Muhammad ibn al-Qasim | |
|---|---|
محمد بن القاسم | |
_mint._Dated_AH_97_(AD_715-6).jpg) | |
| 1stGovernor of al-Sindh | |
| In office 712 – 18 July 715 | |
| Leader | Al-Walid I |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Habib ibn al-Muhallab |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (695-12-31)31 December 695 |
| Died | 18 July 715(715-07-18) (aged 19) |
| Spouse | Zaynab (daughter ofal-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf) |
| Relations | Sulb, al-Hajjaj (brother) |
| Parents |
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| Nickname | فاتح سندھ |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Umayyad Caliphate |
| Battles/wars | Muslim conquest of Sind (708–711) Siege of Debal (711) Battle of Aror (712) |
Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqafī (Arabic:محمد بن القاسم الثقفي;(695-12-31)31 December 695–(715-07-18)18 July 715) was anArab military commander in service of theUmayyad Caliphate who led theMuslim conquest of Sindh (andPunjab, part of ancient Sindh), inaugurating the Umayyad campaigns in India. His military exploits led to the establishment of theIslamic province of Sindh, and the takeover of the region from theSindhi Brahman dynasty and its ruler,Raja Dahir, who was subsequently decapitated with his head sent toal-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf inBasra. With the capture of the then-capital ofAror by Arab forces, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim became the firstMuslim to have successfully captured Indian land, which marked the beginning ofMuslim rule in South Asia.
Muhammad ibn al-Qasim belonged to theBanu Thaqif, anArab tribe that is concentrated around the city ofTaif in westernArabia. After the Muslim conquest ofPersia, he was assigned as the governor of Fars, likely succeeding his uncleMuhammad ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi. From 708 to 711, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim led the Sindh conquest. He establishedIslamic rule throughout the region, serving as governor of Sindh from 712 until his death in 715. After his last conquest ofMultan (Punjab), he returned to Arabia where on the way he died inMosul, in modern Iraq, though some sources[who?] record that his body was buried inMakran, a semi-desert coastal region inBalochistan.[citation needed]
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Information about Muhammad ibn al-Qasim and the Arab conquest of Sind in the medieval Arabic sources is limited, compared to the contemporaryMuslim conquest of Transoxiana.[1] TheFutuh al-Buldan ('Conquests of the Lands') byal-Baladhuri (d. 892) contains a few pages on the conquest of Sind and Muhammad's person, while biographical information is limited to a passage in a work byal-Ya'qubi (d. 898), a few lines in the history ofal-Tabari (d. 839) and scant mention in theKitab al-Aghani (Book of songs) ofAbu al-Faraj al-Isfahani.[1] A detailed account of Muhammad's conquest of Sind and his death is found in theChach Nama, a 13th-centuryPersian text.[1] The information in theChach Nama purportedly derives from accounts by the descendants of the Arab soldiers of the 8th-century conquest, namelyqadis (judges) andimams from the Sindi cities ofAlor and Bhakar who claimed descent from Muhammad's tribe, theBanu Thaqif.[1] The orientalistFrancesco Gabrieli holds the accounts likely emerged afterc. 1000 and considers theChach Nama to be a "historical romance" and "a late and doubtful source" for information about Muhammad.[2]
Muhammad was born inc. 694.[3] His birthplace was almost certainly in theHejaz (western Arabia), either inTa'if, the traditional home of his Thaqif tribe, or inMecca orMedina.[4] Following their general embrace of Islam inc. 630, members of the Thaqif gradually attained high military and administrative ranks in thenascent Caliphate and played important command and economic roles during and after theearly Muslim conquests, particularly inIraq.[5] The tribe produced effective commanders associated with early Arab military operations against theIndian subcontinent: inc. 636 the Thaqafite governor ofBahrayn (eastern Arabia),Uthman ibn Abi al-As, dispatched naval expeditions against the Indian ports ofDebal,Thane andBharuch.[6] The tribe's power continued to increase with the advent of theUmayyad Caliphate in 661.[6]
