Humayun also did not follow orthodox religion, and he patronized Shias as well. In fact, Humayun,while in exile took refuge at the court of the ruler of Iran and appointed a shia as the tutor for Akbar. .
Secondly, it was these tutors who were to play an important role in shaping Akbar's outlook as well. Latif Qaznavi and Bairam Khan were Shi'as, while, Mun'im Khan was a Sunni Turani. However, all of them were above sectarian prejudices. It was this spirit of religious tolerance that was inculcated in Akbar's mind at a very early age by these thinkers. .
Thirdly, Akbar himself had a restless and inquisitive mind and a general interest in religious and spiritual matters since a very young age. It was this inquisitiveness, which was clearly reflected in his desire to establish the Ibadat Khana. His exposure philosophical discourses further fed his inquisitive mind and encouraged him to initiate the process of reexamination of the important aspects of Islamic theology and jurisprudence, which were the main topics of discussions in the early part of the Ibadat Khana. .
Finally, it was the socio-cultural environment of that period, which had a profound impact on Akbar. The Bhakti saints like Kabir and Nanak had laid emphasis on the one true god, who could be apprehended within their hearts by constantly dwelling on Him and repeating His name. Like the Sufis, they also opened their doors to people belonging to all faiths. It was, however, Akbar's contacts with Sufi saints like Shaikh Ghaus Gawalyari and his liking for the masnavis of the liberal sufi thinkers like Rumi and Fiafiz provided him with an opportunity to become familiar with pantheistic doctrines of fana and wahdat u'l-wujud that were to shape his policies in the future. It was the latter philosophy preached by Ibn al-Arabi, which taught that all that is not part of divine reality is an illusion, which in turn led Akbar to believe that either all religions were equal or all were equally illusionary.