History
of Muhammad Bin Qasim// Who Is Muhammad Bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim was born around 695 AD. He belonged to
the Saqqafi tribe; that had originated from Taif in Arabia. He grew up in the
care of his mother; he soon became a great asset to his uncle Muhammad Ibn
Yusuf, the governor of Yemen. His judgment, potential and skills left many
other officers and forced the ruler to appoint him in the state department. He
was also a close relative of Hajjaj bin Yousuf, because of the influence of
Hajjaj, the young Muhammad bin Qasim was appointed the governor of Persia while
in his teens, and he crushed the rebellion in that region. There is also a
popular tradition that presents him as the son-in-law of Hajjaj bin Yousuf. He
conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad
Caliphate.
There are both long and short term causes for the conquest
of india. Arabs had trade with India and Eastern Asia. The trade was carried
through sea rout; the rout was unsafe due to the plunder of the Pirates of
Sindh. The Arab rebels also get refuge in Sindh. Thus the Umayyad wanted to
consolidate their rule and also to secure the trade rout. During Hajjaj’s governorship, the Mids of
Debal (Pirates) plundered the gifts of Ceylon’s ruler to Hijjaj and attacked on
ships of Arab that were carrying the orphans and widows of Muslim soldiers who
died in Sri Lanka. Thus providing the Umayyad Caliphate the legitimate cause,
that enabled them to gain a foothold in the Makran, and Sindh regions.
The Umayyad caliphate ordered Muhammad Bin Qasim to attack
over Sindh. He led 6,000 Syrian cavalry and at the borders of Sindh he was
joined by an advance guard and six thousand camel riders and with five
catapults (Manjaniks). Muhammad Bin Qasim first captured Debal, from where the
Arab army marched along the Indus. At Rohri he was met by Dahir’s forces. Dahir
died in the battle, his forces were defeated and Muhammad bin Qasim took
control of Sind. Mohammad Bin Qasim entered Daibul in 712 AD. As a result of
his efforts, he succeeded in capturing Daibul. He continued his Victorious
Progress in succession, Nirun, fortress (called Sikka), Brahmanabad, Alor,
Multan and Gujrat. After the conquest of Multan, he carried his arms to the
borders of Kigdom of Kashmir, but his dismissal stopped the further advance.
Now Muslims were the masters of whole Sindh and a part of Punjab up to the
borders of Kashmir in the north. After the conquest, he adopted a conciliatory
policy, asking for acceptance of Muslim rule by the natives in return for
non-interference in their religious and cultural practices. He also established
peace with a strong taxation system. In return he provided the guaranty of
security of life and property for the natives.
Hajjaj died in 714. When Walid Bin Abdul Malik died, his younger brother
Suleman succeeded as the Caliph. He was a bitter enemy of Hajjaj’s family. He
recalled Mohammad Bin Qasim from Sindh, who obeyed the orders as the duty of a
general. When he came back, he was put to death on 18th of July, 715AD at the
age of twenty.
Chachnama, a Sindhi book published by the Sindhi Adabi Board
in 2008, speaks of Muhammad bin Qasim's demise on page 242 to 243. I will try
to summarise it for you. After Raja Dahar was killed, two of his daughters were
made captive, whom Muhammad Bin Qasim sent to the capital Damascus. After a few
days, the Caliph of the Muslims called the two young women to his court. The
name of the elder daughter of Raja Dahar was Suryadevi, while the younger one’s
name was Pirmaldevi. Caliph Waleed Bin Abdul Malik fell for Suryadevi’s
extraordinary beauty. He ordered for her younger sister to be taken away. The
Caliph then began to take liberties with Suryadevi, pulling her to himself. It
is written that Suryadevi sprang up and said: “May the king live long: I, a
humble slave, am not fit for your Majesty's bedroom, because Muhammad Bin Qasim
kept both of us sisters with him for three days, and then sent us to the
caliphate. Perhaps your custom is such, but this kind of disgrace should not be
permitted by kings.”Hearing this, the Caliph’s blood boiled as heat from anger
and desire both compounded within him. Blinded in the thirst of Suryadevi’s
nearness and jealousy of Bin Qasim who had robbed him of the purity he would
otherwise have had, the Caliph [sic] immediately sent for pen, ink and paper,
and with his own hands wrote an order, directing that, “Muhammad (Bin) Qasim
should, wherever he may be, put himself in raw leather and come back to the
chief seat of the caliphate.” Muhammad Bin Qasim received the Caliph’s orders
in the city of Udhapur. He directed his own men to wrap him in raw leather and
lock him in a trunk before taking him to Damascus. En route to the capital,
Muhammad Bin Qasim, conqueror to some, predator to others, breathed his last
and his soul departed to meet with the Creator in whose name he claimed to
crusade in Sindh.
