Raja Dahir the brave and Mohammed Bin Qasim the rapist – by Zulfiqar Ali
Chachnama is 8th century book and not “a Sindhi book published by the Sindhi Adabi Board in 2008”. It was written in Arabic, translated in Persian in 13th century and in English by Mirza Qaleech Baig.
Supposed reasons for Mohammed Bin Qasim’s invasion are human rights protection by Hajjaj Bin Yusuf, the amnesty chief of his times.We are told that some traders were travelling from Sri Lanka as it was the trading hub bigger than India in 8th century. Logically Arabs would have preferred to trade with India.
No doubt they were traders. But they were slave traders. As Arabs have been the expert in slave trade. They were the main traders of blacks being shipped to Americas. Our brother muslim country, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia officially abolished slavery in 1964 (100 years later than the wicked USA), but it was still present in late sixties. So they would raid Sind’s costal areas and kidnap women, kids and whatever they could. Generally such people visit villages etc. with families. Sometimes they are also called Gaed-rrees (Marauders). So in that particular raid they were caught.
When Arabs demanded their release, Raja Dahir said they were not under his full control. Mohammed Bin Qasim conquered Debal, got them released. What happened next?
The Mujahid Mohammed Bin Qasim turned commanders of Debal to be his allies to attack Raja Dahir.
Initially they fought with Raja’s son near what is Hyderabad today. It took months to conquer that fort.
Arabs arrived at Aror what is now Rohri and layd sieged. Siege continued for months. There was a fort very close to Aror. It was called Bhait Fort. Raja Moka, a cousin of Raja Dahir, was its commander. He “switched” sides and joined Mohammed Bin Qasim.
Then Mohammed Bin Qasim won that.Conquest of Aror happened SIX MONTHS after the start of invasion.
It took six more months till conquest of Multan after Sarwahi, Uch etc.
Then he was called. Now the story of girls repenting seems fishy. If their repentance is recorded. One would expect that Caliph’s response to that should also be on record.
We all know that Arab General Muhammad Bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 712 AD. However, the facts surrounding this conquest, and the ill fate that followed for the conqueror is known to few among us.
According to researcher and historian Dr Mubarak Ali, the war between Muhamad Bin Qasim and Raja Dahar was never a war of faith versus infidelity. He further says that it is not correct that Muhammad Bin Qasim’s men included Hindus of scheduled castes fighting for him.
It was after Muhammad Bin Qasim had conquered Sindh and had marched further ahead that locals started joining the Arab forces due to poverty and joblessness. According to Dr Mubarak Ali, the Arabs started ruling under the umbrella of an ancient elite class, thus their behaviour towards the lower and humbler communities never changed.
As such, the taking over of the reigns of Hind and Sindh by the Arabs never changed a thing for the already oppressed and victimised classes of society, which is claimed to be the focus of Islamic governance.
So, who is to decide if Muhammad Bin Qasim was a predator or a preacher?
No glory in death
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.
Translated by Aadarsh Ayaz Laghari
http://www.dawn.com/news/1098562
https://www.facebook.com/notes/zulfiqar-ali/raja-dahir-the-brave-and-mbq-kufi-the-rapist/568272309958958
It can be true.
We should know what others say.
Otherwise it could be “Apnay Monh mian mithhoo”
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No doubt they were traders. But they were slave traders. As Arabs have been the expert in slave trade.It was after Muhammad Bin Qasim had conquered Sindh and had marched further ahead that locals started joining the Arab forces due to poverty and joblessness.The events of Muhammad bin Qasim’s invasion of Sindh are well known. What isn’t so well known to most students of history is the manner in which Raja Dahar met his death. It is said that when the Arab conqueror had captured most of Sindh, and Dahar’s countrymen had changed their sides to join the Arabs, Dahar called his Arab friends, the Allafi rebels. In a way they were the cause of Dahar’s misfortune because it was by giving them refuge that Dahar had first annoyed the dreadful Hajjaj bin Yousuf. “O Allafi!” Dahar said to his Arab friend, “It was for such an emergency that we patronized you. You are best acquainted with the ways of the Arab army, and it is advisable that you should go with my forces in advance.” The Allafi replied, “O King! We are grateful to you, but we cannot draw our swords against the army of Islam. If we are killed by them we will earn a bad name, and if we kill them we will burn in hell. We agree that in return for the favours you have shown us, we must at least give you some advice on how to fight these invaders even if we do not draw our swords against them. But if we give you advice, then again, this army will never forgive us. Please be kind to us and allow us to depart quietly.” In a magnanimous gesture of royal grace, Dahar allowed these dubious characters to leave his camps in safety.
