Jana Begum was a Mughal Indian noblewoman and scholar, noted for being one of the first women to write a commentary (Arabic:
tafsir
Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
) on the
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
in the 17th century. She was the daughter of
Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, a scholar and general under
Mughal Emperor
Akbar.
[Yoginder Sikand. Bastions of Believers: Madrasas and Islamic Education in India. (Delhi: Penguin Books), 2005, p. 35] Her grandfather was
Bairam Khan, another general under Mughal Emperors Humayun and Akbar. Bairam Khan had also served as Regent to Akbar. Jana Begum later went on to marry
Daniyal Mirza
Shahzada Daniyal Mirza (11 September 1572 – 19 March 1605) was an Imperial Prince of the Mughal Empire who served as the Viceroy of the Deccan. He was the third son of Emperor Akbar and the brother of Emperor Jahangir.
Daniyal was Akbar's ...
, a son of Akbar making her the Mughal Emperor's daughter-in-law. Akbar had also married Bairam Khan's widow
Salima Sultan Begum
Salima Sultan Begum (23 February 1539 – 2 January 1613) was the third wife and chief consort of the Mughal emperor Akbar, and the granddaughter of Babur.
Salima was the daughter of Akbar's paternal aunt, Gulrukh Begum, and her husband, the Vi ...
hence Salima not only was step-grandmother to Jana, but also step-mother-in-law.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Jana
Women of the Mughal Empire
Mughal nobility
17th-century Muslim scholars of Islam
Quranic exegesis scholars
Islam in South Asia
17th-century Indian women writers
17th-century Indian writers
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
Women scholars of Islam