Question

Who among the following Sultans was advised by Qazi Mughisuddin to act according to the law of Shariat, but the Sultan rejected his advice.
A) Jalaluddin Khalji
B) Alauddin Khalji
C) Muhammad bin Tughlaq
D) Firoz Tughlaq

Answer 1

Hint: This emperor belonged to the Khalji Dynasty. He was the nephew and the son-in-law of the founder of the dynasty. He came into power and became the sultan after he himself assassinated his predecessor, i.e. his uncle and father-in-law. He was also the first Muslim ruler to successfully conquer southern parts of India.

Complete answer:
Qazi Mughisuddin was the nephew of ‘Balban’ who was the ninth ruler of the Mameluk Dynasty. He was associated with the Mameluk and the Khalji Dynasty but not with the Tughlaq Dynasty.
Let us check the options for the correct answer.
Option A) Jalaluddin Khalji – Qazi Mughisuddin came into revolt with Jalaluddin Khalji and attempted to take over Delhi. He thought he had more support than Jalaluddin, and attacked, But Jalaluddin managed to defeat his army. He did not believe in executing or mistreating the enemies. Hence, he released all the nobles but he kept Qazi in honourable confinement. Thus, this option is wrong.
Option B) Alauddin Khalji – Alauddin Khalji told Qazi about his deeds and asked whether they were in accordance with the Shariat, to which Qazi said that what Sultan was doing was completely violating Shariat’s injunction. Sultan said that whatever he did was in the best interest of the state and it does not matter whether it defied the Shariat or not. Thus, this option is correct.
Option C) Muhammad bin Tughlaq – He was the eldest son of the founder of the Tughlaq Dynasty and he was the Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. Qazi Mughisuddin was not associated with the Tughlaq dynasty. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
Option D) Firoz Tughlaq – He was the cousin of Muhammad bin Tughlaq and he ascended his throne after his death in 1351. He ruled till 1388 and during his rule, he enforced the Islamic law of Shariat all across his realm. He was also not associated with Qazi Mughisuddin. Thus, this option is incorrect.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (B) Alauddin Khilji.

Note: The interactions between Alauddin and Qazi were recorded by Ziauddin Barani. He was a Muslim political thinker who was born in 1285 to a family where all the members of the family worked for the government of the Delhi Sultanate. He wrote the book Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, which covers events and details of medieval India from the rule of Ghiyasuddin Balban till the first six years of the reign of Firoz Shah Tughlaq.