Imperial Authority, Benefactions and Endowments (Awqāf) in Mughal India

Islamic theology grants temporal rulers no divine right to command. Muslim kings have often tried to win a kind of legitimacy by offering various kinds of patronage to religious notables. In the Mamluk, Ottoman and Safavi states, endowments (awqāf) were the most common form of benefaction. The Timurids of India, however, favored other forms of grants. They did so, in part, to adjust to religious centers and networks of learned/holy men established by the Muslim rulers who had preceded them.