The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c7.s1.3

c7.s1.3

Under the auspices of Hajjaj, who, though nominally governor only of Iraq, was in fact ruler over all the countries which constituted the former Persian empire, the spirit of more extended conquest arose. By his orders, one army under Kutaiba penetrated to Kashgar, at which place Chinese ambassadors entered into a compact with the invaders. Another army operated against the king of Kabul, and a third (under Muhammad bin Qasim) advanced towards the lower course of the Indus through Mekran.⁴ The reigning Ummayad Caliph Walid I (86-96 H./705-715 C.E.) was a powerful prince under whom the Khilafat attained the greatest extent of dominion to which it ever reached. But because of earlier failures of Ubaidulla and Budail, he was skeptical about the outcome of the venture. He dreaded the distance, the cost, and the loss of Muhammadan lives.⁵ But when Hajjaj, an imperialist to the core, promised to repay the Caliph the expenses of the enterprise, he obtained permission for the campaign. That is how Muhammad bin Qasim came to invade Sind. The aims of the campaign were three: 1. Spreading the religion of Islam in Sind, 2. Conquest of Sind and extension of the territory of Islam, and 3. Acquisition of maximum wealth for use by Hajjaj and payment to the Caliph.⁶