Silver Rupee of Akbar – 32 Ilahi

 

Obverse

Inscription	Allahu Akbar	अल्लाहू अकबर	اللہ اکبر
Translation	God is Great	ईश्वर महानतम है	اللہ اکبر

Reverse

Inscription	Jalla Jalalahu Ilahi 32	जल्ला जलालुहू इलाही 32	جل جلالہ الہے 32
Translation	Eminent is His glory Divine 32	उसका प्रताप अति महान है दिव्य 32	اس کی عظمت بڑی ہے الہ 32

About

Akbar’s Din-i-Ilahi (‘Religion of God’) can be defined as a new syncretic religion or an eclectic religious movement. With his long hair, his appreciation of Indian folktales like the Panchatantra, his care for Rajput and other Hindu noblemen, and his abolition of prejudiced laws and practises, Akbar had long since shown his affection for the people of Hindustan. In the Ibadat Khana, Akbar kept looking for truths in all of their captivating manifestations.

In 1579, Akbar had begun to free himself from a purely Islamic identity and to create a new identity for himself which reflected the diverse people and faiths of the court and country. His Majesty was now certain that the millennium of the Islamic dispensation was approaching, according to Badaoni's account from 990 AH. So, there was nothing stopping him from publicising the designs he had been working on behind closed doors. The first directive that was adopted said that "the currency shall indicate the millennium era."[i]

In the thirtieth year of his reign a change, which had been long foreshadowed, Showed itself in Akbar and on his currency. He began to date his coins from the first year of his reign, and this new era was called the Ilahi, or Divine Era.[ii]

The coin

The formula ‘Allahu Akbar Jalla Jalalahu’ is the primary legend on the Ilahi coins of Akbar. This has led some to wonder whether the ‘Akbar’ (meaning ‘great’) was meant to precede the ‘Allahu’ in the legend. In other words, instead of saying ‘God is great, eminent is His glory’, it might instead mean ‘Akbar is God, let His brightness shine forth’.[iii]

The inference was that Akbar’s person was also divine, and a new creed was invented, which henceforth appeared on his coins.

This particular coin is near the start of Akbar’s Ilahi faith. In fact, this coin is among the few coins of the Ilahi series which does not have a mint name. Mint names were regularly used from the thirty-sixth year onwards.[iv]

 

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[i] Mukhoty, I. (2020). The Art of Rebellion. In Akbar: The Great Mughal. Aleph Book Company.

[ii] B.Whitehead, R. (1914). Catalogue of Coins in the Panjab Museum, Lahore : Vol. II Coins of the Mughal Emperors. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

[iii] Wright, H. N. (1908). Coins in the Indian Museum Calcutta. London: University of Oxford.

[iv] Brown, C. J. (1980). The Heritage of India Series: The Coins of India. University of Toronto Library.