Muhammad belonged to the Abu Aqil family of the Banu Awf, one of the two principal branches of the Thaqif.[6] The Abu Aqil family gained prestige with the rise ofal-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the paternal first cousin of Muhammad's father al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hakam.[6] Al-Hajjaj was made a commander by the Umayyad caliphAbd al-Malik (r. 685–705) during theSecond Muslim Civil War and killed the Umayyads' chief rival for the caliphate,Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, in 692, and two years later was appointed the viceroy of Iraq and the eastern Caliphate.[7][4] Following his promotion, al-Hajjaj became a patron of the Thaqif and appointed several members to important posts in Iraq and its dependencies.[8] Muhammad's father was appointed the deputy governor ofBasra, though his career was otherwise undistinguished.[9] According to a letter between Muhammad and al-Hajjaj cited by theChach Nama, Muhammad's mother was a certain Habibat al-Uzma (Habiba the Great).[9] TheChach Nama also indicates Muhammad had a similar-aged brother named Sulb and Arabic sources indicate he had a much younger brother named al-Hajjaj, who served as an Umayyad commander during theAlid revolt of 740.[9]
No information is provided by theArabic sources about Muhammad's childhood and adolescence.[4] The modern historianNabi Bakhsh Baloch holds that Muhammad most likely grew up partly in Ta'if and then Basra andWasit, the provincial capital of Iraq founded by al-Hajjaj in 702.[9] Muhammad's time in Basra, a military and intellectual centre of the Islamic world at the time, may have widened Muhammad's career horizons, while at Wasit he was likely educated and trained under al-Hajjaj's patronage.[10]
Al-Hajjaj was highly fond of Muhammad,[10] and considered him prestigious enough to marry his sister Zaynab,[11] though she preferred the older Thaqafite al-Hakam ibn Ayyub ibn al-Hakam, to whom she was ultimately wed.[12][13] TheKitab al-Aghani refers to Muhammad at the age of 17 as "the noblest Thaqafite of his time".[14] In the summation of Baloch, "Muhammad grew up under favourable conditions into an able, energetic and cultured lad of fine tastes".[15]
Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's first assignment was in the provinceFars in modern Iran, where he was asked to subjugate a group ofKurds. After the successful completion of the mission, he was appointed as the governor of Fars.[16] He likely succeeded his uncleMuhammad ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi, a brother of al-Hajjaj, who was previously a governor. The city ofShiraz is said to have been revived by Muhammad ibn al-Qasim. He built a royal villa in the city and a military camp at a short distance from it.[17][18][19] He was also given the task of subjugating the area to the south ofShiraz, and the distant area ofJurjan near theCaspian Sea.[16]
Fars might have also had at this time some of the rebels leftover from the revolt ofIbn al-Ash'ath, which almost brought down the rule of al-Hajjaj. An aged supporter of rebels and a Shia notable of the time, a disciple of the companion of Jabir ibn Abd Allah al-Ansari and a famous narrator of Hadith,[20]Atiyya ibn Sa'd al-Awfi was arrested by Muhammad ibn al-Qasim on the orders of Al-Hajjaj and demanded that hecurse Ali on the threat of punishment. Atiyya refused to curse Ali and was punished. While Maclean doesn't give the details of the punishment, early historians likeibn Hajar al-Asqalani andTabari record that he was flogged by 400 lashes and his head and beard shaved for humiliation and that he fled toKhurasan and returned toIraq after the ruler had been changed.[21][22]
According to Wink,Umayyad interest in the region was galvanised by the operation of theMeds (a tribe of Scythians living in Sindh) and others.[23] The Meds had engaged inpiracy onSassanid shipping in the past, from the mouth of theTigris to theSri Lankan coast, in theirbawarij and now were able to prey on Arab shipping from their bases atKutch,Debal andKathiawar.[23] At the time,Sindh was the wildfrontier region of al-Hind, inhabited mostly by semi-nomadic tribes whose activities disturbed much of the WesternIndian Ocean.[23] Muslim sources insist that it was these persistent activities along increasingly important Indian trade routes by Debal pirates and others which forced theArabs to subjugate the area, in order to control the seaports and maritime routes of whichSindh was the nucleus, as well as, the overland passage.[24] DuringHajjaj's governorship, theMeds ofDebal in one of their raids had kidnapped Muslim women travelling fromSri Lanka toArabia, thus providing grounds to the rising power of the Umayyad Caliphate that enabled them to gain a foothold in theMakran,Balochistan andSindh regions.[23][25][26]
