| Din-i Ilahi | |
|---|---|
| دین الهی | |
 Impression ofAkbar, who ruled theMughal Empire from 1556 to 1605 (Museum of Fine Arts Boston, datedc. 17th century) | |
| Type | Syncretic religion |
| Classification | Abrahamic andDharmic (and partlyIranic) |
| Theology | Monotheistic |
| Region | Indian subcontinent |
| Language | None (no holy scripture) |
| Possessions | Ibadat Khana |
| Founder | Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar |
| Origin | 1582 Fatehpur Sikri,Agra, Mughal Empire |
| Separated from | Islam |
| Defunct | c. 1605[1] |
| Members | 19 |
| Other name | Tawḥīd-i-Ilāhī (توحید الهی) |
Dīn-i Ilāhī (Persian:دین الهی,lit. 'DivineReligion'),[2] contemporarily calledTawḥīd-i-Ilāhī (توحید الهی,lit. 'Oneness of the Divine'),[3] was a short-livedsyncretic theology that was propounded by emperorAkbar of theMughal Empire in 1582. According to Indian professor Iqtidar Alam Khan ofAligarh Muslim University, it was built off of the concept of what was known to be "Yasa-e-Changezi" among theTimurids, with the goal of considering all sects and religions as one.[4] Its core elements were drawn from combining aspects ofIslam and otherAbrahamic religions with those of severalDharmic religions andZoroastrianism.
The religion manifested Akbar's worldview and policy, and received state backing until the end of his reign. However, manyMuslim scholars of the period declared it to beblasphemy and decried Akbar as anapostate, with only a handful of upper-class Mughal subjects adopting the new religion. Following Akbar's death,Dīn-i Ilāhī was made defunct byJahangir, who moved away from many of his father's policies in regard to religion and completely abolished by Akbar's great-grandsonAurangzeb who reimposedIslamic law, thereby continuing theMuslim period in the Indian subcontinent. Ultimately, the religion is not thought to have gained more than its 19 identified followers, and it lasted just over 20 years before Islam was returned to official status in the region.
The nameDīn-i Ilāhī literally translates to "God's Religion", "Religion of God", or "Divine Religion". According to historianMubarak Ali,Dīn-i Ilāhī is not the name that was used for the religion in Akbar's time. At the time, it was calledTawhid-i-Ilāhī ("Oneness of the Divine"), as it is written byAbu'l-Fazl, a court historian during the reign of Akbar.[5] This name suggests a particularlymonotheistic focus for Akbar's faith. The anonymousDabestan-e Mazaheb uses the nameIlahiyya to refer to the faith.[6]
Akbar promotedtolerance of other faiths and even encouraged debate on philosophical and religious issues. This led to the creation of theIbādat Khāna ("House of Worship") atFatehpur Sikri in 1575, which invited theologians, poets, scholars, and philosophers from all religious denominations, including Christians, Hindus, Jains, and Zoroastrians.
Since Akbar had severedyslexia, rendering him totally unable to read or write, such dialogues in the House of Worship became his primary means of exploring questions of faith.[citation needed] Despite his aforementioned illiteracy, Akbar would eventually amass a library full of more than 24,000 volumes of texts inHindustani,Persian,Greek,Latin,Arabic andKashmiri. The laterMughal Emperor and son of Akbar,Jahangir, stated that his father was "always associated with the learned of every creed and religion." In a letter toKing Philip II of Spain, Akbar laments that so many people do not investigate their religious arguments, stating that most people will instead blindly "follow the religion in which [they] were born and educated, thus excluding [themselves] from the possibility of ascertaining the truth, which is the noblest aim of the human intellect."[7]
By the time Akbar established theDīn-i Ilāhī, he had already repealed thejizya (tax on non-Muslims) over a decade earlier in 1568. A religious experience while he was hunting in 1578 further increased his interest in the religious traditions of his empire.[8] From the discussions held at the Ibādat Khāna, Akbar concluded that no single religion could claim the monopoly of truth. This revelation inspired him to leave Islam and create a new religion,Dīn-i Ilāhī, in 1582 and Akbar along with his loyal officials converted to this new religionDīn-i Ilāhī in 1582.
This conversion of Akbar toDīn-i Ilāhī angered various Muslims, among them theqadi of theBengal Subah and ShaykhAhmad Sirhindi, who responded by declaring it to beblasphemy to Islam.
