mention—(i) naih wazir, (ii) mushrif-i-mumalik and (iii) mustauf-i-mumalik.
The first acted as his chiefs deputy. The second maintained a record of the
accounts received from the provinces and other department of central
government. The third audited this account. Thus while the second was the
accountant-general, the third was like an auditor-general. However, the rulers
made a slight change in the allocation of their duties and entrusted the
account of all revenues to the Mushrif and supervision of expenditure to the
Mustauf:
Ariz-i-mumalik He was the head of the military department called diwan-
i-arz and was next to the wazir in importance. But he was not the
commander-in-chief of the army, since the Sultan himself commanded all the
armed forces. The special responsibility of the ariz’s department was to
recruit, equip and pay the army.
Sadr-us-sudur He was the head of the public charities and ecclesiastical
department known as diwan-i-risalat. It was he who made grants in cash or
land for the construction and maintenance of mosques, tombs, khanqahs and
madrasas. Again it was he who granted maintenance allowances to the
learned, the saintly, the orphaned and the disabled. The funds of the
department of charities were utilised for the exclusive good of the Muslims
alone. It had usually a separate treasury which received all collections from
zakat (a tax collected from rich Muslims only). It was Firoz Tughluq who
introduced it in the list of regular state demands.
Oazi-ul-quzat He was the head of the judicial department and usually the
posts of the chief sadr and the chief qazi were combined in a single person.
Qazis were appointed in various parts of the empire, particularly in those
places where there was a sizeable Muslim population. The qazis dispensed
civil law based on Muslim personal law (sharia). An officer, known as the
amir-i-dad presided over the secular court (mazalim) in the Sultan’s absence.
He was also responsible for implementing the qazis’ decisions. Then, there
were the muftis who were the experts on sharia law and gave fatwas, (legal
rulings) on disputes referred to them. Other legal questions were either
decided by the qazis or were left to the ruler’s discretion. The Hindus were
governed by their own personal laws which were dispensed by panchayats in
the villages and by the leaders of the various castes in the cities. Criminal law