Spread of Islam in Sindh in the Light of Historical Facts: An Analytical Study

Abstract

The present study deals with the spread of Islam in Sindh from a historical perspective and discusses the issue analytically. It is a common allegation against Islam that it had spread by the use of the sword. Generally, this question is raised in the east and west, in particular in the subcontinent. Islam entered the subcontinent (Hindostan) through Sindh, and the scholars, who are interested in the history of Sindh, had discussed this allegation. According to BBC News in Urdu, on July 7th, 2019, a strange incident happened that a statue of the first Punjabi Maharaja Ranjit Singh was fixed at a place in Lahore. Maharaja was declared the real hero ofPunjab. A similar voice is raised in Sindh province, highlighting that the real hero of Sindh is Raja Dahir rather than Muhammad Bin Qasim.Therefore, the statue of Raja Dahir should be fixed in Sindh. Reflecting on these incidents, it could be concluded that the idea is driven by the negative perception and image of the people who promoted Islam in the region during the earlier period. The plan is developed to portray the image of Muslim Arabs conquer as robbers and killers, while the local rulers were heroes and patriots who can scarify their lives for the country. Viewing the historical facts, it can be exposed that when Muhammad Bin Qasim conquered Sindh, the Hindus and Buddhists had built his statues in the memory of the Muslim conqueror. Nevertheless, the Muslim conquerors had influenced the people of Sindh with their behaviors of tolerance, compassion,harmony, and kindness. That’swhy the majority of the local people were converted into Islam. The current research also points out that Islam wasintroduced in Sindh and Subcontinent even before the arrival of  Muhammad Bin Qasim.