Dabistan-e-Madahib
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The Dabistān-e Mazāheb or Dabestān-i Maðāhib (Persian: دابستان المذهب ) "School of Religions" is an imaginative examination and comparison of South Asian religions and sects of the mid-17th century. The work is believed to have been written around 1655 CE.
The Dabistan-e Madahib is best known for its chapter on the Dīn-i Ilāhī, the syncretic religion propounded by the Mughal emperor Jalālu d-Dīn Muħammad Akbar ("Akbar the Great") after 1581 and is possibly the most reliable account of the Ibādat Khāna discussions that led up to this.
A critical English-language edition by David Shea and Anthony Troyer in 1843 is slightly flawed since the translators were not well-versed in much of the subject matter. The editors, who were not certain of the identity of the author, suggest a certain Muhsin Fani and propose 1670 as his date of death. They furthermore stated that he was "of the philosophic sect of Sufis", but the 1993 edition of the Encyclopaedia Iranica suggests that the author was most likely a Zoroastrian.
The author describes that he spent time in Patna, Kashmir, Lahore, Surat and Srikakulam (Andhra Pradesh). He is perceived to have been a person of great scholarship and curiosity, and extremely open-minded for the context of his time. He mentions numerous interviews with scholars of numerous faiths, which suggests that he was well connected, and so qualified to report on the Dīn-i Ilāhī.
There are several copies of the text in the Khudabaksh Library. The 1843 translation of the Dabistān-e Mazāheb is available online at the Packard Humanities Institute.
