Firoz Shah Tughlaq – Reforms and Religious Outlook

After the death of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq in c. 1351 AD, Firoz Shah Tughlaq (FST), cousin of MBT, succeeded him. His long reign of 37 years enjoyed a significant place in Turko-Afghan rule in India. He sat on throne when Sultan Muhammad Bin Tughlaq died suddenly after falling his horse at Thatta in c. 1351 AD. Because there was no male heir to Muhmmad Bin Tughlaq, the crown was offered to Firoz Shah Tughlaq. But after ascending the throne, he faced number of challenges but he responded them smartly.

Also read : Firoz Shah Tughlaq – Revenue, Agrarian and Welfare Measures

Firoz Shah Tughlaq – Challenges and Response of New Sultan

Muhammad Bin Tughlaq – Estimate of His Personality

Judicial Reforms and Patronage of Art

During the reign of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq, the Judicial system was too harsh and cruel. Punishments like amputation of limbs, tortures and use of ordeals were quite common. But Firoz Shah Tughlaq reviewed the judicial system by stopping the use of inhumane practices during punishment. The penal code was made mild was him. Also, he was a great patronage of learning activities. Number of scholars and writer were lived in his court including both Indians and foreigners.

Ziauddin Barani and Shams-i-Sirajafif lived in his court. Sultan Firoz Tughlaq got a number of Sanskrit works translated into Persian. Ragdarpan (a Sanskrit work on music) was such an example. FST was himself a fine scholar. He was the only ruler of Delhi to write his biography by the name, Futuhat-i-Firozshahi.

Public Works of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq

FST was also a great patronage of architecture as he built number of monuments during his reign. He built four mosques, four hospitals, five reservoirs, five canals, ten baths, no. of pillars, no. of tombs, no. of bridges, many canals and more than 200 Sarai’s were built. He built the city of Jaunpur in memory of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq (Jauna Khan). He also built number of cities like Firozabad, Fatehabad, Hisar-Firoza etc. Firozshah Kotla was also constructed by him.

He also completed and repaired the number of monuments. For example, the monument of Qutub Minar was repaired by him when it was hit and damaged by thunder. The two pillars of Ashoka were brought to Delhi from Topara (Ambala) and Meerut. Number of colleges and schools were built by him, Madarsha-i-Firozshahi was located in Delhi. A clock tower was constructed from where a person used to stand to announce the time periodically.

Astrological charts known as Utsarlab was also built during his reign which estimated the precise location of the heavenly bodies so that the beginning of the seasons would be calculated precisely. This knowledge was very useful in the agriculture activities.

Religious Activities of Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq

The religious policy formed an important component of the reign of FST. His religious policy was orthodox but he was not a bigot as portrayed sometimes. He was a dedicated Sunni Muslim but he followed the religious policy as per the need of state not as for his personal interest. He adopted the policy of appeasement to satisfied the religious person like Ulemas.

Ulemas was accorded high status in the administration of his reign. He did not take any important decision without consulting the Ulemas. He followed the Shariat laws rigidly and other laws were abolished by him. Firoz Shah Tughlaq was a son of Hindu mother, so to prove his authority he adopted orthodox policies to convince everyone that he was a dedicated Muslim.

To achieve the same objective, he demolished number of temples, suppressed Heretics (anti-Islamic peoples among Muslims) and promoted Islam by giving incentives. But as per detailed analysis of these facts, we found that these temples were mostly demolished during the military campaigns, it was not during the peace time. He did demolish temples in Kangra but he did not touch the Jawalamukhi Temple and even bow the head in front of Jawalamukhi temple.   

So, Firoz Shah Tughlaq adopted number of reforms and policies to consolidated his empire and he was much successful in his approaches.