priests, Jesuit missionaries, and Jain priests to widen the scope of discussions However, later we find that the confluence of different ideas led to confusion and led the debate to no conclusion Thus, as professor R.P Tripathi says, ”[i]nstead of bringing credit, the Ibadat Khana brought growing discredit” (Chandra 2005: 171) Thus, Akbar himself became convinced of the futility of these debates and finally closed the Ibadat Khana However, for the time being, Akbar found that the debates in the Ibadat Khana were not helpful in leading to better understanding between different religions, rather they created bitterness Hence in 1582, he discontinued the debates In 1579, Akbar became Imam-i-Adil or the final interpreter of Muslim Law5 and issued Infallibility Decree (Mahazarnama) He views that if Muslim intellectuals will have a different opinion on an issue, then as religious head and ruler of state will choose any one decision However, his search for the common ground for all religions was not over He continued to explore and search for truth In this, he invited saints of different religions and had a discussion with them.6 In 1579, Akbar‟s break from the orthodoxy is also symbolized with the propagation of the Mahazarnama This document, like a petition, was presented by the ulema gave the Crown the right to accept any position in case there is conflict among the orthodoxy This made it clear that Akbar‟s position was higher than that of the mujtahid, the interpreter of the holy laws By issuing this decree, Akbar was in favor of weakening the powers of the ulemas and Mullahs (The term mullah is primarily At the suggestion of Shaikh Mubarak, Akbar decided to become Mujtahid He was to act as the supreme arbiter in religious matters In 1579, Shaikh Mubarak produced a document in his own handwriting which was drafted in such a way that Akbar became the supreme arbiter in civil and ecclesiastical matters After this discussion, Akbar came to conclude that the things are common in all the religions in term of basic principle and final objective This was a conclusion and the integration of these two led to the birth of the new religion ie Din-i-Illahi in the later period of his reign Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 understood in the Muslim world as a term of respect for an educated religious man) He wanted to combine in himself both political and spiritual powers According to the decree, Akbar became the supreme arbiter in civil and religious affairs This declaration was signed by leading divines Akbar himself began to read the Khutba (earlier read by the Imam of the Mosque) from the pulpit of a Fatehpuri Mosque Many historians had different opinions on the meaning and its consequence of the decree It is perceived as an infallibility decree, influenced by papacy, stating that Akbar was influenced by the Jesuit propagators I.A Khan opines that Mahzar can only be understood if we look at Akbar‟s general attitude of promoting and befriending the Indian Muslims He wanted to show that he would not accept any orthodox, sharia law which lacked a logical reason S.R Sharma argues that Mahzar was introduced to replace the sharia laws (Rizvi 1975: 157) Nurul Hasan has discussed Mahzar at different levels in which Akbar never sided with any one Islamic sect and made the Mughal state all inclusive, unlike the Ottomans who sided with the Sunnis or the Persians who favored the Shia sect At the political level, Mahzar made it possible for the king to deal with the ulema and, keep the nobility under his influence and also placing himself above the sharia law interpretations The real significance of Mahzar, it seems, was that it was the first effective declaration of the principles of Sulh-i Kul which Akbar had decided to implement firmly (Chandra 2005: 174) Hence, we can see a final breakup between Akbar and the ulema orthodoxy During the period of 1581-1605, Akbar‟s religious beliefs are defined by the crystallization of Akbar‟s ideologies To consolidate his political position and to 283 reach an understanding among his people, Akbar introduced the idea of a new religion known as Din-i-Ilahi (Divine Faith), a conception of a new religion combining the virtues of other religions It seems that Akbar wanted to utilize religion for his political advantage When the empire expanded and included people of different religious faith, it is necessary for him to broaden the base of the empire Therefore, he tried to establish a composite governing class which would not be discriminated on the grounds