© Journal of Islamic Studies 5:1 (1994) pp.

52-69

EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH

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SOUTH ASIA

KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI

Aligarh Muslim University

The history of South Asia's contact with the Semitic world, particularly
Arabia, Iraq, Syria, and Egypt, goes back to ancient times,1 long before
the rise of Islam or the Muslim conquest of South Asia. Recent archaeo-
logical excavations in Bahrain, considered to be the home of the ancient
Dilmun civilization, have brought to light a unique jar with intricate
Hindu designs, thought to date back to the third millennium BC.2 In
Bahrain and Kuwait numerous small tombs which belong to the second
millennium BC, or to some even earlier period, have come to light and
provide evidence of ancient links between south India and the regions
bordering the Gulf. Viewed in this context, Megasthenes' remark about
the similarity between the irrigation systems of India and Egypt assumes
great significance. The barley found in Mohenjo Daro is of the same
species as that found in excavations in Egypt. In fact the relations
between the civilization of Mohenjo Daro and the lands of the Middle
East, which seem to have been fairly intimate, have yet to be explored
in depth and detail. Among the later evidence the Sangam literature
shows that South Asia had its trade base at Alexandria. Palmyra, the
famous ancient city of Syria, was a brisk centre of Indian trade. Rock
Edict XIII of Asoka refers to his relations with Egypt. The recent
1
Maulana Sayyid Sulaiman Nadwi's Arab o Hind kay Ta'alluqat (Allahabad, 1930)
is a pioneering work on Indo-Arab relations during the early period. The publication
of Arab geographers' accounts in recent years has added to existing knowledge of the
subject. In addition archaeological excavations in different Arab countries have estab-
lished some identical elements in the cultural life of the Arabs and South Asia. Maulana
Athar Mubarakpuri's Hindustan mam Arbon ki Hakumatain (Delhi, 1967) and Arab o
Hind ahd-i Risalat main (Delhi, 1965) are interesting studies.
2
Report by Aziz Suweileh, Supervisor of Antiquities in Bahrain, in Indian Express,
24 January 1987.
 EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH SOUTH ASIA 53

discovery of Gentza records has brought to light many interesting

aspects of early Arab contact with South Asia.3
It is now well established that Arab navigational interests4 brought
South Asia and Arabia closer. The material for building vessels was

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imported from India.5 The coast of Yemen was crowded with Arab,
Greek, and Roman traders who travelled to Somalia, Iran, and India.
The Arabs discovered the Far East and acted as the commercial link
between east and west. They sailed the Indian Ocean and into the
Pacific Ocean and they reached China. The Arabs' knowledge of naviga-
tional problems, their contribution to accurate cartography, their inven-
tion of the compass (al-huqqa), their understanding of oceanography,
and their analysis of the causes of salinity in sea water demonstrate
their interest in and contribution to the history and science of naviga-
tion. In 641-2, when a severe drought afflicted the Arabian peninsula,
'Amr, the governor of Egypt, restored the sixty-nine-mile canal linking
the Nile to the Red Sea. Considering the Arab contribution to geography
and navigation, J. H. Kramers has remarked: 'Europe ought to look
upon them as its cultural ancestors in the domain of geographical
knowledge, of discovery, and of world trade.'*
The Arab traders came to the sea coasts of India and carried Indian
goods to European markets by way of Egypt and Syria. Thus it was
through their merchants that India and Arabia came to know each
other and there began a process of cultural intercourse between them
which had its impact first on language and literature and subsequently
on other aspects of their life and thought.
Philologists have noticed many terms of Arabic origin in the vocabu-
lary of trade and navigation.7 Similarly a number of Indian navigational
terms have found their way into Arabic vocabulary. Certain Arabic
navigational terms such as dunij (small boat), barja (group of ships),
hart (small boat), balanj (cabin), nakhudha (captain) have an Indian

3
Gentza is a Hebrew word which, like Arabic janaza, is derived from the Persian,
from the same root as ganj which designates a treasure or archive. See Goitein's article
on Geniza in Encyclopaedia of Islam, 11. 987-9; S. Shaked, A Tentative Bibliography of
Gentza Documents (Paris and The Hague, 1964); S. D. Goitein, 'The Documents of the
Cairo Geniza as a Source for Mediterranean Social History', JAOS 30 (1960), 91-100;
id., 'Letters and Documents on the India Trade in Medieval Times', Islamic Culture, 37
(July 1963).
4
For Arab navigational interests, see Sayyid Sulaiman Nadwi, Arabon ki Jahaz Ram,
2nd edn. (Bombay, n.d.); G. F. Hourani, Arab Seafaring in the Indian Ocean in Ancient
and Early Medieval Times (Princeton, NJ, 1951).
s
Houram, Arab Seafaring, 6, 91.
* T. Arnold and A. Guillaume (eds.), The Legacy of Islam (Oxford, 1931), 82.
7
Ibid.
54 KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI
8
origin. Semantic study of the words Hind and Hindu has revealed the
role of the Arabic language also in their evolution.9
Since Indian spices, herbs, and odoriferous woods were popular
commodities of trade and were liked by the Arabs, many herbal and

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medicinal terms from India became current in the Arab countries. In
some cases the Arabs added the suffix hindt to terms which were already
known to them (e.g. 'ud hindt, qast hindt, tamar hindt), while they
Arabicized many of the Indian terms. The following words used in
Arabic literature are of Indian origin:10

