When he reached India, Ibn Battutah was very concerned with the people he met there. His focus in this regard was not due to intrigue like in other locations he described, usually taking more notice to the locals if they showed impressive faith or Islamic values. In India however, his perspective was far more critical, partly because of the more foreign elements of the culture confusing him but usually passing judgment on these customs and practices. An example of this was the manner in which funerals are held in this country, as Ibn Battutah describes the act of cremation in horrific and demeaning detail. He pauses during his describing of the events to proclaims “the place looked like a spot in hell – God preserve us from it!”, clearly disgusted by how much this act goes against his beliefs (159). In the city of Delhi, he serves the sultan there for several years, though not willingly. The chapter on Delhi and its government ends with a series of anecdotes on brutal executions ordered by the sultan there, each being explained as unjust in some capacity. It should not be a surprise that some of these stories involve men of similar social standing and profession as Ibn Battutah himself, with one section even titled as “His killing of two other jurists, men of Sind, who were in his service” (179). His staying in the sultan’s service can be equated to fear of his own brutal execution, and lack of trust in the sultan to be fair and just in his punishments.

Though much of his stay in India was fairly static, the journey to and from the country involved more seafaring and river based travel. Ibn Battutah did not appear to be very fond of boats, or the crews that sailed them, but still gave good accounts of the vessels. When he travels with a new type of ship, he describes its appearance and craftsmanship, such as when he sees an ahawrah for the first time, “In the centre of it there was a wooden cabin to which one climbed up by steps…while the crew of about forty men rowed” (153). Considering he travelled with a group, even if just a few slaves and guides, each voyage by water had a small entourage of ships traveling together. Often they split up his group onto different vessels, so that there was enough space for the crew and cargo Ibn Battutah brought everywhere with him, among other things. This made sailing places tedious and often dangerous, as later on much of their party dies in a shipwreck. This does not happen until Ibn Battutah had left India however.

In this section of the journey, I think Ibn Battutah’s goals in writing about India are as a form of moral lesson to Muslims. While retelling of his time there, he delves into many terrible acts of murder performed by the sultan’s command, and also expresses distaste in local customs. Many of these customs and practices are uncomfortable to him because of his Muslim values, which he makes clear as well. By expressing the disgust or unjust nature of these events he has either witnessed or heard of, Ibn Battutah is telling a cautionary tale to his people, should they also not follow the rules of their religion.