Will Of Aurangzeb

The will was recorded by Maulvi Hamid-ud Din in chapter 8 of his hand written book in Persian about the life of Aurangzeb:

"There is no doubt that I have been the emperor of India and I have ruled over this country. But I am sorry to say that I have not been able to do a good deed in my lifetime. My inner soul is cursing me as a sinner. But now it is of no avail. It is my wish that my last rites be performed by my dear son Azam, nobody else should touch my body. My servant, Aya Beg, has my purse in which I have carefully kept my earnings of 4 Rs and 2 annas. In my spare time I have been writing the Koran and stitching caps. It was by selling the caps that I made an honest earning of 4 Rs and 2 annas. My coffin should be purchased with this amount. No other money should be spent for covering the body of a sinner. This is my dying wish. By selling the copies of the Koran I collected 305 Rs. That money is also with Aya Beg. It is my will that poor Mohammedans should be fed with sweet rice purchased by this money. All my articles - clothes, ink stand, pens and books should be given to my son Azam. The labour charges for digging my grave will be paid by Prince Azam. My grave should be dug in a dense forest. When I am buried my face should remain uncovered. Do not bury my face in earth. I want to present myself to Allah with a naked face. I am told whoever goes to the supreme court with a naked face will have his sins forgiven. My coffin should be made of thick Khaddar. Do not place a costly shawl on the corpse. The route of my funeral should not be showered with flowers. No one should be permitted to place any flowers on my body. No music should be played or sung, I hate music. No tomb should be built for me. Only a chabootra or platform may be erected. I have not been able to pay the salaries of my soldiers and my personal servants for several months. I bequeath that after my death at least my personal servants be paid in full as the treasury is empty. Niamat Ali has served my very faithfully he has cleaned my body and has never let my bed remain dirty. No mausoleum should be raised in my memory. No stone with my name should be placed at my grave. There should be no trees planted near the grave. A sinner like me does not deserve the protection of a shady tree. My son, Azam has the authority to rule from the throne of Delhi. Kam Bakhsh should be entrusted with the governance of Bijapur and Golconda States. Allah should not make anyone an emperor, the most unfortunate person is he who is an emperor. My sins should not be mentioned in any social gathering. No story of my life should be told to anyone. " Translated from an historical article published by S.Ajmer Singh MA in the Fateh weekly Nov. 7th, 1976. According to wishes of the emperor, his grave made of 'kuccha'(raw) bricks can still be seen in Aurangabad.

What a beautiful Will. Its seems he was a very pious man. May Allah elevate his rank in Jannah.

If one really wants to read the truth about the great Aurangzeb Alamgir (Rahimahullah), then I HIGHLY recommend reading Shaykh Abul Hasan 'Ali Nadwi's brilliant work 'Saviours of Islamic Spirit', Volume 3 on Mujaddid Alf Thani Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (Rahimahullah). In it, he mentions about Aurangzeb's piety, his spiritual training under Khwaja Saifuddin, the son of Khwaja Muhammad Ma'sum who was the son of Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (may Allah have mercy on all of them). He also mentions about Dara Shikoh, Aurangzeb's elder brother, who had developed extremely heretical Hindu views and wanted to revive the rule of Akbar in the sub-continent. That is the reason why Aurangzeb waged war against him and was supported by the scholars, mystics, and other concerned Muslims of his time. It's a great read.