of religion as can be clearly seen in the case of assimilating the Rajputs into the nobility7.He was accused of completely abandoning Islam and created his own religion of which he was the leader Meanwhile, the focus of Akbar‟s religious beliefs was his faith in Din-i Ilahi that based largely on the philosophies of Ibn-i Arabi After he acquainted himself thoroughly with the principles and practices of different religions through listening to the debates and discussions of religious philosophers and scholars and watching their lives Abu Fazl links Din-i-ilahi with the concept of Akbar being a spiritual guide of the people He opines that the intention of Din-i Ilahi was to find a common ground between the din or the religion and the duniya or the materialistic or non-spiritual affairs During this period, there was a negative discourse about Islam and it was argued that Islam with its own entire aspects was not a valid religion until the day of judgment Badauni opines that “According to Majesty, it was settled fact that the one thousand years since the time of the mission of the Prophet, which was to be the period of the continuance of the faith of Islam, were now The Kachhwahas were the first Rajput clan to join Akbar and also helped in the war against the other Rajput clans as seen in the Chittor campaign 284 Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 completed, which he treated in his heart (Badauni 1898: 327) After persuading with this idea, Akbar seemed to change and design ordinances of Islam The outcome of his deliberations was the Din-i Ilahi at the beginning of 1582 (Siddique 2001: 115) The fundamentals of the teachings of Din-i-Ilahi can be found in his ideological beliefs and religious practices With Din-iIlahi, all followers of the religion must believe in the oneness of God and must prostrate before Akbar Akbar is a viceroy of God who always receives the guidance of truth and strength In daily rituals, fire and sun worship is encouraged Sunday is the official day of worship The Islamic greeting of al-Salam „Alaykum is replaced by Allahu Akbar while Wa„alaykum al-Salam is replaced by Jalla Jalaluhu As the head of the religion, Akbar is prohibited from eating all kind of meat or flesh and is forbidden to have intercourse with pregnant women, old women, the infertile and girls who have not come of age These teachings were implemented to make Din-i-Ilahi a success to some extent However, it failed to achieve its objectives because Muslim majorities opposed the new religion which was considered to be deviant and pro-Hindu.8 Followers of Din-i-Ilahi amounted to his adherents who were mainly made up of the officials at the palace The principles of the Din-i Ilahi were also indirectly referred to in Dabistan-iMazahib in the chapter entitled “Ilahiya Beliefs” It deals with a huge religious discussion between Sunnis and Shias as well as other religious groups held in the presence of Akbar The outcome of their religious discussions was to point out that only by the knowledge of truth and by following the precepts of the reason, salvation could be achieved Renunciation and non-attachment of the world; avoiding from lust and sensuality; refraining from adultery, deceit, oppression, unethical traits, intimidation, foolishness; and emancipation from the punishment of the hereafter and doubts about the truth are all dependent upon obeying the virtues The virtues of the Din-i-Ilahi listed as follows: (i) Liberality and beneficence; (ii) Forgiveness of the evil-doer and repulsion of anger with mildness; (iii) Abstinence from worldly desires; (iv) Care of freedom from the bonds of the worldly existence and violence, as well as accumulating precious stores for the future real and perpetual world; (v) Wisdom and devotion in the frequent meditation on the consequences of actions; (vi) Strength of dexterous prudence in the desire of marvelous actions; (vii) Soft voice, gentle words, pleasing speeches for everybody; (viii) Good treatment with brethren, so that their will have the precedence to our own; (ix) A perfect alienation from creatures and the material world, and a perfect attachment to the Supreme Being; and (x) Dedication of soul in the love of God and, very close a union with god, the preserver of all, that as long as the soul may think itself with the Merciful One until the time of separation from its worldly body (Mezahib 1904: 322)9 The opposition even came from Akbar‟s own ulema, among them was Mullah Muhammad Yazdi, who supported Akbar‟s younger step-brother, Mirza