Jalal al Din Fath Shah, Silver Nazarana Tank, 10.12g, “Qadam Rasool” type, Khazana Mint, AH 890, Arabic legend on both sides Obv: “Al-Shaykh al-Mujawar li-Qadam al-Rasool Jalal al-Dunya wa al-Din Abu al-Muzaffar Fatahshah al-Sultan ibn Mahmud Shah al-Sultan” in an ornamental Lotus border, Rev: “al-Sultan al-Munawwar ba-Noor al-Mustafawi Ilahi al-Mukhatib al-Zahideen al-Yaqzat al-Mushaheedah” in an ornamental Mihrab border (G&G B627). Extremely fine for type, exceedingly rare.
Coins with religious legends form an important and rare aspect of the Bengal coinage, particularly the one struck in the relatively short reign of Jalal al-Din Fath Shah. However, the legends as reported in G&G (as above) are far from certain and particularly the last part of the reverse legend leaves more to be said in terms of which words suit the letterforms best. But it is certain that the legends refer to ‘Qadam-i Rasool’, or the footprint of the Prophet, with the Sultan naming himself as the Mujawar (close companion or servant) of the shrine.
A belief started early in Islam was that when Prophet Muhammad stepped on a rock, his footprint left an imprint. Orthodox brands of Islam did not accept this belief but the idea was disseminated widely and led to the creation of many shrines around such imprints. Contextually, the practice matches ‘footprint worship’ in pre-Islamic beliefs such as Buddhism and Vaishnavism. Particularly in the realms of the Sultans of Bengal, such shrines were created by various Sultans at Pandua (Firuzabad), Gaur, Cuttack, Nabiganj and Chittagong (both in Bangladesh). Of these, the one from Pandua dates from the reign of Fath Shah and it is said that the footprint it venerates came from the meditation room (Chilla Khana) of the Sufi establishment of Shaykh Jalal Tabrezi. This Sufi Shaykh played an important role in disseminating of Islam in the Western part of Bengal, and along with Nur Qutb ul-‘Alam, he is considered to be a highly regarded Muslim saint. The fact that Fath Shah regards him as a ‘servant’ and a ‘Shaykh’ at this shrine is particularly significant because it highlights the Sultan’s piety and leaning towards a more non-orthodox version of Islam. The coins with these legends were struck from many mints but they all are very rare. Coins bearing the mint-name ‘Khazana’, like this one, are known in wide flans and with decorative borders enclosing the legends, so were very likely produced specially, possibly at the inauguration of the shrine in 1485.