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Ziauddin Barani (1285 - 1357) was an Indian muslim political thinker who lived in Muhammad bin Tughlaq and Phirozshah's reign.He was best known for composing the Fatwa-i-Jahandari which details the Muslim Caste System in South Asia.

Life

He was born in aristocratic Muslim family in 1385 in which his father, uncle, and grandfather all working in high government posts onder the Sultan of Delhi. Barani never held a post, but was a companion of Muhammad bin Tughlaq for seventeen years. After Tughlaq was deposed, he fell out of favor. In "Exile" he wrote two pieces dealing with government, religion, and history, which he hoped would endear him to the new Sultan, Firuz Shah Tughlaq. He was not rewarded for his works and died poor in 1357.

Works

Fatwa-i-Jahandari

His fatwa would condone segregation of the Muslim "Ashraf" upper castes and "Ajlaf" low castes, in addition to the "Azral" undercastes or the Dalit Muslims who are regarded as "ritually polluted" by the Ashraf.

Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi

Tarikh-i-Firuz Shahi (Firuz Shah's Hisory) was an interpretation of the history of the Delhi Sultanate up to the then-present Firuz Shah Tughlak. Then interpretation noted that the Sultan's who followed the rules of Barani had succeeded in their endeavors while those that did not, or those who had sinned, met the Nemesis.

References

• Basham, A.L. Sources of Indian Tradition Volume 1. Columbia University Press 1958. ISBN 0-231-08600-8

Notes

1. ^ Basham p.458
2. ^ Social Stratification Among Muslims in Indiaby Zarina Bhatty Cite error: The named reference "one" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. Ambedkar, Bhimrao. Pakistan or the Partition of India. Thackers Publishers.
4. Web resource for Pakistan or the Partition of India

See Also

• Caste system among South Asian Muslims

• History of medieval India
• Indian caste system
• Pakistani caste system
• Muslim scholars
• Indian Muslims
• Indian people
• Muslim historians