ARABIC SANSKRIT ENGLISH

sandal chandan sandal wood
tanbul tambul betel
misk mushka musk
kafur kapur camphor
qaranfal kanakphal clove
filfil pipli pepper
fawfil kobal betel nut
zanjabll zaranja bira ginger
nilufar niluphal lotus
hayl il cardamon
jayfal jaiphal nutmeg
itrlfal triphal electuary
balllaj bahira belleric myrobalan
qarfas kirpas muslin
nllaj nil indigo
fata patlungi loin cloth
mauz mosha banana
narjll nariyal coconut
anbaj aam mango
llmun limu lemon

It is against the background of this cultural contact brought about by

commercial and navigational needs that Arab contact with South Asia
should be viewed.
India and the Prophet
When the Prophet embarked on his mission, the tradition of contact
between India and Arabia in the spheres of language, trade, and social
8
See Sayyid Sulaiman Nadwi, Arabon ki Jahaz Ram, 6f.; also Sayyid Muhammad
Abdullah's article, 'Qadim Arabi Tasaiuf main Hindustani alfaz', in Oriental College
Magazine, 19.3 (May 1943), 3-42.
9 10
Arab o Hind kay Ta'alluaat, 12-13. Ibid. 69-71.
 EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH SOUTH ASIA 55

customs was fairly well established.11 Philologists have traced three

Sanskrit words12 in the Qur'an: miskP (musk), zanjabtl14 (ginger), and
kafur15 (camphor). This shows that not only the commodities but also
the terms used for them had travelled with the merchants. According

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to some lexicographers the word tuba which appears in the Qur'an16
is an Indian term for paradise.17 An Indian raja is reported to have sent
the Prophet a jar of ginger pickle which he himself tasted and shared
also with his Companions.18
Commercial contacts led to the settlement of some Indian tribes in
the Arabian peninsula. Their distinctive features were known to the
Prophet also. Once a deputation of some newly converted people of
the tribe of Harith called on the Prophet. As he glanced at their faces,
he remarked: 'Who are these people who resemble (so closely) the
people of India (rijal al-Hind)}'19 The Prophet is reported to have
compared Moses to the Jats in physique.20 It appears that some Jat
physicians had also settled in Arabia. According to Imam BukharT, once
when 'A'isha Siddiqa fell ill, her nephews sent for a Jat physician to
treat her.21
According to some Traditions of the Prophet, Adam's first descent
to earth took place in India. Later he turned to Makka". Imam Nasa'l
has a special chapter entitled 'Ghazwat al-Hind' in his Sunan which
shows that India was not unknown to the Prophet.
A number of Indian goods—particularly odoriferous woods—were
known to the Prophet and were liked by him. He preferred musk to all
other scents and perfumes.22 'Vd (agallochum), kafur (camphor), and
long (clove) were used in his day in different ways. Garlands, popularly
known as sikhab, were made of qaranfal (gilly flower), long (clove),
'ud (agallochum), misk (musk), etc. Imam Hasan is reported to have
used these garlands.23 Qust hindi and 'ud hindi were used as medicinal
herbs. According to Sahib by Muslim, the Prophet advised women to
use 'ud hindi to protect children from illness as it was an effective
remedy for seven ailments.
Indian wood and cloth were also used during the time of the Prophet.
11
Azad Bilgiami has collected together in his Subhat al-Marjdn ft Athar Hindustan
(Aligarh, 1976, Chapter I, pp. 7-57) many of the Traditions in which reference is made
to India. From the strict point of view of usill al-asndd (principles of critique) some of
them may not be of established authenticity; nevertheless they reveal the attitude of the
early Arabs towards India and its people.
12 u
Sulaiman Nadwi, op. cit. in n.l, 71. 83: 26. " 76: 17.
1S
" 76: 5. 13: 29. " See Qamds and Taj al-'Aras.
18
Abu 'Abdullah Hakim, Al-Mustadrak (Hyderabad, 1337 AH), iv. 35.
" Slrat Ibn Htsham, li. 593-4, TabarT, lii. 156. " Ma/ma' al-Bahr, ii. 62.
21
al-Adab al-Mufrad, 27. * Kanz al-'Ummal, lii. 333.
23
See Sahlh by Muslim, as cited in Arab-o-Hind Ahd-i Risalat mam, 172-3.
$6 KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI

The Prophet's cot had legs of saj (teak wood).24 'A'isha Siddiqa's house
had a door made of teak wood.25 She is also reported to have used
Sindhi cloth.26
Of the games that are generally considered to be of Indian origin,

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two were condemned by the Prophet—chausar and shatranj.27 Goading
the skin—a popular practice in India and Arabia—was also disapproved
of by the Prophet.28

India and the Early Caliphs

Since India and the Indians were known to the Prophet, it was only
natural that contacts should develop in the decades that followed.
During the time of Caliph 'Umar (13-23/634-44) the Indians and the
Arabs were both curious to know more about each other's religion and
region. When 'Umar enquired of an Arab sailor about India, he replied:
'Its rivers are pearls; its mountains rubies; its trees perfumes.'29 The
people of Sarandip are reported to have sent a messenger to Arabia for
the purpose of collecting direct information about the Prophet. When
he reached Madlna, the Prophet was already dead and even the period
of Aba Bakr's caliphate was over. The messenger met the Caliph 'Umar
and received the information from him. The messenger having died on
the way, his servant returned to Sarandip and reported about the
Prophet, Abu Bakr, and 'Umar that they lived like dervishes.30
According to Baladhurl, when Caliph 'Uthman (23-35/644-56) was
in power, he appointed 'Abdullah b. 'Amir as the governor of Iraq and
sent a firman to him with instructions to depute someone to enquire
about conditions on India's frontiers. 'Abdullah assigned this job to
one Hakim b. Jabla 'Abdl who reported to the Caliph that 'there was
scarcity of water in India, dates were bad and bandits were daring. A
small contingent of army would be liquidated, and a large army would
die of starvation and hunger.' The Caliph dismissed this report as poetic
exaggeration but he did not send an army to India.31 However, in
38-9/658-9 Caliph 'All turned his attention towards India. Harith bin
Mara achieved great success in his military operations.32 Thereafter
political and cultural contacts took a new turn.
24
Ansab al-Ashraf, I. 525. " al-Adab al-Mufrad.
26
Ltsan al-'Arab, hi. 223. * Kanz al-'Ummal, in. 331.
28
Arab-o-Hind Ahd-t Kisalat mam, 186.
29
A b o Hanlfa Ahmad al-Dlnawarl, Al-Akhbdr al-Ttwal, ed. Vladimir Guirgass
(Leiden, 1888), 326.
30
Buzurg b. Shahryar, 'Aja'tb al-Hind, 175. Ferishta (li. 311) says that in 40 A H the •
Raja of Sarandip had embraced Islam.
31
Futuh al-Bulddn, relevant extract in Hindustan Arbon ki Nazar mam, 75.
32
Ibid.'
 EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH SOUTH ASIA 57

