Fani, Muhsin

(ca. mid-17th c.) Traditionally thought
to be the author of the Dabistan-iMazahib (“School of Manners”), which
was probably written about 1665. The
Dabistan is an invaluable outside source
for the religious life of the times and
gives one of the earliest descriptions of
the Sikhs, as well as many other contemporary groups. Fani was a Persian, and a
Parsi by birth, who came to India
because of his intense curiosity about
religious life, and his desire to see whatever he could. He is believed to have
been a careful observer and relatively
objective. He states that he had simply
translated (into the Persian in which the
text was written) what his friends and
informants had told him, and the text
seems to support this claim.