Muhammad Hakim, to be the new Mughal ruler, considering Akbar had deviated from the true teachings of Islam Though it is mostly ascribed to Muhsin Fani, the recent studies have been revealed that the writer of the text is not clear It is also argued some scholars that in fact this book seems to have been written by Zulfaqar Ardastani See more: Rizvi, S A A (1975) Religious and intellectual history of the Muslims in Akbar’s reign with special Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 However, one cannot see the Din-i-Ilahi concept as being developed into a new religion, as it had no formal rituals, beliefs or the holy books like the other religions It can be seen as Akbar‟s personal faith, which he welcomed people to join in Therefore, the biases of contemporary accounts, calling Akbar a heretic has no basis This proves that he did not abandon Islam, the accusations were all from the bitter ulema, who were complaining about the curbs put on their revenue grants and political ambitions and could not digest the fact that Akbar had moved away from their influence of an orthodox form of religion The basic sources on Din-i Ilahi often indicate the example of Birbal, a Hindu voluntarily joined to the Din-i Ilahi, to demonstrate Akbar’ s religious tolerance and freedom (Lal 1966: 242) It is suggested that Akbar made no attempt to use the authority of the state to spread his religion As tolerance for all human being is one of the main core principles of Islam and it has already ordered in various verses of Quran On the other hand, it stated that such a person had played an important role to mislead the emperor from orthodox Islamic tradition Akbar, probably, became aware of this Islamic principles and values As the historical documents revealed, however, Akbar was influenced by Indian culture and other religious groups more than his Islamic background Therefore, when declared his religious ideas, he attempted to differ from some Islamic concepts that are why he was criticized by many Muslim theologians Nevertheless, by examining virtues of the Din-i-Ilahi it is possible to confirm that reference to Abu’l Fazl (1556- 1605) Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers p 39) 285 Akbar benefited from basic sources of Islam, Quran, and Sunnah when he built his religious thoughts When he criticized some Muslim ulemas for their intolerance and unconsciousness attitudes, Akbar also referenced to “tahqiq” (sincere) belief of Islam Even though he introduced some implements against Islam, he continued to hold in high regard many Islamic institutions and utilized them when he proposed his religious ideologies The mutual interaction and close resemblance between Islamic values as well as his religious ideas, however, were deliberately and not overlooked by some scholars who had a bias or limited knowledge of Islam After Din-i Ilahi, Akbar introduced Sulhi Kul as the official policy of the empire The dynamic element in Akbar‟s religious policy found its powerful expression in his anxiety to study religious orders other than his own Max Muller calls him the first student of comparative religions One essential condition for comparative religious studies is sympathy for all religions and antipathy for none (Singh 1996: 140) By propounding his doctrine Sulh-i-Kul, Akbar emphasized on the peaceful coexistence of people belonging to different religious communities But this liberal attitude was interpreted as hostility towards Islam by his orthodox critics (Nizami 1989: 215) Sulh-i Kul is an Arabic term literally meaning “peace with all,” “universal peace,” or “absolute peace,” drawn from a Sufi mystic principle, it described a peaceful and harmonious relationship among different religions In keeping with efforts to mesh the diverse populations of his realm, Akbar proposed unity and peace among all human beings The concept implies not just tolerance, but also the sorts of balance, civility, respect, and compromise required to maintain harmony among a diverse 286 Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 population Jahangir, Akbar‟s son, described his father‟s policy of Sulh-i Kul in the following words: As in the wide expanse of the divine compassion, there is room for all classes and the followers of all creeds, so … in his Imperial dominions, which on all sides were limited only by the sea, there was room for the professors of opposite religions, and for beliefs, good and bad, and the road to intolerance was closed (Shireen Moosvi 1994: 123) Sunnis and Shias met in one mosque and