Indian Settlers in Arab Lands

Early records refer to Zat,33 Asawarah,34 Siyabja,35 Ahamira,3* and
Maid37 as the Indian settlers in Arab lands. The Jats were particularly

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well known in Arabia. Once 'Abdullah b. Mas'dd, a well-known
Companion of the Prophet, found some persons of a particular complex-
ion in the audience of the Prophet and remarked: 'In countenance they
are like Jats.'3S In 14/635, when Caliph 'Umar founded Basra, large
numbers of Muslim Jats were found living in the region. On the occasion
of the Battle of the Camel, Caliph 'All entrusted the treasures of Basra
to the care of the Jats. It is said that when Caliph 'All was chastizing
the people of Basra for their recalcitrant activities, seventy Jats came
to him, 'talked to him in their own language, and assured him of their
loyalty'.39 Later on, the Umayyad Caliph Mu'awiya (41-60/661-80)
brought the Jats to Syria and settled them in the frontier area as a
check against Byzantine inroads. During the time of Walld b. 'Abd
al-Malik (86-96/705-15), they were induced to migrate to Antioch and
settle there.40 According to Ibn Khurdadhbih, the Jats protected and
guarded the entire trade route from Makran to Mansura which was
the land of the Jats (bilad al-Zat).A1 Ibn Khaelikan and Ibn Qutayba
reported that Zain al-'Abidln, son of Imam Husain, was born of an
Indian mother.
There were so many Indian residents in Ubullah that the Arabs began
to call it ard al-Hind (land of the Indians).42 Similarly, another Indian
tribe, known as Siyabja,43 which originally belonged to Sind,44 had
settled in many Arab towns.45 There are no reports of their conversion
to Islam. It seems that they continued to believe in their inherited
religions.

Arab Settlements in India

The earliest Muslim colonies on Indian soil appeared on the trade
routes covering the western coast of India and Ceylon. Maldive,
33
Lisan al-'Arab, m. 308. *• Futuh al-Buldan, 317.
35 M
Ibid. 367. UsSn al-'Arab, iv. 288.
37
Ibn Khurdadhbih, Kttab al-MasSlik wa-l-Mamalik, 62.
38
Jamt' al-Tirmidhf, section entitled 'Bab al-amthal'.
39
Majma' al-Bahrain, as cited in Arab o Hind Ahd-t BJsalat mam, 69.
40
Baladhurl, Futtth al-Buldan (Zikr al-Asawarah).
41
Al-Masalik wa-i-Mamalik, 55-6.
42
TabaiT, iv. 5; Ibn Athlr, li. 147; I m a m Yosuf, Kttab al-Kharaj, 7 1 ; Tabaqat Ibn
Sa'd, vii. 2.
43
Ibn Duraid, Jamharat al-Lughat, iii. 504.
44
Ibn Faqlh H a m a d a n l , Kttab al-Buldan, 35.
4J
BaladhurT, Futoh al-Buldan, 367.
58 KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI

Malabar, and Gujarat were all studded with Arab colonies before
Muslim political power extended into that region. Many Arab merchant
families had settled there and had so adjusted themselves to their
environment that even after the death of their elders the families con-

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tinued to live there undisturbed and unmolested. During the time of
Hajjaj b. Yusuf, a raja of Sarandip sent a ship-load of gifts to Iraq as
a token of goodwill and friendship. This ship carried also those Muslim
women and girls whose fathers and guardians had come to Sarandip
as traders and had died there.46
It appears that Islamic culture and learning had also taken root in
Sarandip. Abu Zaid compared the assemblies of scholars there with
'the assemblies of learned traditionists'.47
The people of Maldive, called Jazifat al-Mehl by the Arabs, were
converted to Islam very early by an Arab from Morocco, Abu al-Barakat
Maghribl. Ibn BattOta saw an inscription on a mosque there which
read: 'Sultan Ahmad Shanuraza became a Muslim, Abu al-Barakat
Maghribl having initiated him into the faith.'48
Malabar too saw Muslim settlements very early. In fact the very
name Malabar (mali, mountain; bar, country) was given by the Arabs.49
It was also known as Balad al-filfil (land of pepper) because pepper
was exported from here to all countries of the world.50 Arab travellers
refer to the presence of a very large number of Muslim merchants in
Malabar. These Arab merchants later came to be known as Moplahs
and Nawayats. At Kolam (in Travancore) also there was an Arab colony
and a mosque.51 According to Tuhfat al-Mujahidin, in the early years
of Islam some Arab dervishes bound for Ceylon lost their way and
reached the coast of Malabar. The ruler of Malabar, Samri by name,
was so deeply impressed by them that he embraced Islam and even
visited Arabia incognito. He died there, leaving instructions to his
companions to work for the propagation of Islam in Malabar. Two
years later Sharaf b. Malik and Malik b. Dinar visited Malabar and
built mosques at Kadamkor, Kolam, Baknor, Manjbor, Kanjarkot,
Hailimarwi, Jarfatan, Darfatan, and other places. It was due to their
efforts that Muslims settled in Malabar and their population increased.
Ibn Battuta52 found sizeable Muslim populations spread all over the
area from Goa to Kolam. There is an unbroken tradition of Muslim
settlements under Hindu rajas in the south during the medieval period.
As late as 1443 'Abd al-Razzaq found two big mosques and large

