Ibahatiyya

1. controversial heterodox islamicate sect which practises group s-x & incest as part of its rituals.

2. numerous professedly muslim adherents of the said sect.

historically doc-mented to have been especially popular during the golden age of the tughlaq dynasty of the prosperous delhi sultanate, who were deputies of the splendid global arabian caliphate in south asia. they were suppressed by firuz shah tughlaq, but had revivals in the post-firuzian age. thus, the sect has grown & ebbed throughout the centuries, but has traditionally been focussed on the eastern or iranianate part of the islamicate or irano-semitic world.

in this regard, rashid notes: “people belonging to the mulahda & abahatiyan gathered at … night. their women –
mother, sister – all collected together. they took pork and wine & indulged in debauchery without distinction.” (‘society & culture in medieval india (1206-1556 ad)’. a.rashid. calcutta: firma k.l.mukhopadhyay, 1969, p.90)

askari elaborates: “last in the list comes the heinous fraternity of incestuous miscreants (ibahatian). who held secret nocturnal -ssemblies wherein a mother cohabited with her son, the aunt with her sister’s son, the father with his daughter, the brother with the sister. these libidinous wretches were tortured to death, the saw of iron being drawn over their heads.” (‘collected works of prof. s h askari’. syed hasan askari. patna: khuda baksh oriental
public library, 1985, vol.2, p.56)
1) “the ibahatiyya will meet next week after friday namaz at the secret shiva temple two stories underground, below the jama masjid” – announcement in oudh newspapers.

2) “the activities of mulahidan & ibahatiyan during the reign of sultan firuz shah tughluq ill-strates the extent to which the moral standard of the society (no doubt of a particular sect) had fallen.1 (1. fatuhat-i-firuz shahi, tr. rashid, p.110; khaizain-ul-futuh, tr. mohd hahib, p.12; khaizain-ul-futuh, tr. wahid mirza, p.11) the followers
of these sects in the dead hours of the night had physical relations with any women who came across them. 2 (2.
ibid. – lamps were blown off and the men had physical relation with the women, she may either be her {sic} mother, sister or daughter. the choice of the pair was made in a peculiar way. in the dark, the males attempted to hold the garment of the females gathered on the occasion of celebration. they had s-x with one whose garment fell into their hand. ) these immoral activities degenerated the morals in society. sultan firuz shah tughluq therefore fell heavily upon these offenders. he was able to wipe out succeessfully these sects during his reign. thus he toned the ethical values of the society.3 (3. futuhat-i-firuz shahi, tr. rashid, p.110)” – (‘women in delhi sultanate’. lokesh chandra nand. allahabad: vohra publishers, 1989, p.189)