Further reading: P. M. Currie, The Shrine and Cult of
Muin Al-Din Chishti of Ajmer (Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 1989); Carl W. Ernst and Bruce B. Lawrence,
Sufi Martyrs of Love (New York: Palgrave Macmillan,
2002).
Akbar (1542–1605) the most famous emperor
of India’s Mughal dynasty, known for liberal religious
attitudes
Abu al-Fath Jalal al-Din Muhammad Akbar was
the third and most famous ruler of the mUghal
dynasty in india. The son of Humayun (d. 1556)
and his Persian wife Hamida Banu, Akbar was
born at Umarkot in Sind, northwest India (now
part of pakistan). He came to power as a teen-
ager in 1556 and ruled as emperor (padshah)
until his death in 1605. During his reign, Akbar
guided the expansion of the Mughal Empire from
its bases in delhi and Lahore to Rajasthan and
Afghanistan in the west, the Himalaya Mountains
in the north, Orissa and Bengal in the east, and
the northern Deccan Plateau in the south. Akbar’s
empire dominated India’s Indus and Ganges plain.
Its centralized government grew wealthy from
plunder, tribute, and new tax revenues from agri-
cultural expansion, as well as a significant influx
of silver from the New World as a result of trade
with European countries.
A flexible attitude toward religion became an
important part of Akbar’s strategy of governance
as he sought to both consolidate his power among
fellow Muslims plus win the support of his Hindu
subjects. He sponsored the haJJ to mecca and
patronized Sunni and Shii Ulama. He included
members of the Hindu aristocracy in his govern-
ment, cancelled taxes imposed on Hindu pilgrims
and landholders, and observed Hindu festivals.
His harem included Christian and Hindu as well
as Muslim wives. Akbar performed pilgrimages
on foot to the shrine of Muin al-Din Chishti (d.
1236) in aJmer and built a white marble tomb for
another Sufi saint, Salim al-Chishti, in Fatehpur
Sikri, the new capital he constructed near Agra in
- Although Akbar himself was illiterate and
possibly dyslexic, he funded the translation of
Hindu religious texts and held dialogues between
representatives of different religions in the House
of Worship, a special pavilion in the Fatehpur
Sikri palace. Portrayed by his supporters as a sun
king and perfect man whose divine light brought
peace to the universe, Akbar even attempted to
found a new religion for his court known as the
Religion of God (Din-i Ilahi). Conservative Sunni
ulama opposed Akbar’s pluralistic views and inno-
vations, but their reaction did not gain a foothold
in the palace until after his death. He was buried
in a magnificent tomb near Agra in 1605.
See also chishti sUFi order; hindUism and
islam; sirhindi, ahmad.
Further reading: K. A. Nizami, Akbar and Religion
(New Delhi: Idarah-i-Adabiyat-i-Delli, 1989); John F.
Richards, The Mughal Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1993).Akhbari School
The Akhbari School was an influential branch of
Shii jurisprudence (fiqh) from the 17th century to
the 19th century in iran, iraq, parts of the Ara-
bian Peninsula, and india. Its name comes from
the Arabic word akhbar, which means “reports” or
“traditions,” especially traditions about the say-
ings and actions of any of the 12 Shii Imams (holy
men descended from the house of the prophet
mUhammad). The Akhbaris, under the leader-
ship of Mulla Muhammad Amin al-Astarabadi (d.
1623), advocated that the sharia must be based on
the authentic traditions of these infallible Imams
and the qUran. The traditions are found in four
books, which were assembled in the 10th and
11th centuries. If there is no reliable or explicit
tradition from the imams on a legal matter, then
a ruling about that matter is not valid. The Akh-
baris rejected the UsUli school of jurists, who
placed emphasis on independent legal reasoning
(ijtihad); they did not require explicit reports fromAkhbari School 27 J