44
Ibid. 126. " Stlstlat al-Tawankh, h. 126. *' Rthla, n . 125.
49
M . H . N a i n a r , Arab Geographers' Knowledge of Southern India (Madras, 1942), 19.
50
Kitab Mu'jam al-Buldan, 639. " Taqwlm al-Buldan, 361.
52
Rihla, li. 110 f.
 EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH SOUTH ASIA 59

numbers of Muslims living in Calicut under a Hindu raja who not only
protected their lives and property but provided them with all the facilit-
ies necessary for the performance of their religious rites. Many of these
Muslims followed the Shafi'ite school of law.

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Muslim settlements in Ma'bar also seem to have taken place very
early. The Arabs used to bring horses to this place. When 'Ala al-dln
KhaljT's forces attacked Ma'bar, Muslim residents of the area fought
against the forces of Malik Kafur.53
There were a large number of Muslim colonies at different places in
Kathiawar, Cutch, and the Konkan. References to Muslim settlements
at Thana, Khambayat, Gawi, Gandhar, Beyram, Gogah, Chandapur,
and Hanur are found in early records. The Arab geographers speak
very highly about Wallabh Rai or Rai Bilhara, the ruler of Gujarat.
Sulayman (c. 236/849) writes of him: 'He and his subjects entertained
very good feelings towards Arabs and the Muslims and they believed
that the longevity (of the lives) of their Rajas is due to the love and
affection they show to the Arab.' 54 At the end of the third century AH
the ships of Buzurg b. Shahryar Nakhudha sailed along this coast and
found a number of Arab Muslims living there. He met a newly converted
Muslim navigator who had earned a fortune through seafaring and
who had gone to Arabia to perform Hajj. 55 He happened to meet one
Muhammad b. Muslim, a merchant of Slraf, who had lived in Thana
(near Bombay) for more than two decades and had visited many towns
of India.56 At Cheymur (Saymur in Gujarat) he met a Persian Muslim,
Abu Bakr of Fasa (in Persia).57
Mas'udl, who visited Khambayat in 303/915, writes:
In no other kingdom in Sind or in India are the Arabs and Muslims treated
with so much respect as in the Kingdom of Bilahara Rajas. Islam is safe,
immune and secure in this Kingdom. There are mosques and Friday mosques
in which the Faithful congregate in large numbers to offer prayers. The Rajas
rule for forty or fifty long years and the people believe that this longevity of
their lives is due to the justice with which they treat the Muslims. The Raja of
Gujarat is a blatant enemy of Islam, while in the Kingdom of Taqan or Dakhan
the Muslims are treated with the same respect.58
Mas'udT found a population of ten thousand Muslims at Saymur. Ibn
Hauqal writes: 'There were Muslim traders in Asiwan too, which was
a Hindu Kingdom in the Punjab.' 59 Baladhurl speaks of the conversion
of a Hindu raja of Asifan as being the result of persuasion by Muslim

53
Khaza'm al-Futuh, 149. * Stlsilat al-Tawankh, 50.
55 S6
'Aja'tb d-Hind, 16. Ibid. 132. " Ibid. 187.
58 S9
Muruj al-dhahab, li. 382-94. Ibn Hauqal, 328.
60 KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI

traders in his kingdom. The Hindu rajas had appointed Muslim judges,
known as hunarman, to settle disputes between the Muslims.60

Conquest of Sind

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It was after the conquest of Persia (AD 637) during the time of Caliph
'Umar that India came within the political ken of the Arabs. The
capture of Makran and Baluchistan brought the Arab empire to the
frontiers of Sind. Piratical activities of a powerful group obliged the
Arabs to organize punitive campaigns against them. Thana was attacked
in AD 636 under the orders of the governor of Bahrain. Subsequently
Bharuch and Daibul were attacked. Baladhurl records a Muslim victory
at Daibul but does not say anything about two other campaigns in
which, according to Chach Namah, the Muslims were defeated and
their leader was killed. In AD 665 Mu'awiya entrusted Muhallab with
the duty of guarding the coast of Sind. When Hajjaj was appointed
governor of Iraq in 694, things took a different turn. He appointed
Mujjah as governor of Makran. He made some raids and conquered
Kandabil (modern Gandava) in 705. Later Hajjaj appointed his nephew
and son-in-law Muhammad b. Qasim as head of the expedition of India.
In 712 Muhammad b. Qasim was just seventeen years of age when
he was entrusted with the task of conquering Sind. Brave and resolute
as a soldier, cool and cautious as an administrator, he won the approval
of the Indians by his integrity and by a genuine spirit of religious
tolerance.61 He rode at the head of an army comprising 6000 horsemen
and he achieved all his military objectives. He consolidated his conquests
through the co-operation and goodwill of the local population. The
author of Chach Namah says that as he had full confidence in the
Hindus he entrusted them with responsible offices and they continued
to hold the positions they had held earlier. He further promised that
even their progeny and descendants would not be dislodged or trans-
ferred.62 This created an atmosphere of trust and goodwill. His greatest
achievement was to build up an administrative machinery with the
active co-operation of the local talent. He conferred the office of wazir
on Siyakar,63 the minister of Rai Dahir, who used to say that 'the

