Unveiling the myth: The truth behind the death of Muhammad bin Qasim
Sindh history | Death of Mohammed bin Qasim
In 712 AD, Muhammad bin Qasim defeated Raja Dahir and conquered Sindh. This occasion is being re-published today to commemorate it.
It is said that when the ruler of Sindh, Raja Dahir, was defeated by the Umayyad general Muhammad bin Qasim, he sent his two daughters, Surya and Pirmal, to the Caliph Walid bin Abdul Malik to Baghdad after Raja's death.
When Caliph Walid bin Abdul Malik expressed his intentions to have a private audience with Surya, she cleverly replied that Muhammad bin Qasim had already had a private audience with them and was no longer worthy of the Caliph's attention.
Angered, the Caliph did not investigate the matter and immediately sent a warrant for Muhammad bin Qasim to return to the Caliphate, wherever he was, or be killed.
Muhammad bin Qasim complied and returned to the Caliphate's territory, but died two days later on the way.
This story is documented in the book "Fathnama-i-Sindh" or "Chach Nama".
According to the narrative, after this incident, Raja Dahir's daughter delivered a lengthy speech in which she testified to Muhammad bin Qasim's just rule but also plotted to avenge her father's death.
In the same speech, she also commented that Muhammad bin Qasim should have exercised wisdom in ruling and the Caliph should have investigated before issuing such a harsh order.
According to "Chach Nama", Raja Dahir's daughter said: "It is incumbent upon a wise king to judge whatever he hears from friend or foe, evaluate it on the scale of wisdom, and compare it with the decisions of the heart."
She further said that in the matter of righteousness, Muhammad bin Qasim was like a father and brother to them, and he had not shown any disdain towards them as slaves. But because he had destroyed the kings of Hind and Sindh (Raja Dahir), they had falsely accused him in front of the Caliph of revenge.
Upon this, the Caliph, in a fit of rage, ordered for both sisters to be walled up.
The stories of the deaths of Anarkali of the Mughal emperor Jalal-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar's period have a similar theme of women being walled up.
The story of Anarkali is attributed to the fact that Akbar had her walled up and killed due to her involvement with Prince Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (later Jahangir).
However, historians have doubts about the existence of Anarkali, and there is no historical evidence available about her. Therefore, the story of her death is a matter of the distant past.
Similarly, historians also have objections regarding the entire story of the death of Muhammad bin Qasim and Raja Dahir's daughters.
The famous legend about the death of Muhammad bin Qasim:
It is mentioned in the Chach Nama that the death of Muhammad bin Qasim was due to a conspiracy by the daughters of Raja Dahir. However, Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan Baloch claims that this story is fictional and legendary.
Renowned researcher and scholar of Sindh, Dr. Nabi Bakhsh Khan (N.A.) Baloch has criticized the accuracy of Chach Nama and the historical references present in it.
Dr. N.A. Baloch's critique of Chach Nama is in itself a complete book in which he dismisses the story of the death of Muhammad bin Qasim and then the daughters of Raja Dahir being buried alive in a wall in Baghdad as a story, not reality.
First of all, according to this story, the caliph sent Muhammad bin Qasim to Baghdad, although at that time, Baghdad did not exist; the capital of the caliphate was Damascus.
It is written in it that the death of Muhammad bin Qasim was on the order of Caliph Walid bin Abdul Malik. However, according to Baladhuri and other historians, this incident occurred during the rule of Caliph Suleiman bin Abdul Malik.
According to Baladhuri, after the death of Walid bin Abdul Malik, Suleiman bin Abdul Malik became the ruler. He appointed Saleh bin Abdur Rahman as the governor of Iraq and Yazid bin Abi Kabsha as the ruler of Sindh. Yazid arrested Muhammad bin Qasim and sent him to Saleh in Iraq, where he was imprisoned and tortured by Hajjaj bin Yusuf's former administrative headquarters, and he was killed.
The confirmation of this account is also found in the history of Ibn Khaldun.
In Futuh al-Buldan, it is written that when Muhammad bin Qasim was in captivity, he recited the following verses about his fate:
Though I am trapped amidst the shackles,
Yet how many Iranian kings have I made captive,
And I have defeated many warriors like myself.
Another verse attributed to Muhammad bin Qasim goes:
Thus, the isolation and death of Muhammad bin Qasim, along with the political conspiracies and hostilities of that era, become evident.