Some modern scholars have argued that theDin-i Ilahi was a spiritual discipleship of Akbar of his own belief which he propounded in his new religion.[9]
Dīn-i Ilāhī appears to have survived Akbar according to theDabestān-e Mazāheb. However, the movement was suppressed by force after his death and was totally eradicated byAurangzeb, a task made easier by the fact that the religion never had more than 19 adherents.[2][6]
In the 17th century, an attempt to re-establish theDīn-i Ilāhī was made byShah Jahan's eldest sonDara Shikoh,[10] but any prospects of an official revival were halted by his brother, Aurangzeb, who executed him[11][12] on grounds ofapostasy. Aurangzeb later compiled theFatawa-e-Alamgiri, reimposed thejizya, and establishedIslamic law across theIndian subcontinent, spreadingIslamic orthodoxy and extinguishing any chance of religious reform for generations.[13]
Although the spirit and central principles ofDīn-i Ilāhī were adapted fromSufism[14] (including ideas from theAndalusi Sufi mystic,Ibn al-'Arabi), Akbar endeavored to create a synthesis of other beliefs and so his personal religion borrowed concepts and tenets from many other faiths. Aligned with Sufi practices, one's soul is encouraged topurify itself through yearning of God.[citation needed] Virtues included generosity, forgiveness, abstinence, prudence, wisdom, kindness, and piety.[15] The following details illustrate the personal religious observances of Akbar:
As an inquisitive inquirer endowed with the spirit of reason, he learnt the Hindu alchemy and medicine and cultivated theirYoga system; like his Central Asianancestor, he believed in astronomy and astrology; and after his association with the ZoroastrianMobed, he believed that life might be lengthened by lightning fire or by the repetition of a thousand names of Sun. Following theBuddhist custom, he used toshave the crown of his head thinking that the soul passed through the brain. He turned into a vegetarian later in life.[16]
The visitation ofJesuit missionaries such asRodolfo Acquaviva brought the virtue of celibacy into the House of Worship, where it consequently became a virtue of Akbar's faith that was not mandatory (as it is for the priests ofRoman Catholicism) but respected. The faith also adopted the principle ofahimsa, an ancient virtue of almost allIndian religions, includingHinduism,Buddhism andJainism. The nonviolence extended from humans to animals, encouraging vegetarianism and prohibiting the slaughter of animals for any reason at all. TheDīn-i Ilāhī had no sacred scriptures and, similar to both Islam andSikhism, there was no priestly hierarchy.[17]
Light was a focus of divine worship, with a light-fire ritual based on theyasna (the primary form of worship inZoroastrianism) and an adoption of the hymn of the 1,000 Sanskrit names for thesun. Followers were referred to aschelah (meaning "disciples").
The major practices and beliefs of Dīn-i Ilāhī were as follows:
It has been argued that the theory ofDīn-i Ilāhī being a new religion was a misconception which arose because of erroneous translations ofAbu'l-Fazl's work by later British historians.[19] However, it is also accepted that the policy ofsulh-i-kul, which formed the essence ofDīn-i Ilāhī, was adopted by Akbar as a part of general imperial administrative policy.Sulh-i-Kul means "universal peace".[20][7] According to Abu'l-Fazl, the emperor was auniversal agent of god, and so his sovereignty was not bound to any single faith. In this,Akbar appointed officials based on their ability and merit, regardless of their religion or background. This helped to create a more efficient government and contributed to the prosperity and cultural achievements of the Mughal period.[21] The emperor is further prohibited from discriminating between thedifferent religions of the realm and if the ruler did discriminate, then they were not fit for the role as an agent of god.[22] Abu'l-Fazl saw the religious views of Akbar as a rational decision toward maintaining harmony between the various faiths of the empire.[23]
The initiated disciples of Dīn-i Ilāhī during emperor Akbar's time included:[24]
The truth is that Akbar was singularly sensitive to religious impressions of every kind, and that his new religion, the Din-i-Ilahi, or 'divine faith' an eclectic pantheism, contained elements taken from very diverse creeds.
India was at a crossroads in the mid-seventeenth century; it had the potential of moving forward with Dara Shikoh, or of turning back to medievalism with Aurangzeb
Poor Dara Shikoh!....thy generous heart and enlightened mind had reigned over this vast empire, and made it, perchance, the garden it deserves to be made