Muhammad bin Qasim

Muhammad bin Qasim
Muhammad ibn Qasim leading his troops in battle
Born	(695-12-31)31 December 695 Ta'if, Arabia
Died	18 July 715(715-07-18) (aged 19)
Allegiance	Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, Governor to the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Conquest of Sindh and Multan for the Umayyads.

‘Imād ad-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Qāsim ath-Thaqafī (Arabic: عماد الدين محمد بن القاسم الثقفي‎‎; c. 31 December 695 – 18 July 715) was an Umayyad general who conquered the Sindh and Multan regions along the Indus River (now a part of Pakistan) for the Umayyad Caliphate. He was born and raised in the city of Ta'if (in modern-day Saudi Arabia). Qasim's conquest of Sindh and southern-most parts of Multan enabled further Muslim conquests on the Indian subcontinent.

A member of the Thaqif tribe of the Ta'if region, Muhammad bin Qasim's father was Qasim bin Yusuf who died when Muhammad bin Qasim was young, leaving his mother in charge of his education and care. Umayyad governor Al-Hajjaj Ibn Yusuf Al-Thaqafi, Muhammad bin Qasim's paternal uncle, was instrumental in teaching Muhammad bin Qasim about warfare and governance. Muhammad bin Qasim married his cousin Zubaidah, Al-Hajjaj's daughter, shortly before going to Sindh.

Due to his close relationship with Al-Hajjaj, Bin Qasim was executed after the accession of Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik.

According to Berzin, Umayyad interest in the region occurred because of attacks from Sindh Raja Dahir on ships of Muslims and their imprisonment of Muslim men and women. They had earlier unsuccessfully sought to gain control of the route, via the Khyber Pass, from the Kabul Shahi of Gandhara. But by taking Sindh, Gandhara's southern neighbour, they were able to open a second front against Gandhara; a feat they had, on one occasion, attempted before.