A syncretic ethical order or path (literally Divine Faith) proclaimed by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1582, drawing virtues from several religions, intended to promote tolerance and loyalty rather than to found a mass religion.
- It grew out of Akbar's religious discussions held in the Ibadat Khana (House of Worship) at Fatehpur Sikri, where scholars of different faiths debated.
- In 1579 Akbar issued the Mazhar (often called the infallibility decree), which let him act as the final arbiter in disputed religious matters.
- The Din-i-Ilahi had no scripture, priesthood, or elaborate ritual, and stressed virtues such as piety, prudence, abstinence, and kindness; very few people (mostly courtiers like Birbal) ever joined it.
- It reflected Akbar's broader policy of sulh-i-kul (universal peace or tolerance), alongside his abolition of the jizya and the pilgrimage tax.
- The order effectively died with Akbar and did not survive as a religion.
The 1582 proclamation, the Ibadat Khana origin, the 1579 Mazhar, the sulh-i-kul policy, and the fact that it attracted very few followers are standard Akbar-era facts.
Din-i-Ilahi was an ethical order, not a full new religion with mass following; the Ibadat Khana (a debating hall) is distinct from the Din-i-Ilahi (the order that emerged from those debates).
Akbar's 1582 syncretic ethical order from the Ibadat Khana debates, part of sulh-i-kul; few followers, and it died with him.