Alauddin maintained a large standing army, which included 475,000 horseman according to the 16th-century chronicler Firishta. He managed to raise such a large army by paying relatively low salaries to his Soldiers, and introduced market price controls to ensure that the low salaries were acceptable to his Soldiers. Although he was opposed to grant lands to his generals and Soldiers, he generously rewarded them after successful campaigns, especially those in Deccan.

Although Islam bans alcoholic drinks, drinking was Common among the Muslim royals and nobles of the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century, and Alauddin himself was a heavy drinker. As part of his measures to prevent rebellions, Alauddin imposed prohibition, because he believed that the rampant use of alcoholic drinks enabled people to assemble, lose their senses and think of rebellion. According to Isami, Alauddin banned alcohol, after a noble condemned him for merrymaking when his subjects were suffering from a famine. However, this account appears to be hearsay.

At times, he exploited Muslim fanaticism against Hindu chiefs and the treatment of the zimmis. Persian Historian Wassaf states that he sent an expedition against Gujarat as a holy war and it was not motivated by "lust of conquest". The masnavi Deval Devi—Khizr Khan by Amir Khusrau states that Gujarat was only annexed in the second invasion which took place seven years after the first one, implying the first was merely a plundering raid. At Khambhat, it is said that the citizens were caught by surprise. The Muslims began to kill and slaughter, on the right and on the left, unmercifully and blood flowed in torrents." Wassaf states that "The Muhammadan forces began to kill and slaughter on the right and on the left unmercifully, throughout the impure land, for the sake of Islam, and blood flowed in torrents."