60
Buzurg b. Shahryar, 'Aja'ib al-Hind, 163-5; Mas'ddl, Murttj al-dhahab wa-Ma'adm
al-JawShtr, ii. 85-6.
41
Chach NSmah, 212. When the people of Brahmanabad approached him for permis-
sion to repair a temple, he informed them of the following decision by the home
government: 'As they have made submission, and have agreed to pay taxes to the
Khalifah, nothing more can be properly required from them. Permission is given them
to worship their gods. Nobody must be forbidden or prevented from following his
religion. They may live in their houses in whatever manner they like.'
a a
Chach Namah, 210. Chach Namah, 200; Fredunbeg, 158.
 EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH SOUTH ASIA 6l

regulations and ordinances which the just Amir (Muhammad b. Qasim)

had introduced would confirm his authority in all the countries of Hind.
They would enable him to punish and overcome all his enemies, for he
comforted the subjects and malquzars, took the revenue according to

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the old laws and regulations, never burdened anyone with new and
additional exactions, and instructed all his functionaries and officers.'64
Muhammad b. Qasim's sudden recall due to a change in the political
situation at home cut short his work. Baladhurl says that the people of
Hind wept for him and erected statues of him at Kiraj.65
The Arab success in Sind was partly due to the internecine conflicts
between the Buddhists and the Brahmans. For instance, Bajhra, son of
Chandar, the governor of Siwistan, was determined to defend his city,
but the Buddhists refused to help him and said:
We are nastk (mendicant) devotees. Our religion is one of peace, and fighting
and slaying is prohibited as well as all kinds of shedding of blood. You are
secure in a lofty place, while we are open to the invasion of the enemy, and
liable to be slain and plundered as your subjects. We know that Muhammad
b. Qasim holds a farman from Hajjaj to grant protection to everyone who
demands it. We trust, therefore, that you will consider it fit and reasonable
that we make terms with him, for the Arabs are faithful and keep their
promises.*6
Some writers have underestimated the significance of the Arab con-
quest of Sind. It was not an isolated or fortuitous military event leading
to a dead end. It had tremendous geopolitical and cultural significance.
In the course of three years Muhammad b. Qasim had advanced from
Daibul to the Himalayas; given a few more years, he would have
demolished many other kingdoms and principalities. After his recall
Sind witnessed many political upheavals; but, though their fortunes
fluctuated, the areas conquered by him remained under Muslim control.
The contact between India and the Arab world, which was confined to
coastal areas and was limited mainly to the sphere of commerce,
widened with the establishment of Arab rule in Sind.

Cultural Impact of the Conquest of Sind

Recorded evidence of the exact nature of the contribution of Sind to
Islamic learning in its early phase is tantalizingly scanty and is largely
confined to the names of a few scholars transmitted by early writers.
Notwithstanding this, two facts seem certain: (a) the tradition of 'ilm
al-hadtth found a firm footing in Sind very early; (b) Sind maintained
64
Chach Namah, 200.
65
Futah al-BuldSn, extract in Hindustan Arbon ki nazar main, l. 100.
M
Chach Namah, 118-19.
62 KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI

close contact with Arab centres of Islamic learning and even participated
in the cultural activities of other Islamic lands.
In the wake of Muhammad b. Qasim's conquest of Sind many
scholars of Muslim religious sciences, particularly Traditionists (muhad-

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dithun),67 came to Sind and to their efforts may be ascribed the germina-
tion of Islamic sciences in India. YazTd b. Abl Kabsaha al-Saksakl, who
was appointed the first governor of Sind, was such a muhaddith.68 He
died eighteen days after his arrival, but this does not minimize the
significance of his association with Sind.69 Among other important
scholars who came to Sind, the names of Abo Hafs al-AsadT of Basra
(d. 780),70 al-Rabi' b. Sabih,71 Amr b. Muslim al-Bahili,72 and
al-Mufaddal b. al-Muhallab73 deserve special mention. Sam'anT and
Yaqut have referred to a number of scholars of the third and fourth
centuries who bore the nisba Sindhf, Daybalt, MansurT, etc.74 It is,
however, difficult to determine the nature of their connection with Sind
because many of them lived, worked, and died in other Muslim lands.
Abu Ma'shar, a Sindhi scholar, settled at MadTna and his extensive
knowledge of the life of the Prophet earned him the appellation of
imam al-fann (leader of that branch of learning). His accent was so
typically Sindhi that he could not pronounce Arabic words properly.
Notwithstanding this handicap, his erudition attracted Arab students
in large numbers. When he breathed his last (in 170/786), Harun
al-Rashld led his funeral prayers. Rija al-Sindhl, another scholar who
belonged to Sind, migrated to Persia and earned fame as Rukn min
arkan al-hadith (one of the pillars of Tradition). It may be that some
of them were not themselves associated with Sind, but their ancestors
had settled there.
al-MaqdisT's account shows that religious learning had reached a
fairly advanced stage in Sind. 'Most of the Muslims', he writes, 'are
ashab al-hadtth. And here I saw Qadl AbQ Muhammad MansQrl Da'udl
who was an imam of his school. He was a teacher and an author. He
67
M . Ishaq, India's Contribution to the Study of Hadith Literature (Dacca, 1955),
23-4.
68
Ibn Hajar, Tahdhlb al-Tahdhlb (Hyderabad, 1907), xi. 3 5 4 - 5 ; al-RSzr, al-Jarh wa-l-
ta'dll ( H y d e r a b a d , 1953), IV, pt. n, 286.
69
Cf. Fnedmann in Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 37
(1974), 660.
70
I b n S a ' l d , Tabaqat, e d . Sachau, vn, Pt. ii, 36.
71
BukharT, al-Tdrlkh al-Kabtr, ti. 255. For a detailed account, see M u b a r a l c p u n , Islami
Hind Ki Azmat t Kafta (Delhi, 1969), 132-64.
72
al-Baladhurt, Futuh al-Buldan, 4 4 1 .
73
al-Tabarl, Tarikb, ed. de Goeje (Leiden, 1901), ii. 1410-13.
74
Mubaralcpuri h a s consolidated all this information in his Rtjdl al-Sind wa-al-Htnd
Ha qarn al-saba' (Bombay, 1958).
 EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH SOUTH ASIA 63

