458 conclusion
It seems that these theoretical foundations of an all-potent ulema clergy sur-
vived the upheavals following the fall of the Safavids (in 1722, at the hands of
Afghan tribal rulers), although their successors, Nader Shah (d. 1747), Khan
Zand (d. 1779), and the Qajar dynasty favored more traditional political ideolo-
gies, stressing justice and protection of the peasants; the Akhbari school briefly
regained its influence before being definitely crushed in the 1770s by the Usuli
scholar Muhammad Baqir Behbahani (d. 1792).75
The other great Islamicate empire of the region arose on the Indian sub-
continent, under the very strong influence of Persian culture. The rule of the
Mughal dynasty began when the Timurid prince Babur (d. 1530) conquered
Kabul and then Delhi; of his successors, perhaps the most important was Akbar
(r. 1556–1605), whose plan for religious toleration and equality for all his sub-
jects (Muslim—Sunni or Shi‘a—and Hindus) was based on his mystical vision
(which also advocated a unification of religious and temporal power under his
person). In a sense, Akbar took the Safavid mujtahid notion and applied it to
the ruler himself, as the ultimate arbitrer of matters, both religious and secular.
As expressed by Akbar’s vizier and historian, Abu’l-Fazl (d. 1602), the aim of
kingship should be “universal peace” (sulh-e kull); Akbar even initiated a new
religion, the “religion of God” (din-e illahi), which would unify all religions and
whose spiritual master would be himself. Although Akbar’s policy was con-
tinued by his successors, his attempt to replace Islam with his own royal reli-
gion did not last. The opposition was mainly expressed by Sufi sheikhs, such
as Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1624), a peculiar practitioner of messianism, and more
orthodox authors such as Munshi al-Khaqani, Nur al-Din Qazi al-Khaqani, Abd
al-Haqq, and Baqir Najm-i Sani, who all wrote adab-styled treatises following
Davvani’s model that emphasized the duty of the king to uphold the Sharia.
Finally, Akbar’s ideology lost ground to a re-Islamization of the state under
Shah Jahan (r. 1628–58) and especially his successor, Aurangzeb (r. 1658–1707),
who tried to impose a legal system based on the Sharia and, particularly, the
Hanafi school. As the Mughal Empire was disintegrating as a result of the rise
of independent Hindu and Sikh polities and Afghan invasions, one should note
the Nakshbandi sheikh Shah Wali Allah al-Dihlawi (d. 1762) and his innova-
tive theories: in a manner reminiscent of Kâtib Çelebi’s views, he suggested
that the Sharia should be adapted to changing conditions, i.e. according to
time and place. In this vein (and in the tradition of Akbar’s universalism), he
strongly advocated the use of balance (tawazun) or the middle way as a means
of reconciling every conflict in Muslim doctrine, as well as in everyday life. He
also formulated a highly original theory of stages (irtifaqat) in human history,
75 On Safavid and Qajar political ideology and thought see Lambton 1956b; Lambton 1981,
264–287; Arjomand 1984; Newman 1992a and 1992b; Mitchell 2009; Black 2011, 228ff.