When we observe the Muslim population around us, the disturbances they cause, and the frequent incidents targeting non-Muslim communities, particularly ordinary Hindus, a question arises: Where did Islam come from in India, and how did the Muslims in India today become Muslim?
Did these people come from Arabia, or were the locals here converted to Islam? Did those who converted to Islam do so willingly, or were they forced? We will try to answer these questions through this article.
I left Islam 15 years ago because the growing hatred and violence from Muslims toward non-Muslims made me question why Muslims worldwide harbor such animosity toward non-Muslims and launch deadly attacks on them. When I sought answers, I had the opportunity to study the history of Islam, particularly its history in India.
It all began in Mecca, Arabia, with the birth of Mohammad bin Abdullah. His father, Abdullah, died before he was born, and later his mother refused to breastfeed him, handing him over to another family to raise. His mother, Amina, also passed away later.
These circumstances may explain why a child who grows up without love and in loneliness might develop mental issues. This could be why Mohammad bin Abdullah was often lost in fantasies and experienced strange visions. His grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, raised him with great affection for two years, but he too passed away. After that, his uncle, Abu Talib, took care of Mohammad with love.
At an age when Mohammad needed parental love, he was deprived of it and faced many hardships. When he grew older and needed discipline, he was overly pampered, which negatively impacted his personality, leading him to become eccentric.
His first marriage was to a wealthy woman, Khadija, who was 15 years older than him. This meant Mohammad didn’t need to work, and he spent his days wandering aimlessly, lost in his thoughts. One day, he had a strange dream, which he shared with his wife. She amplified his delusions, proclaiming him a prophet of Allah. After this, he went around claiming to be Allah’s messenger while insulting other deities. This irritated the people of Mecca, who eventually cut off supplies to Mohammad and his small group of followers, forcing them to migrate from Mecca to Medina.
In Medina, his followers grew because Mohammad ordered the looting and killing of other tribes, declaring it Allah’s command. This led to the accumulation of wealth, effectively giving his followers a license to commit crimes without guilt. Wherever Mohammad went, he gave people three options: 1) Convert to Islam, 2) Pay jizya (a tax) and live as second-class citizens, or 3) Be prepared to be killed. This is how Islam spread to more than half the world, as recorded in Islamic texts like the Quran, Hadith, and Mohammad’s biography.
It’s important to discuss Mohammad’s life to understand why Mohammad bin Qasim and his army did what they did when they brought Islam to India in 712 CE.
India had long-standing trade relations with Arabia. Initially, Arabs came to India preaching the positive aspects of Islam. However, seeing India’s wealth, the Islamic imperialist greed was awakened, and they began attacking India to plunder its riches and establish Islam. At the time, India was not in a strong position; after Emperor Harsha’s death, the Indian kingdoms were divided and embroiled in internal conflicts.
The Arabs had three motives for invading India:
1. Expand Islamic rule and make India a Dar-ul-Islam (Islamic land).
2. Loot India’s wealth, particularly from temples, and enslave Hindu women as concubines to be used and sold in their countries.
3. Destroy temples and build mosques in their place to expand Islam.
The first Islamic attack on India occurred between 636–637 CE under Caliph Umar, when Islam was expanding globally. An Islamic fleet landed at Thane, near Bombay, but India’s powerful navy defeated them, and they barely escaped with their lives. A second attack in 643 CE also failed due to lack of support from the Caliph, and the Islamic forces were driven out. For the next 70 years, no Islamic army dared to attack India.
However, 70 years later, Mohammad bin Qasim, a religious zealot, got the opportunity to invade India, changing its history forever.
It happened like this: A ship belonging to Caliph Hajjaj, carrying gifts and Muslim travelers from Sri Lanka, was looted by pirates in the territory of Sindh’s King Dahir. Hajjaj demanded the return of the loot, but King Dahir refused, stating that the pirates were not under his control. Enraged, Hajjaj sent his nephew and son-in-law, Mohammad bin Qasim, with a large army to attack Sindh.
When Mohammad bin Qasim arrived in Bairun, the Buddhists welcomed him grandly, as there was a rivalry between Hindus and Buddhists over which religion was superior. This internal conflict led to Sindh falling into Muslim hands.
During the attack on Sindh, Mohammad bin Qasim was losing badly, with King Dahir’s army decimating his forces. Mohammad’s troops were demoralized and feared for their lives. However, a head priest of a major temple met Qasim and offered to help defeat Dahir in exchange for a reward. The priest revealed that Dahir and his army had unwavering faith in the temple’s deity, and if the temple’s flag was brought down, their morale would collapse. With the priest’s help, Qasim toppled the flag, leading Dahir’s army to believe the deity had abandoned them. This caused chaos, and Dahir was killed, his head displayed on a spear, further breaking his army’s spirit. The remaining soldiers fled, and all able-bodied men were slaughtered.
The temple’s priests and monks were also killed, and the massacre continued for three days. Qasim demolished the temple and built a grand mosque in its place. This is recorded in the Muslim text *Futuh-ul-Buldan* (pages 186–187).
When Qasim reached Multan and besieged it, a local informed him of the city’s only water supply route. Qasim blocked it, causing the residents to die of thirst, forcing the city to surrender. All men were killed, and women and children were enslaved. Qasim looted vast amounts of gold and silver from temples, earning Multan the title “House of Gold.” This is detailed in *Futuh-ul-Buldan* (pages 140–191).
This defeat was due to internal divisions, greed, and blind faith, leading to massacres and the enslavement of women.
The war against King Dahir was not just a conflict over a ship but part of Islamic jihad, as evidenced in *Chachnama* (pages 163–154). After conquering Sindh’s forts, Mohammad bin Qasim wrote to his uncle, Governor Hajjaj in Iraq, stating: “The forts of Shistan and Sisam have been captured. Non-Muslims have been converted to Islam or killed. Idol-worshipping temples have been destroyed and replaced with mosques.”
Wherever Qasim went, he took prisoners, especially women, and sent them to the Caliph as concubines, including King Dahir’s daughters, Parimal Devi and Suraj Devi, sent to enrich Hajjaj’s harem as part of the one-fifth share of war booty mandated by the Quran and Hadith (*Chachnama*, page 173). These actions aligned with Quranic commands, such as:
– “When you meet idol-worshippers, kill them, take them captive, besiege them, and lie in wait for them.” (Quran 9:5)
– “Those you capture are given to you by Allah as spoils of war.” (Quran 33:58)
After conquering Rewar, Qasim killed 6,000 men, and his army enslaved all women and children, totaling over 3,000 captives, including 30 daughters of nobles sent to Hajjaj (*Chachnama*, pages 172–173).
When Qasim’s army reached Karachi, they committed massacres, raped women, looted, and celebrated for three days. The fort was turned into a prison, where all non-Muslims (soldiers and civilians) were killed or mutilated. Non-Muslim women and children were distributed among Muslim warriors, and the main temple was converted into a mosque, with the Islamic green flag replacing the saffron flag. Thirty thousand women were sent to Baghdad (*Futuh-ul-Buldan*, pages 113–130).
In Brahmanabad, all non-Muslim soldiers and men were killed, and women and children were enslaved, with over 100,000 people valued and enslaved (*Chachnama*, page 179).
This is how Islam first came to India through Mohammad bin Qasim.
