es to reply to and
demolish each other's arguments. The bigotry, the narrowness, evinced
by the leaders of these sectaries, who agreeing that it was right to
persecute Hindus and other unbelievers, hurled charges of infidelity
against each other, quite disgusted Akbar. Instead of 'unity' in the
creed of Islam he found a multiplicity of divisions. He was further
disgusted with the rudeness towards each other displayed by the
several sectaries, some of them holding high office in the State, and
he was compelled on one occasion to warn them that any one of them
who should so offend in the future would have to quit the hall. At
last, one memorable Thursday evening, Abulfazl brought matters to a
crisis. Foreseeing the opposition it would evoke, he proposed as a
subject for discussion that a king should be regarded not only as the
temporal, but as the spiritual guide of his subjects.

{157} This doctrine struck at the fundamental principle of Islam,
according to which the Kuran stands above every human ordinance. The
point of Abulfazl's proposition lay in the fact that in preceding
discussions the Muhammadan learned had differed not only regarding
the interpretation of various passages of the Kuran, but regarding
the moral character of Muhammad himself. The storm raised by
Abulfazl's motion was, therefore, terrible. There was not a doctor or
lawyer present who did not recognise that the motion attacked the
vital principle of Islam, whilst the more clear-sighted and
dispassionate recognised that the assertions made in their previous
discussions had broken through 'the strong embankments of the
clearest law and the most excellent faith.'

But how were they to resist a motion which affected the authority of
Akbar? In this difficulty they came to a decision, which, though they
called it a compromise, gave away in fact the whole question. They
drew up a document[2] in which the Emperor was certified to be a just
ruler, and as such was assigned the rank of a 'Mujtahid,' that is, an
infallible authority in all matters relating to Islam. This admission
really conceded the object aimed at by Abulfazl, for, under its
provisions, the 'intellect of the just king became the sole source of
legislation, {158} and the whole body of doctors and lawyers bound
themselves to abide by Akbar's decrees in religious matters.'

[Footnote 2: Blochmann (_Ain-i-Akbari_, p. xiv) calls it 'a document
which I believe stands unique in the whole Church hi