Shaikh Gadai Kamboh was a

Punjabi Muslim Punjabi Muslims are Punjabis who are adherents of Islam. With a population of more than 112 million, they are the third-largest predominantly Islam-adhering Muslim ethnicity in the world, after Arabs and Bengalis. The majority of Punjabi Musl ...

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saint. He was the son, disciple and successor of famous scholar, philosopher and poet-laureate Shaikh Jamali Kamboh of

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and brother of the '' 'Master of Expression' ''—Shaikh Abd-al-Hai Hayati. His real name was Abdur Rehman but he became famous as Gadai. He was well-renowned for his sanctity and learning and was in high favour with emperor

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

and

Bairam Khan Muhammad Bairam Khan (; 18 January 1501 – 31 January 1561), commonly known as Bairam Khan or Bayram Khan was an important military commander, and later commander-in-chief of the Mughal Empire, Mughal army, a powerful statesman and regent at ...

. He is also said to have remained a ''Musahib'' of the

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

emperor Salim Shah Suri. During

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

’s reign, he occupied the high office of ''“Sadr-i-sadur”'' of

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( English: /ˈhɪndustæn/ or /ˈhɪndustɑn/, ; ) was a historical region, polity, and a name for India, historically used simultaneously for northern Indian subcontinent and the entire subcontinent, used in the modern day ...

Early career

Shaikh Gadai’s father Shaikh Jamali Kamboh had been an important courtier of Mughal emperors

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

as well as

’s court. On Jamali’s death, emperor Humayun appointed Shaikh Gadai as his courtier. But after Humayun's defeat by

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

near Kanawdi in 1540 AD, Shaikh Gadai fled to

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. After the disastrous battle of

Kanauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ) is an ancient city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located 113 km (71 mi) from Etawah, ...

and the consequent troubles,

, an important Turkoman noble of emperor

, took refuge in Gujarat where he was rendered a great help by Sheikh Gadai. It is stated that Bairam Khan had escaped from near

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

through the efforts and exertions of Shaikh Gadai and Babbal Khan. Later, Shaikh Gadai went to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

for the

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

. On his return, he remained in Gujarat for a while where he was joined by his numerous

Murid In Sufism, a (Arabic ) is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title , or . A or Sufi follower only becomes a when he makes a pledge () to a . The equivalent Pers ...

s and became famous in Gujarat for his opulent sessions of Sama.

Shaikh Gadai as ''Sadr-i-sadur'' of Hindustan

With the restoration of Mughal rule in 1555, the political situation changed and Shaikh Gadai Kamboh re-joined Humayun’s court sometime before his death in March 1556. On Humayun's death, when Khan-i Khana, Bairam Khan became the regent of emperor Akbar, he soon issued a ''firman'' appointing Shaikh Gadai to the high office of ''“Sadr-i-sadur”'' (''Administrator General or Lord Chief Justice'') of

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. The ''"Sadr-i-sadur"'' or ''"Sadr-i-jahan"'' or ''"Sadrat-i-mamalik"'' (''Office of Lord Chief Justice and highest religious officer combined'') had a very important position as all persecution under the canon law required his sanction and the letters of appointments for the ''qazis'' of ''Subah'' and ''Sarkars'', ''muhtasibs'', ''Imams'' and ''mutawallis'' for the stipends and the bills for charitable endowments were issued by him and under his sole authority. He also enjoyed more latitude than others in the matters of selecting king's departmental officers. The office of ''"Sadr-i-sadur"'' had been very important before the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

' rule and even during Akbar’s reign, he was ranked the third most powerful officer in the empire. It was his legal edict which legalized the accession of new king. By the time of Akbar the office had however, become corrupt especially so in the administration of grants & pensions and hence after assuming the office, the first thing the Shaikh did was to draw the pen of obliteration through the grants and pensions of the old servants of

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

in order to control the widespread corruption.Glossary of Tribes, Vol-1, p 499, H. A. Rose. Numerous old grantees and pensionees were thus affected by this step including probably also the chronicler Badāʼūnī (a cleric), the author of ''Muntakhbu-a-Twarikh''. Apparently hurt by this drastic administrative action, Badāʼūnī accordingly makes very vitriolic and personal attacks on Shaikh Gadai Kamboh.

