the three empires and the islamic phoenix 307would be found in all religions. As a consequence, to him, all reli-
gions were equal and should be treated on an equal footing. Ibn-
al-Arabi’s philosophy flourished after him and was developed by
subsequent scholars into various derived concepts such as universal
peace, ‘sulœ-el-kull’, and universal love, ‘maœabbat-el-kull’ (Mahmoud,
1986).
Shah Akbar’s approach to religion seemed to have been diverting
away from the strict rules of the Sharì"ah with distinct inclination
towards flùfìsm and Religious Philosophy, falsafah.Either for practical
reasons, of running an Empire with a wide diversity of religions, or
for personal reasons motivated by his self inner belief, Akbar seemed
to be wanting to develop a model society in which all are equal
despite of their race or religion. His policies worked to the advantage
of the people and he was successful in managing the peace in a well
diversified empire of religions and culture until his death.
Shah Akbar did not attempt to force the populace to convert to
his Sunni doctrine. The Muslims were the ruling minority, and had
he tried a forcible conversion, religious fractions would perhaps have
torn the Empire apart. Every Hindu caste had its own religious prac-
tices, and Buddhists, Jacobites, Jews, Jains, Christians, Zoroastrians,
Sunni Muslims and Ismàìlis, had all been allowed to worship with-
out hindrance (Armstrong, 2000). During the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, Hindus of all castes and even a few Muslims had joined
forces in establishing a spiritualized, contemplative, form of monothe-
ism, which led to sectarian intolerance. The Sikh religion, founded
by Guru Nanak (d. 1539) had grown from these circles, insisting on
the unity and compatibility of Hinduism and Islam. Akbar went even
one mile further; he abolished the Jizyah tax. Furthermore, to woo
the Hindus he became vegetarian and gave up hunting which was
frowned upon by other religions as blood sports. Moreover, he built
temples for Hindus, and in 1575 set up a “house of worship” where
scholars of all religions could meet for discussion, and founded his
own flùfì order, dedicated to “divine monotheism”, Tawhìd-e ilahi,
based on the premise that the one God could reveal Himself in any
rightly guided religion (ibid.). He was exemplary of religious toler-
ance, reflecting in his policies on the central theme of ibn-al-Arabi.
For his novelty of thinking, adaptation of the Islamic doctrine to
serve the community best, Shah Akbar is suited to be included among
Muslim reformers, even if he was a king. Rightly, Shah Akbar was
a king who turned into a philosopher and reformer.