has written several good books. The people of Multan are Shl'ites ...
No big city is without jurists and 'ulama' of the Hanafite school. But
there are no Malikites, Mu'tazilites or Hanbalites.'75

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Intellectual Contacts during the Abbasid Period
The removal of the capital from Damascus to Baghdad brought South
Asia nearer to the centre of the Muslim empire and a new era of cultural
and intellectual relationship began. Indian rajas are reported to have
sent precious gifts to HarQn al-Rashld and Ma'mQn.7* Details of pre-
sents sent by Ma'mun to the rajas are given by Qsdl Rashld b. Zubair.77
From the last quarter of the eighth to the beginning of the eleventh
century AD there was brisk intellectual and cultural contact between
South Asia and the Arab world. One of the factors which speeded up
this relationship was the rise of Baghdad. In 146/763 the new Abbasid
capital had been completed. In 154/770, during the time of Mansur, a
deputation of scholars from Sind reached Baghdad. One of its members
was a Pandit, well versed in mathematics and astronomy. He brought
with him a copy of Brahmasiddhanta of Brahmagupta, composed in
Saka 550 (AD 628). The Caliph put Ibrahim FazarT, the court mathemat-
ician, with the Pandit and asked them to translate the work into
Arabic.78 It was this book which made the Arabs realize the achieve-
ments of the Indians in the sphere of mathematics and astronomy. The
translation of Greek and Syriac works into Arabic had started much
earlier, but it was in the last quarter of the eighth century AD that
Sanskrit works began to be translated. Soon a generation of experts in
both languages—Arabic and Sanskrit—appeared in Baghdad, and
Indian ideas became the subject of discussion in the highest academic
and literary centres of the Arab world. al-Jahiz (d. 255/868) of Basra
pays eloquent tribute to Indian contributions to astronomy, mathemat-
ics, medicine, sculpture, colour painting, architecture, and music.79
Indian achievements in the sphere of medicine were known in Arab
lands long before the rise of Islam. In his second Rock Edict (257-256
BC) Asoka states that all over his dominions and in adjoining territories
far beyond the borders of his empire, even in Ceylon to the south and
in Seleucid Persia and Syria to north-west, medical treatment was pro-
75
Ahsan al-Taqastm ft Ma'rifat al-Aqitim, ed. de Goeje (Leiden, 1906).
76
Qadl Rashld b . Zubair, Kitab al-Dhakha'ir wa-l-tuhaf, 2 0 - 1 .
77
Ibid. 27-8.
78
T h e principles of Brahmasiddhanta travelled t o Spain where Muslim b . A h m a d
Majrltl (d. 398/1007) prepared a precis of the horoscope of K h w a r a z m f s Stnd Hind
Saghlr and A b a 1-Qasim Asbagh alias Ibn al-Samlh (d. 426/1035) a horoscope based o n
the principles of Siddbanta.
79
Risalat Fakhr al-Sadan 'als al-BTd3n, 8 0 - 1 .
64 KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI

vided for men and animals. Wherever herbs, roots, and fruits beneficial
to men and animals were lacking, these were imported from India
and planted.
The Abbasids developed a keen interest in Indian medicine. An Indian

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vaid, Manka, was invited to Baghdad for the treatment of Harun
al-Rashld. When the Caliph recovered from his illness, he appointed
Manka to the Translation Bureau to supervise the translation of Sanskrit
works. Yahya b. Khalid BarmakT sent an agent to India to procure
Indian medicinal herbs. The Barmakids are also reported to have
appointed a vaid, Ibn Dahn, as superintendent of their hospital.80
The works translated into Arabic from Sanskrit included those of
Shishru (called Sisru by the Arabs) and Charak. Charak's work was
first translated into Persian and was later rendered into Arabic by
'Abdullah b. 'All.81 According to Henry R. Zimmer, Caraka, Susruta,
and Vagbhata form the famous 'Triad of the Ancients' (vrddha-trayi),
'and are considered the three great medical authorities of three sub-
sequent ages (yuga) of the present cycle of the universe'.82
The titles of some Sanskrit works and the names of some Indian
scholars who undertook the translation or helped to organize hospitals
in Abbasid territory are given in Arabic works, but due to the care-
lessness of scribes and their ignorance of Indian nomenclature few of
them can be identified.
Among other important Sanskrit works on medical science which
were translated into Arabic during the period, as mentioned by Ya'qubT
and Ibn Nadlm, were the following:

(1) Sindistaq or Sindhishan or Sindhistan, translated by Ibn Dahn who

was superintendent of the Baghdad hospital;
(2) Nadan, a book dealing with diagnosis of 404 diseases;
(3) a book on medicinal herbs, translated by Manka for Sulaiman
b. Ishaq;
(4) Istanqar, translated by Ibn Dahn;
(5) two books of Naukishnal, one dealing with 100 diseases and 100
medicines, the other dealing with hallucinations;
(6) a book on gynaecology by a Pandit woman named Raosa;
(7) a book dealing with pregnancy;
(8) a booklet on roots and herbs;
(9) a book on intoxication;
(10) Charak's book on animal diseases.

