Divine religion

Know for certain that the perfect prophet and learned apostle, the possessor of fame, Akbar, that is, the lord of wisdom, directs us to acknowledge that the self-existent being is the wisest teacher, and ordains the creatures with absolute power, so that the intelligent among them may be able to understand his precepts; and as reason renders it evident that the world has a Creator, all-mighty and all-wise, who has diffused upon the field of events among the servants, subject to vicissitudes, numerous and various benefits which are worthy of praise and thanksgiving; therefore, according to the lights of our reason, let us investigate the mysteries of his creation, and, according to our knowledge, pour out the praises of his benefits; and as, by the knowledge of the primordial omnipotence, we shall have found the direction to the right way, we shall, in proportion to our grati­tude, be led to the reward of yon exuberant beatitude; if, by denying the unity and disowning the benefits of God we sink into guilt, shall we not be deserving of punishment? Such being the case, why should we pay obedience to any person who belongs to mankind as ourselves, and who is subject to anger and lust, and avarice and passion, and love of rank and power, even more than our­selves? If this mortal exhorts us to knowledge and gratitude, we may by the concurrence of our own reason obtain this advantage; but if he urges his precepts by what is opposite to reason, then his speech is a proof of deceit; for reason demon­strates that the world has a wise creator, and that he, being wise, prescribes to the creatures a wor­ship which to their reason does not evince itself as an evil; and whatever is proved bad, is not ordered by him. Now the law contains particu­lars which reason accounts as false or bad: such are conversations with God; the descent of incorporeal heavenly beings in human forms or in the shape of a tortoise; the reascension to heaven in an elemental body; the pilgrimage to particu­lar edifices for performance of worship; the cir­cuit (round the Kába), the entrance in it, the fatigue, the throwing of stones; the acquitting one's self of the pilgrimage to Mecca; the kissing of the black stone.

All such rituals should be rejected as superstition, only praise of God should be done, which fixes the mind on God. I personally do 5 daily salah, with the difference that I don't concern myself with ritual washing or sutrah, and in the tashahhud, I use the new shahada, and testify that Akbar is God's servant and Khalifah. If you want to learn how to do salah, for a simple explanation click here.

If there is to be a masjid of din-e ilahi, it should be built in the style of buildings that were built by Akbar, without the minaret, like the Jama Masjid in Fatehpur Sikri. If jumah salah is to be done, it should be done according to the description of al-Ghazali, because his book has been recommended by Akbar, just with the mentioned differences.

The Sufis, acknowledging holy personages as represent­ing the Khalífs of the age, used to prostrate them­selves before them, touching the ground with their foreheads; this was intended to mark the secret meaning that the angels had once adored Adam. The truth is, that the wise are the terrestrial angels, who worship an holy personage as a Khalífah, “vicar” of God; and for having attained to this dig­nity, they venerate him under a similar character, and call him also their Kabâh and Kiblah: because the heart of a just man is the heart of the all-just God, and it is to its door that they turn in the wor­ship of God; in that sense Yâkúb and his sons pros­trated themselves before Yúsef.

So, as for kiblah, I turn toward Agra, specifically- the tomb of Akbar, which he built for himself and where his body and his heart are, so that is the kiblah of din-i ilahi.

