Muhammad ibn al-Qasim

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim
محمد بن القاسم‎
Qasim-era Umayyad coinage of Sind (minted possibly at Multan), dated 97 AH (c. 715 CE) per obverse circular legend: "In the name of Allah, struck this dirham in al-Hind () in the year seven and ninety"
1st Governor of al-Sindh
In office 712 – 18 July 715
Leader	Al-Walid I
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Habib ibn al-Muhallab
Personal details
Born	(695-12-31)31 December 695 Taif, Hejaz, Umayyad Caliphate (present-day Saudi Arabia)
Died	18 July 715(715-07-18) (aged 19) Mosul, Umayyad Caliphate (present-day Iraq)
Spouse	Zaynab (daughter of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf)
Relations	Sulb, al-Hajjaj (brother)
Parents	al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hakam (father) Habibat al-Uzma (mother)
Nickname	فاتح سندھ
Military service
Allegiance	Umayyad Caliphate
Battles/wars	Muslim conquest of Sind (708–711) Siege of Debal (711) Battle of Aror (711)

Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqafī (Arabic: محمد بن القاسم الثقفي; (695-12-31)31 December 695–(715-07-18)18 July 715) was an Arab military commander in service of the Umayyad Caliphate who led the Muslim conquest of Sindh (and Punjab, part of ancient Sindh), inaugurating the Umayyad campaigns in India. His military exploits led to the establishment of the Islamic province of Sindh, and the takeover of the region from the Sindhi Brahman dynasty and its ruler, Raja Dahir, who was subsequently decapitated with his head sent to al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf in Basra. With the capture of the then-capital of Aror by Arab forces, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim became the first Muslim to have successfully captured Indian land, which marked the beginning of Muslim rule in South Asia.

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim belonged to the Banu Thaqif, an Arab tribe that is concentrated around the city of Taif in western Arabia. After the Muslim conquest of Persia, he was assigned as the governor of Fars, likely succeeding his uncle Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Thaqafi. From 708 to 711, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim led the Sindh conquest. He established Islamic rule throughout the region, serving as governor of Sindh from 712 until his death in 715. After his last conquest of Multan (Punjab) he returned to Arabia where on the way he died in Mosul, in modern Iraq, though some sources^[who?] record that his body was buried in Makran, a semi-desert coastal region in Balochistan.^{[citation needed]}