Din-i Ilahi

Dīn-i Ilāhī (Persian: دین الهی, lit. 'Divine Religion'), contemporarily called Tawḥīd-i-Ilāhī (توحید الهی, lit. 'Oneness of the Divine'), was a short-lived syncretic theology that was propounded by emperor Akbar of the Mughal Empire in 1582. According to Indian professor Iqtidar Alam Khan of Aligarh Muslim University, it was based on the concept of what was known to be "Yasa-e-Changezi" among the Timurids, with the goal of considering all sects and religions as one. Its core elements were drawn from combining aspects of Islam and other Abrahamic religions with those of several Indian religions and Zoroastrianism. The religion manifested Akbar's worldview and policy, and received state backing until the end of his reign. However, many Muslim scholars of the period declared it to be blasphemy and decried Akbar as an apostate, with only a handful of upper-class Mughal subjects adopting the new religion. Following Akbar's death, Dīn-i Ilāhī was made defunct by Jahangir, who moved away from many of his father's policies in regard to religion. Akbar's great-grandson Aurangzeb completely abolished Din-i Ilahi and reimposed the Islamic law. Ultimately, the religion is thought not to have gained more than its 19 identified followers, and it lasted just over 20 years before Islam returned as the state religion.