Also cited as a reason for this campaign was the policy of providing refuge to Sassanids fleeing theArab advance and to Arab rebels from theUmayyad consolidation of their rule.[clarification needed]
These Arabs were imprisoned later on by Governor Deebal Partaab Rai. A letter written by an Arab girl named Nahed who escaped from the prison of Partab Rai asked Hajjaj Bin Yusuf for help. When Hajjaj asked Dahir for the release of prisoners and compensation, the latter refused on the ground that he had no control over those. Al-Hajjaj sent Muhammad ibn al-Qasim for action against the Sindh in 711.[citation needed]
Themawali (new non-Arab converts) who were usually allied with Al-Hajjaj's political opponents and thus were frequently forced to participate in battles on the frontier of the Umayyad Caliphate, such asKabul,Sindh andTransoxania.[27] An actual push into the region had been out of favour as an Arab policy since the time of theRashidunCaliphUmar bin Khattab, who upon receipt of reports of it being an inhospitable and poor land, had stopped further expeditionary ventures into the region.[citation needed]
Hajjaj had put more care and planning into this campaign than the second campaign.[27] Al-Hajjaj gave Muhammad ibn al-Qasim command of the expedition between 708 and 711, when he was only 15–17 years old, apparently because two previous Umayyad commanders had not been successful in punishing Sindh's rulerRaja Dahir for his failure to prevent pirates from disrupting Muslim shipping off the coast of Sindh.[11] Al-Hajjaj superintended this campaign fromKufa by maintaining close contact with Muhammad ibn al-Qasim in the form of regular reports for which purpose special messengers were deputed betweenBasra andSindh.[27] The army which departed from Shiraz under Muhammad ibn al-Qasim consisted of 6,000Syrian cavalry and detachments ofmawali (sing.mawla; non-Arab, Muslim freedmen) from Iraq.[27] At the borders of Sindh he was joined by an advance guard and six thousand camel cavalry and later, reinforcements from the governor of Makran were transferred directly toDebal (Daybul), at the mouth of the Indus, by sea along with fivemanjaniks (catapults).[27] The army that eventually captured Sindh would later be swelled by theJats andMeds as well as other irregulars who heard of the Arab successes in Sindh.[27] When Muhammad ibn al-Qasim passed through the Makran desert while raising his forces, he had to subdue the restive towns of Fannazbur and Arman Belah (Lasbela), both of which had previously been conquered by the Arabs.[28]
The first town assaulted in Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's Sindh campaign wasDebal and upon the orders of al-Hajjaj, he exacted retribution on Debal by giving no quarter to its residents or priests and destroying its great temple.[27][11] From Debal, the Arab army then marched north-east taking towns such as Nerun and Sadusan (Sehwan) without fighting.[27] One-fifth of the war booty including slaves were remitted to al-Hajjaj and the Caliph.[27] The conquest of these towns was accomplished with relative ease; however, Dahir's armies being prepared on the other side of the Indus[a] had not yet been confronted.[27] In preparation to meet them, Muhammad returned to Nerun to resupply and receive reinforcements sent by al-Hajjaj.[27] Camped on the east bank of the Indus, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim sent emissaries and bargained with the river Jats and boatmen.[27] Upon securing the aid of Mokah Basayah, "the King of the island of Bet", Muhammad crossed over the river where he was joined by the forces of theThakore of Bhatta and the western Jats.[27]
At Aror (Rohri) Muhammad ibn al-Qasim was met by Dahir's forces and the eastern Jats in battle.[27] Dahir died in the battle, his forces were defeated and Muhammad ibn al-Qasim took control of Sindh.[27]