“In the sequel it became evident to wise men, that emancipation is to be obtained only by the knowledge of truth conformably with the precepts of the perfect prophet, the perfect lord of fame, Akbar, the Wise; the practices enjoined by him are: renouncing and abandoning the world; refraining from lust, sensuality, entertainment, slaughter of what possesses life; and from appro­priating to one's self the riches of other men; abstaining from women, deceit, false accusation, oppression, intimidation, foolishness, and giving to others opprobrious titles. The endeavors for the recompense of the other world, and the forms of the true religion may be comprised in ten vir­tues, namely: 1. liberality and beneficence; 2. for­bearance from bad actions and repulsion of anger with mildness; 3. abstinence from worldly desires; 4. care of freedom from the bonds of the worldly existence and violence, as well as accu­mulating precious stores for the future real and perpetual world; 5. piety, wisdom, and devo­tion, with frequent meditations on the conse­quences of actions; 6. strength of dexterous pru­dence in the desire of sublime actions; 7. soft voice, gentle words, and pleasing speeches for everybody; 8. good society with brothers, so that their will may have the precedence to our own; 9. a perfect alienation from the creatures, and a perfect attachment to the supreme Being; 10. purification of the soul by the yearning after God the all-just, and the union with the merciful Lord, in such a manner that, as long as the soul dwells in the body, it may think itself one with him and long to join him, until the hour of separation from the body arrives. The best men are those who content themselves with the least food, and who sequestrate themselves from this perishable world, and abstain from the enjoyments of eating, drinking, dress, and marriage. The vilest of the people are those who think it right to indulge the desire of generation, the passion for wine, and ban­quetting with eagerness, as if it were something divine. As the mode which the perfect prophet and apostle, Akbar the Wise, has prescribed to his followers, is difficult, certainly the demons excite the spirit of brutish passion against his regula­tions; so that there are prophets who, captivated with lust, anger, pleasures of eating and drinking, costly garments, beautiful women, and engaged in oppression towards the children of one race, whom they call infidels, consider these practices not only as legal, but even as laudable, and tend towards them. So it happens that many learned men and their followers, who, for the sake of the world have chosen to obey these prophets, but in their heart deny them, and are aware of the falsehood of this sect, wait for an opportunity, with prudent regard to circumstances and a favorable hour, to adopt the regulations of Akbar.”

The lord vicar of God said to his disciples, that, it is an indispensable duty to worship God, the all-just.

None except God, the all-mighty, is the wish of the godly man, that is, whatever the godly undertakes, the object of his wish in it is God; for instance, he takes some food, that he may be able to perform the service of God; performs that service, that he may not be slack and deficient in his duties to God; desires a wife, that he may give existence to a virtuous son, worshipper of God.

Finally, the godly man is at all times in the service and obedience of the all-just, and at no moment is he negligent in pious practices. Moreover, he thinks himself bound to abstain from hurting living beings, and he respects all the creatures of God. He does not cut grass and green trees without necessity, nor pollute the ground wantonly, except on a particular place; he throws neither water nor fire upon vile spots; he blesses the stars; further in this disposition he accustoms himself to absti­nence in speaking, eating, and sleeping.
 
Acbar called the harmless animals the beasts of peace, and showed abhorrence to their slaughter. It is tyranny to kill harmless animals, and a tyrant is an enemy of God, the Almighty.

It is absurd to prepare food for the spirit of a corpse, which then belongs to minerals: what sense is there in it? Yet the birth-day of a person is justly made a great festival, and called “the ban­quet of life.” Moreover, when one's soul has attained the full knowledge of the primitive cause, and has left its mortal garment, this day also is devoted to rejoicing, and named “the day of union.”


Another of his ordinances abolished absolutely the obligation of bathing after pollution by spermatic emission. The sages said that the most exquisite and best part of a man is maní, “sperm,” and that the seed of creation is pure. What sense is there that, after the common natural secretions bathing be not required, whilst the release of a quantity of delicate matter is subject to an entire ablution? Yet it is suit­able to bathe before indulging sexual propensity.

On account of hearing so many dis­putes of the learned in the midst of the multitude, the custom of reading the comments on the Koran and the science of religion and law, were laid aside, and in their place astronomy, physic, arithmetic, mysticism, poetry, and chronology became cur­rent.

It was further ordained, that the Ila­hian may not apply to any other sciences of the Arabs but to astronomy, arithmetic, physic, and philosophy, and not spend their life-time in the pursuit of what is not reasonable. 

It is also recommended to read the "Akhlaq-i-Nasri" by Nasreddin al-Tusi, chapters "Rub' al-muhlikat" and "Rub' al-munjiyat" from the books "Ihya' Ulum al-Din or Ihya'u Ulumiddin" and "Kimiya-yi sa'adat" [the second is the shorter version of the first book] by Al-Ghazali, and "Masnavi" by Rumi, because they can help to achieve "highest degree of religious knowledge".