When the trunk carrying Muhammad Bin Qasim’s corpse wrapped
in raw leather reached the Caliph’s court, the Caliph called upon Dahar’s
daughters, asking them to bear witness to the spectacle of obedience of his men
for the Caliph.
One of Dahar’s daughter’s then spoke in return and said:
“The fact is that Muhammad Qasim was like a brother or a son to us; he never
touched us, your slaves, and our chastity was safe with him. But in as much as
he brought ruin on the king of Hind and Sind, desolated the kingdom of our
fathers and grandfathers, and degraded us from princely rank to slavery, we
have, with the intention of revenge and of bringing ruin and degradation to him
in return, misrepresented the matter and spoken a false thing to your majesty
against him.”
The author of the Chachnama then writes that had Muhammad
Bin Qasim not lost his senses in the passion of obedience, he could have made
the whole journey normally, while wrapping himself in raw leather and locking
himself in a trunk only when a part of the journey remained to be covered.
He could have then proven himself innocent in the Caliph’s
court and saved himself from such a fate.
Muhammad
bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim was orphaned as a child and thus the
responsibility of his upbringing fell upon his mother. She supervised his
religious instruction herself, and hired different teachers for his worldly
education. It was the uncle, Hajjaj bin Yousaf, who taught him the art of
governing and warfare.Qasim was an intelligent and cultured young man who at
the age of fifteen was considered by many to be one of his uncle’s greatest
assets. As a show of faith in his nephew’s abilities, Hajjaj married his
daughter to Qasim. At the age of sixteen, he was asked to serve under the great
general, Qutayba bin Muslim. Under his command Muhammad bin Qasim displayed a
talent for skilful fighting and military planning. Hajjaj’s complete trust in
Qasim’s abilities as a general became even more apparent when he appointed the
young man as the commander of the all-important invasion on Sindh, when he was
only seventeen years old. Muhammad bin Qasim proved Hajjaj right when he,
without many problems, managed to win all his military campaigns. He used both
his mind and military skills in capturing places like Daibul, Raor, Uch and
Multan. History does not boast of many other commanders who managed such a
great victory at such a young age. Besides being a great general, Muhammad bin
Qasim was also an excellent administrator. He established peace and order as
well as a good administrative structure in the areas he conquered. He was a
kind hearted and religious person. He had great respect for other religions.
Hindu and Buddhist spiritual leaders were given stipends during his rule. The
poor people of the land were greatly impressed by his policies and a number of
them embraced Islam. Those who stuck to their old religions erected statues in
his honor and started worshiping him after his departure from their land.
Muhammad bin Qasim was known for his obedience to the ruler.
Walid bin Abdul Malik died and was succeeded by his younger brother Suleman as
the Caliph. Suleman was an enemy of Hajjaj and thus ordered Qasim back to the
kingdom. Qasim knew of the animosity between the two. He was aware that due to
this enmity, he would not be well treated. He could have easily refused to obey
the Caliph’s orders and declare his independence in Sindh. Yet he was of the
view that obeying ones ruler is the duty of a general and thus he decided to go
back to the center. Here he became a victim to party politics. He was put
behind bars where he died at age of twenty. Many historians believe that had he
been given a few more years, he would have conquered the entire South Asian
region.