Christians and Jews in one church to pray He consistently followed the principle of “universal peace” (Sulh-i Kul) „Sulh-i Kul‟ was his policy of reconciliation and liberalism in religious matters Sulh-i Kul was also the product of the synthetic effect of the Bhakti and Sufism and he was greatly influenced by his Hindu mother, his guardian and tutor Bairam Khan and Abdul Latif His contact with philosophers and scholars like Sheikh Mubark and his sons Faizi and Abdul Fazal, his contact with Rajputs, his contact with other religions and his political ambition to expand and strengthen his empire with the cooperation of all religions It was a liberal philosophy, which translated as the universal peace In fact, some scholars identify „Din-i-Ilahi‟ with „Sulh-i Kul.‟ He watched the good men professing different creeds and „Sulh-i Kul‟ seemed to be the only solution of developing harmony and friendship among followers of different faiths In the field of interfaith dialogue, tolerance plays an important role in constructive interactions, so the concept of Sulh-i Kul has great potential relevance to discussions of intercultural dialogue specifically, and cultural diversity more generally It meant to inform everyone about the main spiritual truth This can only be done by a sovereign who is a representative of God Abu Fazl‟s Ain-i Akbari, put forward the theory of Rawa-i- Rozi or the social contract between the king and his subjects It suggested that like a god, a king should not discriminate, in giving his rewards amongst his subjects, on the basis of religion they follow The sovereign, thus, had to follow the idea of a Insaan-i-Kamil or the perfect man who adopts and favors the idea of tolerance Therefore, we find that the king, even if he did not agree with the ideas and practices of other religions, he should still uphold the theory of Sulh Kul and treat everyone equally Evidence of this practice comes from the fact that Akbar disliked and thought poorly of his finance minister, Raja Todar Mal as he was a devoted image worshiper and Akbar believed that the god was besurat (limitless or formless) Regardless of this, Akbar gave large grants of land to temples Hence, the theory of Sulh-i Kul propagated by Akbar denied the temporal practices of the Din and wanted to replace it with the declaration of reason, rationale and also the rejection of superstition Sulh-i Kul was an idea which was a result of Akbar‟s experiences in while he quenched his thirst of gaining spiritual knowledge over the years, by different media like being close with the ulemas, instituting Ibadat Khana, Mahazarnama, the heavy influence of Sufi Chisti silsilas and many others Thus, Sulh-i Kul was created to describe universal peace, specifically with regard to interfaith tolerance and equal treatment for all, regardless of religious beliefs In the field of interfaith dialogue, tolerance plays an important role in constructive interactions, so the concept of Sulh-i Kul has great potential relevance to discussions of intercultural dialogue specifically, and cultural diversity more generally Given continuing religious conflicts matched to the reality of cultural pluralism, it seems useful to resurrect this historic term as a modern tool The concept Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 also has the potential for discussions of such concrete contexts as managing a multicultural workforce Though Akbar had a dominating spiritual side to him, which was clearly reflected in his religious policies, one cannot deny the fact that not always all of his policies were made with only this contemplation The policies were largely propelled politically, which by the last phase is clearly expressed in the theory of Sulh-i Kul, the theory of absolute peace, where the subjects were not allowed to quarrel with each other and were to follow their spiritual sovereign who‟ll guide them to the ultimate truth The Divine Faith had far-reaching consequences It totally changed the character of Muslim rule in India Akbar‟s foremost aim was the union of Hindustan under one head which was difficult to achieve had he persecuted all non-Islamic religions To accomplish such a union, it was necessary for him to conquer and respect all consciences, and all methods of worshipping the almighty Conclusion Akbar‟s success in unifying India under a single rule namely the Mughal Empire placed him among the greatest leaders in Mughal history Akbar ruled for nearly a half of century As a “workaholic” who seldom slept more than three hours a night, he