Sometime before the final battle, Dahar’s vizier approached him and suggested that Dahar should take refuge with one of the friendly kings of India. “You should say to them, ‘I am a wall between you and the Arab army. If I fall, nothing will stop your destruction at their hands.'” If that wasn’t acceptable to Dahar, said the vizier, then he should at least send away his family to some safe point in India. Dahar refused to do either. “I cannot send away my family to security while the families of my thakurs and nobles remain here. And I consider it shameful as well that I should go to the door of another prince and await his permission to see him.” Vizier Budhiman then asked Dahar what did he intend to do. To this Dahar gave a very dramatic reply, which was recorded faithfully by the early Arab historians despite their hostility to the unfortunate infidel.
“I am going to meet the Arabs in the open battle”, he said, “And fight them as best as I can. If I crush them, my kingdom will then be put on a firm footing. But if I am killed honorably, the event will be recorded in the books of Arabia and India, and will be talked about by great men. It will be heard by other kings in the world, and it will be said that Rajah Dahar of Sindh sacrificed his precious life for the sake of his country, in fighting with the enemy.”
After Dahar was killed in the Battle of Aror on the banks of the River Indus, his head was cut off from his body and sent to Hajjaj bin Yousuf. His queens burnt themselves to death in the tradition set by the Rajput heroines. These included Bai, the unfortunate sister of Dahar. Other ladies of the royal household, who remained alive, were captured by the Arab conquerors along with other women of Sindh, and sold into slavery. Thus ended the dynasty that had sprung out of the ambitions of Queen Suhandi and Chach the Brahmin.
the question is “” YE CHUPAYA Q JATA HY “”
this is totally wrong…the main motive of muslim rulers was to spread islam in every corner of the world… they were not rapists… the research is totally based on hatred towads muslims..
Lol…if they were not rapist…how do you think you ended u a Muslim although you belong to a region of Sanatan Dharm.
See… no matter how much you try to ditort the History, it is clear to the world how Islam was spread,. How much Slavery, Harem and Rape contributed to all this Cruelty.
Aadi, please don’t be a butt-hurt Hindi. Their is no massive slavery, rape and Harem now in India…still people convert to Islam. Back then it was also the same. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t the way you are describing it either.
@faizan rahim
Nope , there main aim was slave trading and Arabs celebrate that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_bin_Qasim
Slavery is part of Islam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_slave_trade
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_the_Muslim_world
http://africanholocaust.net/arabslavetrade/
All those things done and written by Muslims and they are very proud of it.
Lies after lies, Muhammad Bin Qasim was excited because of these false accusations and when the truth was flaunt out the liars were punished by being buried in a wall. This shows this story is a lie and please do more research this information is full of lies, and Raja Dahir articles innocents specifically Muslims first. You could say Raja Dahir was the evil monster. Please don’t reply to this if you will reply please don’t use rude language.
Lies after lies, Muhammad Bin Qasim was excited because of these false accusations and when the truth was found out the liars were punished by being buried in a wall. This shows this story is a lie and please do more research this information is full of lies, and Raja Dahir articles innocents specifically Muslims first. You could say Raja Dahir was the evil monster. Please don’t reply to this if you will reply please don’t use rude language.
Qasim might have been a preacher or predator that is a complete different discussion.
But one thing is sure that he was an invader.
For everyone who attaches themselves with the soil of Sindh,, It must be clear that he killed thousands and looted the land.
People always tend to forget that no matter what clothes we wear we will always be the son to our mother, We can not break that bond even if we want to.
It was a metaphore where clothes stand for religion and our land is our mother.
History is distorted beyond imagination to make us proud which does not belong to us.
We should be proud on our heritage and on our culture not on the invaders.