80
Ibn Nadlm, Fihrist, 248. " Fihrist, 303.
82
Hindu Medicine (Baltimore, Md., 1948), 60.
 EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH SOUTH ASIA 65

Ibn Nadlm mentions Bakhar, Raja, Maka, Dahir, Anku, Zankal,

Arikal, Jabbhar, Andi, and Jabari as scholars whose works on medicine
and astrology were translated in India. Early Arab accounts include the
following names of Indian vaids and Pandits who helped in the work

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of translation: Bhalla, Manka, Bazigar (Bajakar?), Falburfal (Kalp Rai
Kal?), Sindbad, and Ibn Dahn.
The Arabs learnt the numerals from the Hindus.83 They called this
science hisab hindt or arqam hindiyya.M The Europeans learnt them
from the Arabs and so they call them Arabic numerals. Perhaps the
Arabs learnt them from the Siddhanta. It was Muhammad b. Musa
Khwarazml who first introduced Indian arithmetic to the Arabs. The
Arabs at first used words for numbers. The Indian decimal numeration
reached Europe by way of Spain. The word 'algorism' is the corrupt
form of al-Khwarazml.85
After KhwarazmT (who flourished in the beginning of the third/ninth
century), it was 'All b. Ahmad NasavT (fl. AD 980-1000), the author
of Al-Maqni' ft al-Hisab al-HindT (a book which satisfied the desire to
learn Indian mathematics), who popularized Indian mathematics. Abo
'All Ibn Slna learnt Indian arithmetic from a grocer who was an expert
in this subject.86
Indian astronomy also attracted the Arab mind and the following
works were studied carefully by them: (1) Brahmasiddhanta (Arabic
name Al-Sind-Hind); (2) Aryabhat (Arabic name Arjband); (3) Khanda
Khadik (Arabic name Arkhand, also known as Aharqari).
Brahmasiddhanta became immensely popular among the Arabs. Arab
astronomers, from Baghdad to Spain, regarded it for centuries as the
authoritative work on astronomy. Khwarazml used it, along with
Persian and Greek calculations, in the preparation of his famous
Almanac. Later Hasan b. Sabah, Hasan b. KhasTb, Fadl b. Hatim
Tabriz!, Ahmad b. 'Abdullah MarQzT, Ibn al-Adaml, 'Abdullah, and
al-BTrunl worked on it and revised it, incorporating in it both Greek
astronomy and the results of their own investigation and researches.
After Brahmasiddhanta, Ptolemy's Syntaxis (or Almagest) was trans-
lated into Arabic. Siddhanta and the Almagest dominated Arab thought

" Baha* al-dln Amull, Khulasat al-Hisab (Calcutta), 16; al-BTrunT, Kitab al-Hind, 83.
84
The view (as expressed by Frederick Rosen in his edition of Mds3 KhwarazmTs
Kitab al-Jabr wa-l-Muqabila (London, 1831), 196, 197) that the Arabic term hindasa
was used for numbers and mathematics is wrong. Hindasa is an Arabicized form of the
Persian word andaza. The correct Arabic word is handaza or handasa (Muhammad
KhwSrazmT, MafatTh al-'Ulom (London), 202) which means the art of engineering. In
later Persian and Urdu it became hindasa. Muhandts means an engineer and not an
accountant or mathematician.
M
" OED (Oxford, 1989), i. 313. 'UyUn al-anba' (Egypt), ii. 2.
66 KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI

for centuries. Muslim b. Ahmad MajrTtI of Madrid (d. 1007), Ibrahim

Zarqall of Spain, Aba 1-Qasim Asbagh (d. 426/1035), and Ibrahim b.
Ezra (a Jewish scholar) all used it in their works.

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Religious Contact between Arab Lands and South Asia
Information regarding religious contacts between Islam and India is
available in the works of Ibn Nadlm, Mutahhar b. Tahir, MaqdisT, Abu
l-'Abbas, al-BlrunT, 'Abd al-Karlm ShahrastanT, and others. It appears
that there was a genuine desire among the Arabs to understand the
religious ideas and institutions of the Indians. In fact al-Birdnl's Kitab
al-Hind was the culmination," not the beginning, of a long process of
evaluation, assessment, and acceptance of Hindu achievements in
different spheres of learning.
Yahya Barmakl is reported to have sent an Arab scholar to India to
gather information about Indian religions. Ibn Nadlm, writing seventy
or ninety years later, refers to a summary of this report in the handwrit-
ing of al-Kindl. This summary bore the title 'Religions and Beliefs of
the Indians'. It referred, in particular, to the following Hindu sects
and their beliefs:87 Mahakaliya, Aldanikayta (Adit Bhakti), Chandra-
bhaktiya (Chandar Bhakti), Bakarantaniya, Gangayatri, and Rajputya.
Regarding Rajputya, it is said: 'They believe that their first and last
duty is to serve the Raja with loyalty and devotion. For them, the only
way to salvation is through dying in the Raja's service.' Ibn
Khurdadhbih mentions seven castes and forty-two cults of India.88
MaqdisI, who belonged to Jerusalem, refers to 900 sects of India, which
he broadly classified into two groups: SamanT (Buddhist) and Brahmarif.
The Brahmans forbade crossing the Ganges, and did not admit anybody
in their religion. According to Sa'id al-AndalusT (d. 462/1070), the
Indians were respected for their knowledge and wisdom.89
The highest Hindu religious thought has been discussed with
approbation, but many Hindu practices have been vehemently criticized.
Arab travellers have expressed their feelings of revulsion at the institu-
tion of Devdasis,90 and their horror at trial by ordeal.91