According to Al-Baladhuri, a 9th-century Persian historian,
Qasim was killed due to a family feud with the governor of Iraq. After the
death of the caliph Al-Walid I, his brother Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik became
the new caliph. Sulayman became hostile against Qasim because apparently he had
followed the order of Hajjaj to declare Sulayman's right of succession void in
all territories conquered by him. When Qasim received the news of the death of
Hajjaj he returned to Aror. Qasim was later arrested under the orders of the
caliph by the successor governor of Sindh, Yazid ibn Kabsha as-Sasaki, who
worked under the new governor of Iraq, Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, and the new
fiscal manager, Salih ibn Abd ar-Rahman. Salih, whose brother was executed by
Hajjaj, tortured Qasim and his relatives to death. The account of his death by
Al-Baladhuri is very brief compared to the one in Chachanama.[4][23][24]
The Chachnama narrates a tale in which Qasim's demise is
attributed to the daughters of King Dahir who had been taken captive during the
campaign. Upon capture they had been sent on as presents to the Khalifa for his
harem in the capital. The account relates that they then tricked the caliph
into believing that Muhammad bin Qasim had violated them before sending them on
and as a result of this subterfuge, Muhammad bin Qasim was wrapped and stitched
in oxen hides,[25] and returned to Syria, which resulted in his death en route
from suffocation.[26] This narrative attributes their motive for this
subterfuge to securing vengeance for their father's death. Upon discovering
this subterfuge, the Khalifa is recorded to have been filled with remorse and
ordered the sisters buried alive in a wall.
Wikipedia presents two different accounts of his death. Both
can't be correct. Which of these accounts is more accurate?
india syria arab umayyad-caliphate
shareimprove this questionfollow
edited Jan 12 '17 at 12:08
NSNoob
7,84311 gold badge4141 silver badges7676 bronze badges
asked Jan 12 '17 at 7:02
Sakib Arifin
1,91311 gold badge99 silver badges2727 bronze badges
He was killed by Suleyman that much is sure. And he was
killed after being ordered to report back to the Imperial Palace in Damascus. I
have read a third account that it was because Suleyman was man who held a
grudge. He asked generals like Musa bin Naseer (Conqueror of Hispania),
Muhammad bin Kasem (Conqueror of North-West India) to withhold their reports of
victory until his dying brother the Caliph Walid could die and then present the
reports in his court. The generals didn't obey the prince due to loyalty to the
old caliph and came to report the victories which resulted in their downfall –
NSNoob Jan 12 '17 at 12:04
I am no expert on the topic, but I know Arabic and I have
access to sources in Arabic (but disclaimer, I am a Sunni Muslim, so my sources
are "Wahhabist" sources, and I do not agree with that misleading term
"Wahhabism", but just you would understand).
From Al Alukah Website, an author called Shareef AbdulAziz
Al-Zuhairi wrote:
"The Sad Ending:
The new governor of Al-Iraq, Salih ibn Abdurrahman, full of
hatred and despise towards Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Ath-thaqafi, that is because the
Hajjaj has killed Adam, the brother of Salih, who followed the opinion of
Al-Kharawij(1). So, Salih wanted to have his revenge from Al-Hajjaj, and he saw
that the relatives of Al-Hajjaj are a means to that.
This enmity towards the relatives of Al-Hajjaj is the exact
definition of fanaticism, transgression and tyranny, and it was also what
Al-Hajjaj did to his enemies. Allah said {And no bearer of burdens will bear
the burden of another.}
Salih ibn Abdurrahman imprisoned Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim
Al-Thaqafi in the city of Wasit in which the Hajjaj threw in his enemies for
the least suspicion. And with the same torture devices, Salih commanded the
torture of Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim until he confesses whether he committed the
horrible crime that the pagan 'Sayta' claimed that he did. And Muhammad ibn
Al-Qasim swears that he is innocent and insists on that, while reciting poems
in which he has said: Even if you flatten Wasit and its lands, In the Iron
cladded and chained, By the Lord of the palms of Persia I have Maintained It(2)
By the Lord of Qarn(3) I have been killed(4)
And Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim perseveres the torture, insisting
on his innocence and his purity from this lowly claim, and there is no deed he
has done except his great victories and his triumph over the kings of disbelief,
and no guilt except that he is the cousin of a tyrant whose kin have shouldered
his crimes(5), until the sad moment in which he met his demise came, when he
died unjustly as a martyr - if Allah wills - and goes out the light of a candle
that if it had been destined for it to remain it would have been a burning sun
to the enemies of Islam, and the Muslims would have triumphed over India whose
conquest was delayed afterwards for a number of centuries.
The poets of his time have praised, obitted, and cried on
him, as Hamza ibn Bayd Al-Hanafi said: Chivalry, Magnanimity, and Generosity,
To Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, He Led the Armies for Seventeen
Pilgrimages, How Close to a Success is this Birth(4)
May Allah's vast mercy be upon him, and may Allah compensate
his chast soft youth with the greatest paradise.
And what is very surprising is that 'Sayta', the son of
Dahir, when she heard of the death of Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim under torture she
cried and her conscience pushed her to go to the Governor of Iraq where she
confessed her crime, who submitted her matter of the Caliph Sulayman ibn
Abdulmalik, who commanded her execution as a punishment in reprisal for that
great hero. "
Well, enough translating the author's opinions. Here are the
references he claims he used:
Al-Tabari's Tareekh
Al-Kamil fi Al-Tareekh
Al-Bidaya Wal-nihaya (The Beginning and the End, a famous
book by ibn Katheer)
Al-Muntazim fi Tareekh Al-Mulook Wal Ummam (The Consistent
in the History of Kings and Nations, ibn Al-Jawzi)
Tareekh Al-Khulafaa' (The History of the Caliphs, Al-Suyuti)
Muhadaraat Al Dawla Al Umawiyya (Lectures of the Umayyad
Nation, not sure who is the author, but I suspect it is Muhammad Khidri Beik.
See this)
Futoohaat Al-Buldaan (The Conquests of the Countries, by
Al-Balathuri)
Atlas Tareekh Al Islam (The Atlas of Islam's History, an
Encyclopedia)
Al-Tareekh Al Islami (The Islamic History, ambiguous name.
No idea who is the author)
Siyyar Aa'laam Al-Nubalaa (The Biographies of the
Distinguished Nobles, By Al-Dhahabi)
Waffiyaat Al Aa'yaan (The Deaths of the Lords, ibn Khalkaan)
Shadhraat Adh-dhahab (The Specks of Gold, Ibn Ammad
Al-Hanbali)
Al-'Ibar fi Khabar Man Ghabar (The Lessons in the News of
Those Who Have Gone, Adh-dhahabi, again)
(1)- The sect that believes that it is permissible to go
against the rulers, especially in the special case that the ruler is a tyrant
like the Hajjaj. My belief (and I have to state that here, since it is my
belief) is that it is impermissible regardless as long as he conducts the
prayers; i.e. as long as he is not a disbeliever.
(2)- The poem has no diacritics, and I haven't found the
source with diacritics online. It can probably be found in printed books that
the author mentioned in the references or in one of the manuscripts. It is not
my science so I do not know much about it.
(3)- I don't know the context, so I am not sure what he is
referring to here. But probably the tribe of Qarn.
(4)- My translation sucks, sorry.
(5)- The word here is Jareera جريرة,
see Hans Wehr for meaning. I am only putting this dictionary so you could use
it as a resource later during your readings.
(6) A pilgrimage a year, that's 17 lunar years. Every 100
Solar (Julian, became Gregorian) is a 103 Lunar.
Well, I know my answer is not satisfactory as the author of
the article on Al Alukah website is unknown and it would take effort to verify
his authenticity. But he has mentioned some references without mentioning their
authors, assuming that the reader knows the popular books and their respective
authors. I have tried to find them out for you, perhaps you might find any
translation about it, but I doubt any translations to English exist.
Nevertheless, I hope this answer was of help to you.
Muhammad
Bin Qasim
Muhammad bin Qasim was born around 695 AD. He belonged to
the Saqqafi tribe; that had originated from Taif in Arabia. He grew up in the
care of his mother; he soon became a great asset to his uncle Muhammad Ibn
Yusuf, the governor of Yemen. His judgment, potential and skills left many
other officers and forced the ruler to appoint him in the state department. He
was also a close relative of Hajjaj bin Yousuf, because of the influence of
Hajjaj, the young Muhammad bin Qasim was appointed the governor of Persia while
in his teens, and he crushed the rebellion in that region. There is also a
popular tradition that presents him as the son-in-law of Hajjaj bin Yousuf. He
conquered the Sindh and Punjab regions along the Indus River for the Umayyad
Caliphate. There are both long and short term causes for the conquest of india.
Arabs had trade with India and Eastern Asia. The trade was carried through sea
rout; the rout was unsafe due to the plunder of the Pirates of Sindh. The Arab
rebels also get refuge in Sindh. Thus the Umayyad wanted to consolidate their
rule and also to secure the trade rout. During Hajjaj’s governorship, the Mids
of Debal (Pirates) plundered the gifts of Ceylon’s ruler to Hijjaj and attacked
on ships of Arab that were carrying the orphans and widows of Muslim soldiers
who died in Sri Lanka. Thus providing the Umayyad Caliphate the legitimate
cause, that enabled them to gain a foothold in the Makran, and Sindh regions.
The Umayyad caliphate ordered Muhammad Bin Qasim to attack
over Sindh. He led 6,000 Syrian cavalry and at the borders of Sindh he was
joined by an advance guard and six thousand camel riders and with five
catapults (Manjaniks). Muhammad Bin Qasim first captured Debal, from where the
Arab army marched along the Indus. At Rohri he was met by Dahir’s forces. Dahir
died in the battle, his forces were defeated and Muhammad bin Qasim took
control of Sind. Mohammad Bin Qasim entered Daibul in 712 AD. As a result of
his efforts, he succeeded in capturing Daibul. He continued his Victorious
Progress in succession, Nirun, fortress (called Sikka), Brahmanabad, Alor,
Multan and Gujrat. After the conquest of Multan, he carried his arms to the
borders of Kigdom of Kashmir, but his dismissal stopped the further advance.
Now Muslims were the masters of whole Sindh and a part of Punjab up to the
borders of Kashmir in the north. After the conquest, he adopted a conciliatory
policy, asking for acceptance of Muslim rule by the natives in return for
non-interference in their religious and cultural practices. He also established
peace with a strong taxation system. In return he provided the guaranty of
security of life and property for the natives. Hajjaj died in 714. When Walid
Bin Abdul Malik died, his younger brother Suleman succeeded as the Caliph. He
was a bitter enemy of Hajjaj’s family. He recalled Mohammad Bin Qasim from
Sindh, who obeyed the orders as the duty of a general. When he came back, he
was put to death on 18th of July, 715AD at the age of twenty.
Muhammad
bin qasim
1. Presented by: Abdullah Mansoor (L1f13BSME0042) Abubakar
(L1F13BSME0064) Ahmed Ali Zafar (L1F13BSME0066)
2. Muhammad bin Qasim Cause of Sindh invasion
Preparation of campaign Start of campaign Reason of success Death
3. Muhammad bin Qasim (712)
4. Father name: Qasim bin Yousaf Born in TALIF(Saudia
Arab) 31 December 695 Death of father Spend childhood under her mother and
paternal uncle(Hijaj bin Yousaf) In 711 he served general QYTABAH and became
commander of leading unit of army Umayyad General Iraq Governor, Hijaj bin
Yousaf married his Daughter Zubaida Foundation of Islamic Rule in
Subcontinent
5. Attacked by Raja Dahir’s forces on Muslim’s ship going
for Hajj The Arab were imprisoned later on by the Debal Governor, Partaab Raye
Refusal of Raja Dahir to help muslims Letter from NAHID to Hijaj bin Yousaf
6. Makran Arman Belah(lasbela) Debal (Karachi)
Sadusan (Sehwan) Nerun (Hyderabad) Brahamnabad (Shehdad Pur) Ar-rur
(Rohri,Nawabshah) met by Dahir's forces Captured (Multan)
7. Superior military equipment(catapult) Troop
discipline and leadership The concept of Jihad as a morale booster
Religion; the widespread belief in the prophecy of Muslim success Good
administrator Concept of superior and inferior un Hinduism
8. Death of mother of Muhammad bin Qasim Death of Hijaj
bin Yousaf Death of Caliph Walid bin Abdul Malik
9. Revolt in Umayyad Fear of Muhammad bin Qasim to new
Caliph Sulman bin Abdul Malik Order of Caliph Sulman Mohammad bin Qasim
return Murdered on way(18th July 715)
10. In the world of Islam and War Muhammad bin Qasim is
known as outstanding commander, administrator fighter and Muslim. Sultan
Sulah-ud-din Ayubi, Sultan Mahmood Ghaznawi, Qutbu din Abiq gave examples of
Muhammad bin Qasim and pay tribute to him.
11. Book “ MUHAMMAD BIN QASIM” by Naseem Hijazi.
Post a Comment
Post a Comment