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Grand Mufti of IndiaAbdul Qadir Badayuni
Badāʾūnī brings the news of the victory at Haldighati, June 1576. By Manohar Das
Pronunciation	Abd al-Qādir al-Badāyūni
Born	Abdul Qadir 1540 Badayun, Mughal Empire
Died	1615 Agra, Agra Subah, Mughal Empire
Era	Mughal India
Personal life
Home town	Agra
Known for	Historian, Islamic scholar, Linguist and Courtier
Senior posting
Influenced by Usman Bengali

ʽAbd al-Qadir or Abdul Qadir Badayuni (1540–1615) was an Indian writer, historian, and translator. He lived in the Mughal Empire. He translated into Persian the Hindu works, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata (Razmnama).

Life

He was the son of Muluk Shah. He grew up in Basavar, studying in Sambhal and Agra. In 1562, he moved to Badaun, the town after which he was named, before moving to Patiala to enter the service of prince Husayn Khan for the next nine years. His later years of study were led by Muslim mystics. The Mughal emperor, Akbar, appointed him to the religious office in the royal courts in 1574 where he spent much of his career.

Major works

Badayuni wrote Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh (Selection of Chronicles) or Tarikh-i-Badayuni (Badayuni's History) which was completed in 1595 (1004 AH). This work in three volumes is a general history of the Muslims of India. The first volume contains an account of Babur and Humayun. The second volume exclusively deals with Akbar's reign up to 1595. This volume is an unusually frank and critical account of Akbar's administration, in particular, his religious views and his conduct. This volume was kept concealed until Akbar's death and was published after Jahangir's accession. This book gives a contemporary perspective regarding the development of Akbar's views on religion and his religious policy. The third volume describes the lives and works of Muslim religious figures, scholars, physicians and poets.

The first printed edition of the text of this work was published by the College Press, Calcutta in 1865 and later this work was translated into English by G.S.A. Ranking (Vol.I), W.H. Lowe (Vol.II) and T.W. Haig (Vol.III) (published by the Asiatic Society, Calcutta between 1884 and 1925 as a part of their Bibliotheca Indica series).

In popular culture

Irrfan Khan played Badayuni in Doordarshan's historical drama Bharat Ek Khoj (1988-1989).

He was portrayed by Aayam Mehta in Taj: Divided by Blood.

Notes

1. ^ "Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
2. ʽAbd al-Qadir Badayuni (1899). "II. An account of the learned men, most of whom the author has met, or from those whom he has received instruction.". In Haig, Wolseley (ed.). Muntakhab-ut-Tawārīkh. Vol. 3. p. 188.
3. "ʿAbd al-Qādir Badāʾūnī | Indo-Persian historian".
4. ^ Majumdar, R. C., ed. (2007). The Mughul Empire. The History and Culture of the Indian People. Vol. VII (4th ed.). Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. pp. 6–7.
5. "Ashutosh Gowariker recalls seeing an 'unknown actor' Irrfan Khan during Discovery of India's shoot : 'Have been fan ever since'". Hindustan Times. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2022.

References

• "Bada'uni, 'Abd al-Qadir." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 16 November 2005 .
• Muntakhab al-Tavarikh (in Persian) Volume 2 .
• All three volumes of his Muntakhab al-Tavarikh (in English) are available and searchable here: http://persian.packhum.org/persian/
• Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh, Volume 1 (1898)

External links

• The Muntakhabu-'rūkh by ʽAbdu-'l-Qādir Ibn-i-Mulūk Shāh, (Al-Badāoni) Packard Humanities Institute
• Tārīkh-i Badāūnī, a translation from Volume V of The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians, 1867

• 1540 births
• 1610s deaths
• Historians from the Mughal Empire
• People from Budaun district
• 16th-century Indian Muslims
• Grand muftis of India
• 16th-century Indian historians
• 16th-century Indian non-fiction writers
• 16th-century translators
• Akbar
• Scholars from Uttar Pradesh
• 17th-century Indian non-fiction writers
• 17th-century translators
• Indian translators
• 16th-century Mughal Empire people