Soon the capitals of the other provinces, Brahmanabad, Alor (Battle of Aror) andMultan, were captured alongside other in-between towns with only light Muslim casualties.[27] Multan was a key site in theHindu religion.[11] Usually after a siege of a few weeks or months the Arabs gained a city through the intervention of heads of mercantile houses with whom subsequent treaties and agreements would be settled.[27] After battles all fighting men were executed and their wives and children enslaved in considerable numbers and the usual fifth of the booty and slaves were sent to al-Hajjaj.[27] The general populace was encouraged to carry on with their trades and taxes and tributes settled.[27]
The conquest of Sindh (and areas ofPunjab) in modern-day Pakistan, although costly, was a major gain for the Umayyad Caliphate. However, further gains were halted by Hindu kingdoms duringArab campaigns. The Arabs attempted to invade India but they were defeated by North Indian kingsBappa Rawal ofGuhila dynasty,Nagabhata, of theGurjara-Pratihara dynasty and by the South Indian emperorVikramaditya II of theChalukya dynasty in the early 8th century. After the failure of further expeditions on Kathiawar, the Arab chroniclers conceded that theAbbasid caliphal-Mahdi (r. 775–785) "gave up the project of conquering any part of India."[29]
The military strategy had been outlined by Al-Hajjaj in a letter sent to Muhammad ibn al-Qasim:[30]
My ruling is given: Kill anyone belonging to theahl-i-harb (combatants); arrest their sons and daughters for hostages and imprison them. Whoever does not fight against us...grant themaman (peace and safety) and settle their tribute [amwal] asdhimmah (protected person)...
The Arabs' first concern was to facilitate the conquest of Sindh with the fewest casualties while also trying to preserve the economic infrastructure.[31] Towns were given two options: submit to Islamic authority peacefully or be attacked by force (anwattan), with the choice governing their treatment upon capture.[31] The capture of towns was usually accomplished by means of a treaty with a party from among the enemy, who were then extended special privileges and material rewards.[32] There were two types of such treaties, "Sulh" or "ahd-e-wasiq (capitulation)" and "aman (surrender/ peace)".[32] Among towns and fortresses that were captured through force of arms, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim performed executions ofahl-i-harb (fighting men) as part of his military strategy, whose surviving dependants were enslaved.[32]
After the conquest, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's task was to set up an administrative structure for a stable Muslim state that incorporated a newly conquered alien land, inhabited by non-Muslims.[34] He adopted a conciliatory policy, asking for acceptance of Muslim rule by the natives in return for non-interference in their religious practice,[34] so long as the natives paid their taxes and tribute.[25] In return, the state provided protection to non-Muslim from any foreign attacks and enemies. He established IslamicSharia law over the people of the region; however, Hindus were allowed to rule their villages and settle their disputes according to their own laws,[25] and traditional hierarchical institutions, including the village headmen (rais) and chieftains (dihqans) were maintained.[34] A Muslim officer called anamil was stationed with a troop of cavalry to manage each town on a hereditary basis[34]
Everywhere taxes (mal) and tribute (kharaj) were settled and hostages taken — occasionally this also meant the custodians of temples.[32] Non-Muslim natives were excused from military service and from payment of the religiously mandated tax system levied upon Muslims calledZakat,[34] the tax system levied upon them instead was thejizya - aprogressive tax, being heavier on the upper classes and light for the poor.[34] In addition, three percent of government revenue was allocated to theBrahmins.[25]
During his administration, Hindus and Buddhists were inducted into the administration as trusted advisors and governors.[25] A Hindu, Kaksa, was at one point the second most important member of his administration.[35] Dahir's prime minister and various chieftains were also incorporated into the administration.[36]
Significant medievalMuslim chronicles such as theChach Nama,Zainul-Akhbar andTarikh-I-Baihaqi have recorded battles ofJats of Sindh and Balochistan against the invading forces of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim and other Muslims.[37]
