Dahat and Bahat Bibi: Women in Kashmir’s Sufi History

By Sahil Razvi, New Age Islam 08 March 2025 15th-Century Sisters Dahat And Bahat Bibi, Hindu Converts To Islam, Reshaped Kashmiri Sufism By Challenging Gender Norms Through Theological Discourse, Legitimising Spiritual Authority And Underscoring Women’s Intellectual Roles In Medieval Sufi Traditions Main Points: 1. Hindu converts to Islam in 15th-century Kashmir. 2. Key disciples of Sufi saint Hazrat Nuruddin Nurani R.A. 3. Central role in legitimising spiritual authority during a historic Sufi dialogue. 4. Challenged gender norms through theological discourse. 5. Symbolised women’s intellectual agency in medieval Sufism. ------ Tomb of Dehat and Behat Bibi in Zalsu Kashmir, Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons, By Muneeb Haroon ---- Dahat and Bahat Bibi, 15th-century Kashmiri sisters and Hindu converts to Islam, emerged as pivotal figures in the Rishi Sufi order. Their theological interventions during a historic dialogue between Sufi masters Hazrat Nuruddin Nurani R.A. and Hazrat Mir Muhammad Hamdani R.A. challenged gendered hierarchies, reshaping spiritual discourse. Chroniclers highlight their intellectual prowess and asceticism, underscoring their role in legitimising Sufi authority while transcending medieval Kashmir’s patriarchal norms. The historical and theological significance of Dahat and Bahat Bibi, two sisters from medieval Kashmir, offers a compelling lens through which to examine gender, mysticism, and authority within the early Rishi Sufi order. Their lives, as documented in medieval chronicles, challenge conventional narratives of female passivity in South Asian Sufism, revealing instead their active role in shaping spiritual discourse and legitimising religious authority. This research draws on primary sources, including hagiographies by Wani and Rishi, to argue that the sisters’ intellectual and spiritual contributions not only underscored the egalitarian ethos of the Rishi order but also positioned them as pivotal figures in Kashmir’s socio-religious history. Dahat and Bahat Bibi were born into a Hindu family in the village of Dariyagam, their father serving as a Patwari (village accountant) or Zaildar (district administrator), roles that likely afforded them literacy and social standing. Their conversion to Islam under the guidance of Hazrat Nuruddin Nurani R.A. (1377–1438 CE), the founder of the Rishi order, reflects the syncretic religious landscape of 15th-century Kashmir. The Rishi tradition, characterised by asceticism and harmony with nature, attracted followers across communal lines, including marginalised groups and women. Chroniclers emphasise the sisters’ “intelligence and piety,” noting their self-reliance through manual labour, a detail that underscores their defiance of patriarchal norms. Their inclusion among Nuruddin’s closest male disciples, such as Baba Bamuddin R.A. and Baba Zainuddin R.A, during significant events highlights their acceptance within the order’s inner circle. A defining moment in their legacy is the encounter between Hazrat Nuruddin and the Kubrawi Sufi scholar Hazrat Mir Muhammad Hamdani R.A., son of the renowned Hazrat Mir Sayyed Ali Hamdani R.A, in the village of Zalusa. Medieval accounts position Dahat and Bahat Bibi at the centre of this dialogue, a rarity in Sufi narratives dominated by male figures. When Hamdani questioned Nuruddin’s extreme physical austerities, metaphorically referring to his body as a “horse” tortured by a relentless “rider” (the self), Dahat Bibi intervened. Her retort, “The rider who has reached his destination does not worry about the horse”, revealed her mastery of Sufi concepts like fana (annihilation of the self). Her subsequent deconstruction of gender binaries, declaring, “If I am truly nothing, then I am neither son nor daughter,” challenged societal hierarchies and articulated a non-dualistic metaphysics central to Kashmiri Sufism. Hamdani’s astonishment at her responses and his eventual acknowledgment of Nuruddin’s spiritual authority (“a true friend of God”) illustrate how the sisters’ theological acumen bolstered their master’s legitimacy. Their contributions align with broader patterns of female mysticism in medieval Islam, such as the works of Sittī ‘Ā’isha al-Bā‘ūniyya, who similarly navigated patriarchal spaces through scholarly erudition. However, the Bibi sisters’ unique intersectional identities, as Hindu converts, labourers, and women, complicate this narrative, reflecting the Rishi order’s inclusive ethos. Their burial at Zalusa, the site of this historic meeting, sanctifies their memory within Kashmir’s sacred geography. While contemporary pilgrimages to their graves attest to their enduring veneration, academic narratives often marginalised their intellectual legacy, reducing them to symbols of piety rather than agents of theological innovation. The lives of Dahat and Bahat Bibi disrupt historiographical biases that overlook women’s agency in South Asian Sufism. Their active participation in theological debates and their role in validating Hazrat Nuruddin’s authority reveal the Rishi order’s egalitarian potential, even within a patriarchal framework. Future scholarship must further explore such figures to rebalance gendered narratives of Islamic mysticism, recognising how women shaped doctrinal and social landscapes in medieval Kashmir. Their story, preserved in chronicles and oral traditions, remains a testament to the fluidity of identity and the transformative power of spiritual dissent. References 1. Wani, M. A. Medieval Kashmiri Chronicles. Srinagar: Kashmir Historical Press. 2. Sikand, Yoginder. Rishis and Crusaders. Abhinava, www.svabhinava.org/abhinava/YoginderSikand/RishisCrusaders.php. Accessed 05 February 2025. 3. Nazki, R. (n.d.). Women in Rishi Movement of Kashmir. Sufinama Blog. Retrieved from https://blog.sufinama.org/women-in-rishi-movement-of-kashmir-rashid-nazki/ 4. Khan, M. I. (2002). Kashmir’s Transition to Islam: The Role of Muslim Rishis (15th to 18th Centuries). Manohar Publishers and Distributors. 5. Women Discipline of Shiekh-ul-Alam (RA). (n.d.). Brighter Kashmir. Retrieved from https://www.brighterkashmir.com/women-discipline-of-shiekh-ul-alam-ra- ----- A regular contributor to New Age Islam, Sahil Razvi is a research scholar specialising in Sufism and Islamic History. He is an alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/dahat-bahat-bibi-kashmir-sufi-history/d/134818 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism