Evolution and Growth of Muslim Society in the Sub-Continent

Islam’s first wave:

After the Huns had left the subcontinent, there was no more fighting yet the region remained unsafe
and unstable for the residents which resulted in the arrival of Islam in the subcontinent with the coming
of the Arabs who were familiar with the area because of the sea trade, and their caravans would pass
through the area. During the reign of Caliph Hazrat Umar(R.A), between 637 and 643, the Arabs
conquered the Iranian province of Kamran including south of Baluchistan. However, Kamran was under
lose control and the inhabitants revolted a few years later to which Caliph Hazrat Usman(R.A), in 652,
sent Majasha ibn Masood to retake Kamran and reconquer Baluchistan. In 656, wars broke out in
Ummah over succession of the caliphate while an uprising against the government broke in Baluchistan.
In 660, Caliph Hazrat Ali sent Haris Ibn Marah to conquer Makran, Sindh and Balochistan but was killed
and lost all Islamic control. The caliphate was then relocated to Damascus under the control of
Ummayads and Muawiya dispatched an expedition to recapture the region. Meanwhile, Kabul, Kashmir
and the now Northern Pakistan had been under the rule of the Shahi dynasty (who were Buddhists), but
an Arab army arrived in Kabul in 663 and demanded its kind to accept. After two years of fighting, the
king accepted Islam and the Arabs withdrew.

Arabs in Sindh:

At the mouth of the Indus River (Mehran) was the city of Debel, that served as the stronghold of the
Med, one such kingdom. In 710, news reached Arabs that the Meds had seized an Arab ship, stolen its
cargo and imprisoned its crew members who were returning from a visit to Ceylon. The governor of the
Islamic empire eastern end, Hajjaj Bin Yousuf demanded the ruler of Debel to pay for the ship, its cargo
and to free the crew members.

Campaigns of Muhammad bin Qasim:

Later, Yousuf commanded his nephew Mohammad bin Qasim to hold a campign against all of Sindh. He
brought along a fleat of 6000 syrian horses, 6000 troops of camels, 3000 bactrian camels to carry
supplies, ships with 5 large catapults and a network of couriers for battlefield communication. Makran
was the first region to attack and fall. In Debel, he dug trenches and awaited the attack.

• Qasim issued the decree: “All human beings are created by ALLAH and are equal in His eyes. He
is one and without a peer. In my religion only those who are kind to fellow human beings are
worthy of respect. Cruelty and oppression are prohibited by law. We fight only those who are
unjust and are enemies of the truth” (Hussain, 1997, 103)

Qasim then marched to Nerankut, Sehwan and Brahamanabad, conquering all and Sehwan became the
centre of Islamic power. During the campsign, Yousuf and Caliph Walid died and the new Caliph
Sulaiman renounced all power against Yousuf’s family and executed Qasim. Nonetheless, Sindh became
the door of Islam for the subcontinent.
Sindh after Muhammad bin Qasim:

For the next 200 years, Sindh remained part of the Islamic Empire under at least 37 Arab governers.
Islam spread while other religious groups practiced their faith. Mosques were constructed with temples
and shrines, Jizya and zakat collected, disputes among muslims resolved by muslim judges and disputes
among Hindus and Buddhists resolved by Brahman priests. Overtime the cultures in the area
intertwined and created a new culture, so much that sindhi became the first language for the Quran to
be translated in.

Mahmud of Ghazni:

Meanwhile, Mahmud of Ghazni, extended their rule into non-Islamic northern India where Islam spread
throughout the region and later attacked and conquered Multan and its Hindi allies. He also continued
his battles against the Hindu Shahi dynasty which gradually lost ground from 1000 to 1026. In 1001 he
conquered Peshawar and it became the centre of the empire. During the Ghaznavid period (rule of
Mahmud of Ghazni) the Muslim scholars and missionaries travelled throughout the kingdom spreading
the message of Islam- from Lahore to the Salt Range to others in Punjab. With the stability trade along
the silk routes in Punjab that had been disrupted by warfare revived and Ghazni became an important
centre for trade.

Islam’s second wave:

Islamic rule in the now Pakistan and India was confined to small areas or exercised through local vassals
but in the 11th century after campaigns of conquest by Muslim ruler from Central Asia, direct Islamic rule
extended largely over the subcontinent. The Hindu Shahi kingdoms western border touched Ghazni
ruled by Turkish Muslims and their king. The Hindu Shahi king, Jayapala marched on Ghazni seeking to
expand his kingdom where his army was defeated by the Turkish Muslims.

The Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526):

The Delhi Sultanate established Islamic rule throughout the subcontinent and maintained for more than
three centuries. About 1500 independent Muslim kingdoms had arisen in Multan, Gujarat, Malwa, Sindh
and Khandesh in central India. Sufism also made it way during this era. With the death of the last ruler,
the Delhi Sultanate came to an end and it gave way to a kingdom that would be among the grandest the
world had seen: Mughal Empire: an era known as the period of Muslim architecture, literature and
religious reformists.