The legendarySix battles of Kinan parallel thebattle of Thermopylae, where a small contingent of pastoral Jat warriors defeated a massive Muslim army. Despite facing a vastly superior Muslim military in numbers, training, and weaponry, Jats inflicted a crushing defeat on Arab invaders, a humiliation so profound it was taken personally by the Muslim Caliph. Chach Nama reports that the mountain-dwelling brave and agile Jats of Kikan or Kikanan or Kizkanan nearBolan Pass inBalochistan,[38]likely same as present-dayKalat,[39][40] summarily defeated invading Arab Muslim forces of Haras and killed Haras in 662, only a small portion of Muslim forces returned to caliphate. The impact of Muslim defeat was so significant that for next 20 years each successive caliph made Kikan a special target for attack and sent 6 expeditions of which 5 "failed miserably" and "failed to make any permanent impression" in Sindh.[38]
"The Bolan Pass was protected by the brave Jats of Kikan or Kikanan. The long-drawn struggle of the Arabs with these powers [Jats] ... marks their [Arab Muslims'] steady but fruitless endeavours to enter India ... The hardy mountaineers [Jats] of these regions, backed by the natural advantage of their hilly country, offered stubborn resistance to the conquerors of the world ... If there had been a history of India written without prejudices and predilections, the heroic deeds of these [Jat] people, who stemmed the tide of Islam for two centuries, would certainly have received the recognition they so richly deserve [emphasis added]".[38]
The eastern Hindu Jats supported the Sindhi king, Dahir, against the Arab Muslim invaders, whereas the western Jats aligned with Muhammad bin Qasim (708-711 CE) against Dahir.[41] At battle of Aror (Rohri), the united forces of Dahir and the eastern Jats jointly fought against Muhammad ibn al-Qasim.[27] Rani Bai, the queen of King Dahir, had Jat origins, her father was Jat.Al-Baladhuri's historical accounts document that the Jat people displayed a strong sense of independence, following the Muslim incursions into Sindh, some Jats, along with their livestock (buffalo), were taken to Iraq where they engaged in disruptive and rebellious activities.[42] After defeating Dahir, Muhammad bin al-Qasim turned against the Jats and Lohanas, theChach Nama,Zainul-Akhbar andTarikh-i Bayhaqi have recorded battles between Hindu Jats and forces of Muhammad ibn Qasim.[41]
After the death of Hajjaj in 714 CE, the son of Dahir, Jaisimba (Jaisiah) reconquered the Brahmanabad during the time ofUmayyad caliphSulayman ibn Abd al-Malik (r. 715-717). Jaisimba was later killed in a battle with Umayyad governor of Sindh,Junayd ibn Abd ar-Rahman al-Murri (r. 723 to 726 CE). However, the Jats and Meds continue to mount a formidable resistance against the Muslim forces around the ancient Sindhi capital of Alor (nearSukkur) during the time of caliphHarun al-Rashid (r. 786-809), in which Muslims did not fare well.[43]David Nicolle writes that "The resident Buddhist Jats [of Sindh] remained formidable warriors until they dropped out of historical records from the 11th to 17th century."[44]
Lane-Poole writes that, "as a rule Muslim government was at once tolerant and economic".[45] The preference of collection of jizya over the conversion to Islam is a major economic motivator.[46][47] Hindus and Buddhists who were classified asDhimmis had to pay mandatoryJizya instead ofZakat paid by Muslims.[48][49] Contrastingly preferential treatment was given to a small number of people who were converted to Islam by "exempting them from Jizya in lieu of paying theZakat".[34] Muhammad ibn al-Qasim fixed the Zakat at 10% of the agricultural produce.[50] Others had to pay the mandatory jizya.[51][52][53] "In Al-Biruni's narrative", according toManan Ahmed Asif – a historian of Islam in South and South East Asia, "Muhammad bin Qasim first asserts the superiority of Islam over the polytheists by committing a taboo (killing a cow) and publicly soiling the idol (giving the cow meat as an offering)" before allowing the temple to continue as a place of worship.[54]
A religious Islamic office, "sadru-I-Islam al affal", was created to oversee the secular governors.[34] The native hereditary elites were reappointed with the title ofRana. According toYohanan Friedmann, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim declared that the Brahmins ofBrahmanabad were good people.[50]