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

historian `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni (''Abd al-Qādir ibn Mulūk Shāh Badāʼūnī'') witnesses that Shaikh Gadai Kamboh achieved the rank of ''"Sadr-i-sadur"'' of emperor Akbar and, ''“for several years, he was resorted to as an authority on the religious questions by the sages and principal men of Hindustan, Khurasan, Transoxians and Iraq “'' . Shaikh Gadai was the right-hand man of Bairam Khan. Bairam Khan never did any political or financial business without consulting the Shaikh. Shaikh Gadai also obtained powers to put his seal on the firmans. He was exempted from the ceremony of homage and in assemblies, he was given precedence over Saiyids and Ulemas. His position was so high that he did not have to dismount the horse when paying respects to the king.Bairam Khan, 1992, p 173-74, Sukumar Ray, M. H. A. Beg - Nobility. Emperor Akbar had a great respect for the Shaikh. Everyone in the ''Darbar-a-Akbari'' was required to bow his head and wave his beard to pay obeisance to the emperor, but Shaikh Gadai was an exception. The emperor himself would come to the Shaikh to seek his blessings. Both Bairam Khan and Akbar used to be often present in his house at "Sama" sessions or singing parties. As ''"Sadr-i-sadur"'', Shaikh Gadai had wielded immense powers in the matters of general administration. During Akbar reign, the office of ''"Sadr-i-sadur"'' ranked third or fourth in the empire. His powers were immense. He was the highest law officer and had the powers which the Administrators-General have amongst us in modern times; he was in-charge of all lands dedicated to ecclesiastical and benevolent purposes and possessed an almost unlimited authority of conferring such lands independently of the king. He was also the highest ecclesiastical law officer and exercised the powers of High Inquistor

Mughal Historians's criticism of Shaikh Gadai

Mughal historians of

's reign who compiled their works after the fall of

are very critical of Shaikh Gadai and accuse him of arrogance, high-handedness and favoritism in the distribution of land grants and stipends among the

Sheikh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...

s, Pirs, Sayyids, Scholars and other deserving persons. So much so, even Akbar complained in his ''

firman A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' co ...

'' to Bairam Khan issued at the time of latter's dismissal that one of his misdeeds was the elevation of Shaikh Gadai to the "Sadarat" in preference to the Sayyids and other

Ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

s. However, it was soon later found that these complaints and grievances were concocted by

Chughtai Chughtai or Chagatai (Urdu, ; ,) is a family name that originated in the Chagatai Khanate as taken up by the descendants and successors of Chagatai Khan who was the second son of Mongol Emperor Genghis Khan. Accordingly, some of the other descen ...

Turk nobles to provide young Akbar with a pretext to remove

, a Turkoman, from the power. William Charles Brice, ''An Historical Atlas of Islam'', 1981, p 312. According to Shaikh Rizk Allah Mushtakt who is the earliest source on this issue, Shaikh Gadai had played a very important role at the beginning of Akbar's reign and Bairam Khan did not transact any political and financial business without consulting him. The dominant orthodox

Turk nobles who ''wanted to get rid of Bairam Khan because of him being a

Persianized Persianization () or Persification (; ), is a sociological process of cultural change in which a non- Persian society becomes "Persianate", meaning it either directly adopts or becomes strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, litera ...

Turk as well as for his

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

beliefs'', always tried to poison Akbar's ears against him. They also got annoyed with Shaikh Gadai Kamboh his right-hand man when he refused to toe their line to join hands with them against Bairam Khan and betray him, in spite of the fact that the Shaikh himself was an orthodox

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Satish Chandra Satish Chandra is a given name of Hindu origin, and may refer to, * Satish Chandra (politician), Indian National Congress leader * Satish Chandra (historian), Indian academic * Satish Chandra Agarwal, Indian politician * Satish Chandra Basumata ...

, ''Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals Part - II'', 1999, p 96. It is wrongly stated by some writers that Shaikh Gadai Kamboh was Shia Muslim. ''"While it appears that Bairam Khan held Shiite beliefs.....Shaikh Gadai was undoubtedly a Sunni and not a Shiite"''. Badāʼūnī, himself a Sunni, simply reflects extreme Sunni opinions when he makes Shaikh Gadai the special target of his personal attacks. Badāʾūnī plaintively writes: ''"The honor (Sadr-i-Sadur) thus conferred gave the Shaikh the precedence over the magnates or grandees (''akabir'') of

and

Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...

"''.

Shaikh's personal attributes

He was considered witty, and composed and sang verses in both

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and Hindustani. He was also a musician whose compositions were well known during Akbar’s reign. Both the Khan-i-Khanan and emperor

used to be present in his house at the ''Sama'' sessions (singing parties). Shaikh died in 976 AH (1574/75 CE) at

and was buried inside the tomb of his father, Shaikh Jamali in Mihrawil.Muntakhbu-a-Twarikh, Trans W. H. Lowe, II, pp 22, 124; Maasiru-ul-Umara, II, pp 540-41; An Historical Atlas of Islam, 1981, p 312, William Charles Brice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamboh, Shaikh Gadai 1574 deaths Year of birth unknown Poets laureate