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Muhammad Saleh Kamboh
Muhammad Saleh Kamboh
	Portrait of Muhammad Saleh Kamboh, 17th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art
Born	Mughal Empire
Died	c. 1675; Lahore, Mughal Empire (now in Pakistan)
Education	Fluent in Arabic, Persian, Urdu
Occupation	Court chronicler
Relatives	Inayat Allah Kamboh (brother)

Muhammad Saleh Kamboh Lahori was a noted Punjabi Muslim^[1] calligraphist and official biographer of Emperor Shah Jahan and the teacher of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Though a widely read person,^[2] little is known of the life of Muhammad Saleh Kamboh other than the works he composed. He was son of Mir Abdu-lla, Mushkin Kalam, whose title shows him to also have been a fine writer.^[3] He is believed to be younger brother of Inayat-Allah Kamboh^[4] and worked as a Shahi Dewan (Minister) with the governor of Lahore. He held the title of Sipahsalar.

Biography

Muhammad Saleh is best remembered for his work Amal-i Salih, also referred to as Shah Jahan Namah (The History of Shah Jahan), which he completed in 1659–60 AD. Amal-i-Salih is an account of the life and reign of Shah Jahan. However, the work also includes information on Shah Jahan's predecessors (particularly Akbar and Jahangir) and a compendium of biographies of the Shaikhs, poets, and other notables who were contemporaries with Shah Jahan. It is considered to be one of the most important original sources of events during Shah Jahan's reign. Muhammad Saleh was known as a poet by the Persian title Kashfi and by Arabic Subhan and is also stated to be an accomplished Urdu singer.^[4]^[5] During the rule of Aurangzeb, Muhammad Saleh served as his spiritual teacher who taught him a strict Islamic teaching.^{[Notes 1]} It is also stated that when Shaikh Makhdum was appointed imperial "Sadr-us-Sadur" (Chief Sadr, Chief Administrator or Prime Minister) after death of Sadr Sharif Khan during the reign of Aurangzeb, Muhammad Salih Kamboh was appointed Peshdast (deputy).^[9]

In the list of mansabdars, Muhammad Saleh Kamboh is put down as a commander of five hundred soldiers.^[10]^[11]

Death

It is claimed by some accounts that Muhammad Saleh Kamboh served as a Mughal Admiral and was killed while fighting alongside his fleet against the Ahoms at Pandu on Bengal-Assam border while helping General Abdus Salam, the Faujdar (infantry commander) of Hajo, during the tenure of Islam Khan Mashadi, the Mughal Governor of Bengal.^[12] The event referred to above is said to date 1636 AD, which is incorrect, since Muhammadd Saleh was very much alive and is known to have completed his Amal-i Salih in 1659/60 AD soon after Aurangzeb (Reign 1658 AD-1707 AD) became the emperor of India in 1658 AD. According to Naimur Rehman Farooqi, the work was completed in 1669 AD.^[13]

The date of Muhammad Saleh's death is not certain.^[14] S. M. Latif states on unspecified authority in his works that Muhammad Saleh Kamboh died in A. H. 1085 (1675 AD) ^[15] which is accepted by some writers.

A mosque known as Saleh Kamboh Mosque has been built with his name in Mochi Gate, Walled City of Lahore.^[16]^[17] He is buried in Lahore, though his grave location is currently disputed by the owners of the property.^[18]

Notes

^ through IslamQA.info,^[6] Professor Muhammad al-Munajjid on his online correspondence has answered that he based his opinion Silk ad-Durar fi A‘yaan al-Qarn ath-Thaani ‘Ashar (4/113)^[7] and Aurangzeb biography by Professor ‘Abd al-Mun‘im an-Nimr in his book Tareekh al-Islam fi’l-Hind.^[8]

References

^ Dhavan, Purnima (2019), "5. Marking Boundaries and Building Bridges: Persian Scholarly Networks in Mughal Punjab", The Persianate World, University of California Press, p. 160, doi:10.1515/9780520972100-009, ISBN 978-0-520-97210-0
^ Hamdard Islamicus, 1978, p 75, Hamdard National Foundation, Pakistan – Islam.
^ The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians, 1877, p 123, Henry Miers Elliot, John Dowson; Shah Jahan, 1975, p 131, Henry Miers Elliot – Mogul Empire; A Descriptive Catalogue of the Historical Manuscripts in the Arabic and Persian Languages, 2008, p. 124, William Hook Morley – History.
^ ^a ^b Shah Jahan, 1975, p 131, Henry Miers Elliot – Mogul Empire.
^ Persian literature in India during the time of Jahangir and Shah Jahan, 1970, p 171, M. Lutfur Rahman, Persian literature India History and criticism; A Descriptive Catalogue of the Historical Manuscripts in the Arabic and Persian Languages, 2008, p 124, William Hook Morley – History.
^ Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid (2015). "Biography of the Moghul ruler Aurangzeb; was he Salafi in his 'aqeedah?". IslamQA. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
^ Muhammad Khalil Al-Muradi (1997). سلك الدرر في أعيان القرن الثاني عشر (in Arabic). Dar al Kutub al 'Alamiyya. p. 113. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
^ Nimr, 'Abd al-Mun'im (1981). Tarikh al-Islam fi al-Hind. Beirut : Al-Mu'ssasah al-Jam'iyah al-Dirasat wa al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi. pp. 286–288. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
^ Maāsir-i-ʻālamgiri: A History of the Emperor Aurangzib-ʻĀlamgir (reign 1658–1707 A.D.) of Saqi Mustʻad Khan By Muḥammad Sāqī Mustaʻidd Khān, Jadunath Sarkar, 1981, p 138, Muḥammad Sāqī Mustaʻidd Khān, Jadunath Sarkar – Mogul Empire; Bibliotheca Indica, 1947, p 138, Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Asiatic Society (Calcutta, India), Asiatic Society of Bengal, India Asiatic Society (Calcutta – Indic literature.
^ The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians, 1877, p 123, Henry Miers Elliot, John Dowson; Shah Jahan, 1975, p 131, Henry Miers Elliot – Mogul Empire.
^ A Descriptive Catalogue of the Historical Manuscripts in the Arabic and Persian Languages, 2008, p 124, William Hook Morley – History.
^ Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, 1963, p 349, Pakistan Historical Society; Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh, p 169/170, Nagendra K. Singh; A History of Assam, 1906, pp 110–111, Edward Albert Gait.
^ Mughal-Ottoman Relations: A Study of Political and Diplomatic Relations Between Mughal India and the Ottoman Empire, 1556–1748, 1986, p 208, Naimur Rahman Farooqi.
^ The Shah Jahan Nama of 'Inayat Khan: An Abridged History of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, Compiled by His Royal Librarian : the Nineteenth-century Manuscript Translation of A.R. Fuller (British Library, Add. 30,777), 1990, p xxviii, Inayat Khan, Wayne Edison Begley, Z. A. Desai, Ziyaud-Din A. Desai.
^ Lahore, its history etc., 1992, S. M. Latif; Quoted in: Islamic Culture, 1941, p 74, Islamic Culture Board.
^ Islamic Culture, 1941, p 74, Islamic Culture Board.
^ "Muhammad Saleh Kamboh's Mosque". https://www.ualberta.ca/~rnoor/. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2017. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
^ "Muhammad Saleh Kamboh's Tomb". https://www.ualberta.ca/~rnoor/. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2017. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)