Whileproselytization occurred, given the social dynamics of areas of Sindh conquered by Muslim, the spread of Islam was slow and took centuries.[34] No mass conversions to Islam took place and some temples escaped destruction such as theSun Temple of Multan on payment of jizya.[55] In the Arab settlers controlled areas of Sindh and Multan, conversion to Islam occurred only slowly, not on a massive scale.[56] Majority of the population continued to remain Hindu who had to pay the jizya imposed by the Muslim state.[56]
It has been reported that Muhammad ibn al-Qasim met withSayyida Ruqayya bint Ali (Bibi Pak Daman) in India, a daughter ofAli ibn Abi Talib the son-in-law of the Islamicprophet Muhammad and the fourthRashidun caliph (r. 656-661). The events of themassacre of Muhammad's family at Karbala (680 CE) caused many relatives of Muhammad including Ruqayyah to migrate toMakran. Among her potential assassins had been Muhammad Bin Qasim who later switched allegiances and became a supporter of Ruqayyah after learning of the sufferings experienced by the family of Muhammad.[57]
Al-Hajjaj died in 714, followed a year later by Caliph al-Walid I, who was succeeded by his brotherSulayman. The latter took revenge against the generals and officials who had been close to al-Hajjaj. Sulayman owed political support to al-Hajjaj's opponents and so recalled both of al-Hajjaj's successful generalsQutayba ibn Muslim, the conqueror ofTransoxiana (Central Asia), and Muhammad. He also appointed the son of the distinguished generalal-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra,Yazid, who was once imprisoned and tortured by al-Hajjaj, as the governor of Fars, Kirman, Makran, and Sind; he immediately placed Muhammad in chains.[58]
Muhammad ibn al-Qasim died on 18 July 715 inMosul, which is a part of the modern-day Iraq. Some sources say that his body was transferred toMakran inBalochistan at theHingol National Park, which is part of modern-day Pakistan.
There are two different accounts regarding the details of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's fate:
After Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's departure, the next appointed Arab governor died on arrival. Dahir's son recaptured Brahmanabad and c. 720, he was granted pardon and included in the administration in return for converting to Islam. Soon, however, he recanted and split off when the Umayyads were embroiled in a succession crisis. Later,Junayd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Murri killed Jaisiah and recaptured the territory before his successors once again struggled to hold and keep it.[citation needed]
Arab states in South Asia
During theAbbasid period, c. 870, the local emirs shook off all allegiance to the caliphs and by the 10th century the region was split into two separate states,Mansurah on the lower Indus andMultan on the upper Indus, both were the major Arab principalities in South Asia, which were soon captured byIsmailis who set up an independentFatimid state.[25][66] The Arab conquest remained checked in what is now the south of Pakistan for three centuries by powerful Hindu monarchs to the north and east until the arrival ofMahmud of Ghazni.[67]
There is controversy regarding the conquest and subsequent conversion of Sindh. This is usually voiced in two antagonistic perspectives viewing Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's actions.[68]
His conquest, as described by Stanley Lane-Poole, in Medieval India (Published in 1970 by Haskell House Publishers Ltd), was "liberal". He imposed the customary poll tax, took hostages for good conduct and spared peoples' lives and lands. He even left their shrines undesecrated: 'The temples;' he proclaimed, 'shall be inviolate, like the churches of the Christians, the synagogues of the Jews and altars of the Magians'.[69] In the same text, however, it is mentioned that "Occasional desecration of Hindu fanes took place... but such demonstrations were probably rare sops to the official conscience...", as destruction of temples and civilian massacres still took place.[70]