personally oversaw the implementation of his administrative policies, which were to form the backbone of the Mughal Empire for more than 200 years He busied himself in the administration of justice, and made fitting regulations for the founding of empire and the cherishing of subjects (Mubarak 1902 : 315) He continued to conquer, annex, and consolidate a far-flung territory bounded by Kabul in the northwest, Kashmir in the north, Bengal in the east, and 287 beyond the Narmada River in the south-an area comparable in size to the Mauryan empire some eighteen centuries earlier Akbar‟s religious policy and his treatment towards the Hindus healed strife and bitterness and produced an environment of harmony and goodwill where there had been racial and religious antagonism of a most distressing character Thus, because of his ideal of cultural synthesis and religious diversity, Akbar reserved a unique place for himself in Indian history Reference Badauni, Abdul Qadir (1864-69) Muntakhabut Tawarikh, Vols Calcutta, (Vol 2, Trans W H Lowe) Calcutta, 1898 Abu al-Fazl ibn Mubarak.1902 The Akbar Nāma of Abu-l-Fazl Low Price Publications, Chandra S 2005 Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part-II, Har-Anand Publications Chandra, S 2007 History of Medieval India New Delhi: Orient Longman Dabistan i-Mazahib ascribed to Zulfiqar Ardastani (1843) (Trans D Shea & A Troyer) Vols Paris Habib, I 1997 Akbar and his India New Delhi: Oxford University Press Lal, K S 1966 Studies in Indian history Delhi: Ranjit Printers & Publishers Mahajan Vidya Dhar 1965 Muslim Rule in India S Chand Nizami, K A 1989 Akbar and Religion Delhi Rezavi, S A N 2008 Religious disputations and imperial ideology: The purpose and location of Akbar‟s Ibadatkhana Studies in History, 24 (2) Rizvi, S A A 1975 Religious and intellectual history of the Muslims in Akbar’s reign with special reference to Abu’l Fazl (1556- 1605) Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Shireen Moosvi 1994 Episodes in the Life of Akbar: Contemporary Records and Reminiscences National Book Trust, India 288 Nguyen Tran Tien / Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol 4, No (2018) 277-288 Showick Thorpe & Edgar Thorpe 2009 The Pearson General Studies Manual 2009, 1/e Pearson Education India Singh Nagendra Kr 1996 Islamic Mysticism In India A.P.H Publishing Corporation Siddique, A F M 2001 Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (Rh.) & his reforms Dhaka: Research & Publication Khanka-e-Mujaddidia Tancred Borenius 1943 Portraits of Akbar, the Great Mughal Burlington Magazine for Connaisseurs 82 Thayer Lee 2010 Leaders and Leadership: Searching for Wisdom in All the Right Places Xlibris Corporation Vấn đề hịa bình hịa hợp sách tơn giáo Akbar: nhìn từ Din-i-Ilahi Sulh-i Kul Nguyễn Trần Tiến Tóm tắt: Abu‟l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar hay Akbar Đại Đế (1556-1605), vị hoàng đế vĩ đại đế chế Mughal với nhiều đóng góp quân đội, trị hành Trên thực tế, ơng người sáng lập đế chế sau ông giành chiến thắng trận đánh Panipat lần thứ II vào năm 1556 Chiến thắng mở đường cho Akbar trở thành vị hoàng đế tiểu lục địa Ấn Độ tiếp tục tiến hành chinh phục vị vua Hindu Trong nghiệp trị vị mình, Akbar tơn vinh tư tưởng tự sách tơn giáo Chính sách tôn giáo Akbar đưa dựa tác động bên bên đế chế Mughal thành công ông bắt nguồn từ sách tơn giáo Sulh-i Kul (hịa bình hài hịa phổ qt) khơng kể tơn giáo, địa vị xã hội hay nguồn gốc xuất thân Năm 1582, ông đưa hệ tư tưởng tôn giáo Din-i Ilahi (Tôn giáo Thần thánh) Đây coi phong trào tôn giáo thống tư tưởng trọng yếu hòa hợp Hindu Islam giáo Bài viết nhằm xem xét yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến sách tơn giáo Akbar, sâu phân tích tư tưởng tơn giáo Din-i-Ilahi Sulh-i Kul cách nhìn nhận đặc trưng tính chất mà định hình nên thái độ ứng xử Akbar tơn giáo nhóm xã hội khác Từ khóa: Đề chế Mughal; Akbar; sách tơn giáo; Din-i-Ilahi; Sulh-i Kul  ... the Din- i Ilahi, Akbar’s religious policy Din- i Ilahi was Akbar’s a special inclination and sympathy for the society of various social identities such as Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians as well... political position and to 283 reach an understanding among his people, Akbar introduced the idea of a new religion known as Din- i- Ilahi (Divine Faith), a conception of a new religion combining... well as a close association with religious leaders like Brahmins, missionaries, monks, and priests With Din- i Ilahi, Akbar aimed to express his tolerance to all kinds of religious systems As for