Variouspolemical perceptions of Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism are also reflected in this debate.[73] The period of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's rule has been called by U.T. Thakkur "the darkest period in Sindh history", with the records speaking of massive forced conversions, temple destruction, slaughters and genocides; the people of Sindh, described as inherently pacifist due to their Hindu/Buddhist religious inclinations, had to adjust to the conditions of "barbarian inroad".[74] On one extreme, theArab Muslims are seen as being compelled by religious stricture to conquer and forcibly convert Sindh, but on the other hand, they can be seen as being respectful and tolerant of non-Muslims as part of their religious duty, with conversion being facilitated by the vitality, equality and morals of the Islamic religion.[73] Citations of towns taken either violently or bloodlessly, reading back into Arab Sindh information belonging to a later date and accounts such as those of the forcible circumcision of Brahmins at Debal or Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's consideration of Hindu sentiment in forbidding the slaughter of cows are used as examples for one particular view or the other.[73]
Some historians strike a middle ground, saying that Muhammad ibn al-Qasim was torn between the political expediency of making peace with the Hindus and Buddhists; having to call upon non-Muslims to serve under him as part of his mandate to administer newly conquered land; and orthodoxy by refraining from seeking the co-operation of "infidels". It is contended that he may have struck a middle ground, conferring the status ofDhimmi upon the native Sindhis and permitting them to participate in his administration, but treating them as "non-citizens" (i.e. in the Caliphate, but not of it).[34]
While Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's warring was clearly at times brutal, he is supposed to have said of Hinduism that 'the idol temple is similar to the churches of the Christians, (to the synagogues) of the Jews and to thefire temples of theZoroastrians' (mā al-budd illā ka-kanāʾis al-naṣārā wa ’l-yahūd wa-buyūt nīrān al-madjūs).[75] This 'seems to be the earliest statement justifying the inclusion of the Hindus in the category ofahl al-dhimma, leading Muhammad to be falsely viewed by many modern Muslims as a paragon of religious tolerance.[76]
Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's presence and rule were very brief. His conquest for the Umayyads brought Sindh into the orbit of the Muslim world.[77] After the conquest of Sindh, he adopted theHanafi school ofSharia law which regarded Hindus, Buddhists and Jains as "dhimmis" and "People of the Book", allowing them religious freedom as long as they continued to pay the tax known as "jizya". This approach would prove critical to the way Muslim rulers ruled in India over the next centuries.[25] Coastal trade and a Muslim colony in Sindh allowed for cultural exchanges and the arrival ofSufi missionaries to expand Muslim influence.[78]
FromDebal, which remained an important port until the 12th century, commercial links with thePersian Gulf and theMiddle East intensified as Sindh became the "hinge of the Indian Ocean Trade and overland passway."[77]Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, claimed that thePakistan movement started when the first Muslim put his foot on the soil ofSindh, theGateway of Islam in India.[79] He is often referred to as the firstPakistani according toPakistan Studies curriculum.[80]Yom-e Bab ul-Islam is observed in Pakistan in honour of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim.[81][80]
Port Qasim, Pakistan's second major port, is named in honor of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim.[82]Bagh Ibn Qasim is the largest park inKarachi (Sindh, Pakistan), named in honour of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim.Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium,Multan is a multi-use stadium named after Muhammad ibn al-Qasim. The Pakistan Naval Station Qasim, orPNS Qasim, is the major naval special operations base for theamphibious special operations forces in thePakistan Navy named after Muhammad ibn al-Qasim.Bin Qasim in Karachi is named after Muhammad ibn al-Qasim.
In the 1996 PTV SeriesLabbaik, he was played by Babar Ali and 2019 Egyptian animated musical filmThe Knight and the Princess.
But this version of the story is almost absent and not accepted by many historians, because Muhammad bin Qasim attacked Sindh to punish the then ruler of Sindh Raja Dahir who captured some Muslim women, and to release them he attacked Sindh.
Media related toMuhammad bin Qasim at Wikimedia Commons
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