Trade Centres and Traded Goods

Ubulla, Basra, Qays, Jedda, and Slraf were important centres of trade
which were not only visited by large numbers of Indian merchants but
87
Kitab al-Fthnst, 345-9. " al-Masaltk wa-l-Mamalik, 71-2.
89
Tabaqat al-Umam, 11-15.
50
A type of prostitution approved by temple authorities, see Slraft, Silsilat
al-Tawartkb, 129-30.
91
Sulaiman Tajir, Silsilat al-TawarTkh, 50.
 EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH SOUTH ASIA 6>

were transformed into Indian colonies. At Ubulla the ships from China
and India anchored and sailed away.92 Qays was an emporium of Indian
commerce: 'Every nice thing found in India was brought here.'93 At
Jedda one could find the products of Sind, Hindustan, Zanzibar,

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Abyssinia, and Persia.94 It was through these merchants that there began
a process of cultural intercourse between India and the Arab world
which, in course of time, had an impact on many aspects of life and
thought.
On the Indian coast the centres of the Arab merchants were at Daibul,
Thana, Khambayat, Sandaran, Chimur, Kolam Mali, etc. Arab markets
also existed at Multan, Mansura, Aror, and Kannauj. The Arab geo-
graphers have reported brisk commercial activity at these centres.95 It
is interesting to note that, when Muhammad b. Qasim defeated and
killed Raja Dahir, he ordered the execution of all the prisoners of war,
but pardoned all the artisans and merchants.96 Later, when at his order
a census was taken of all the merchants and artisans, they numbered
ten thousand.97
Accounts of Arab geographers give us some idea of India's exports
and imports during this early phase.98 The following were the main
items of export:

odoriferous woods: sandal wood, camphor, musk;

spices: clove, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg, etc.;
fruits: coconut, banana, sugar cane;
animals: camels, elephants, buffaloes;
birds: hens, peacocks;
metal: lead;
cloth: brocade;
precious stones: pearls, crystal;
food: honey, sugar, vinegar;
chemicals: dyes;
miscellaneous: cotton, jute, shoes, bamboos, clay vessels of Kolam (in
Travancore).
92
About Ubulla, see Abu Hanlfa DlnawarT, Al-Akhbar d-TiwSl, 133; Yaqnt, Mu'jam
al-Buldan, 1. 68, 192.
93
Qazwlnl, Athar al-Bilad, 161.
94
Ibn Khuxdadhbih, al-Masalik wa-l-Mamaltk, 61.
95
See Bishart, Ahsan al-Taqastm ft ma'rifat al-aqallm, 4 7 5 - 8 1 ; Ibn H a u q a l , 226.
96
Chach Namah, 14; Fredunbeg, 145, 164.
97
Chach Namah, 209; Fredunbeg (165) gives the figure of one thousand.
98
Ibn Khurdadhbih (al-MasSlik, 71) gives a list of Indian products and commodities
which were taken to Arab countries. See also Ibn Faqlh (Kitab al-BuldSn, 16), BisharT
(Ahsan al-TaqasTm, 481), Aba 1-Fida' (TaqwJm al-Buldan, 309), IstakhrT {Mosaltk
al-mamalik, 180), Mas'udl {al-Tanblh wa-l-Ashraf, 355).
68 KHALIQ AHMAD NIZAMI

The main imports were the following:99

food and drinks: wine, rose-water, dates;
cloth etc.: silk, furs;
weapons: swords;

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animals: Arab horses;
miscellaneous: tanned hide, aloes.

The Geniza records contain valuable information about Indo-Arab

trade relations. Six varieties of iron and steel, twelve types of bronze
vessels, and several types of textiles, particularly Indian muslin, referred
to as lanis and lalis, occur in the export lists. There was an international
merchant organization, known as karim.100 Daybul, Khambayat,
Nahrwala, Sindabur, Malibarat, Mangalor, Broach, and Thana were
flourishing centres of this trade. After a careful analysis of the Geniza
records, Goitein remarks: 'Thus far 230 items from the Cairo Geniza
having direct bearing on the Indian trade have been identified... 85
others must be included, because they illustrate the activities, albeit in
other regions, of a few particularly prominent Indian merchants. Thus
we arrive at a total of 315 items which constitute the collection of
Geniza papers related to the trade between India and the countries of
the Mediteranean.'101

Land of Wisdom and Philosophy

India was known to the Arabs as a land of wisdom and philosophy,102
rich in natural resources and a sanctuary of interesting birds and
animals. Medieval geographical literature reflects the Arab attitude
towards India and its rich historical and cultural heritage. An early
Indian Arab, Abu A'la Sindhl, expressed his feelings towards India: 'By
my life: this is the land where, when it rains, milk, pearls, and rubies
grow into being for the use of those who do not possess them.'
ShahrastanT, a keen and critical scholar of comparative religion,
discerned some common elements in the religious quest of the Indians

99
See Ibn H a u q a l (231), A b o al-Fida' (349), Ibn Khurdadhbih (153).
100
According to Goitein, kanm was possibly influenced by the example of the Indian
merchant corporations. Basham holds the view that the term kanm might have been
derived from the Tamil karyam which, among other things, means business.
101
Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth International Conference of Orientalists (New
Delhi, 1964). Goitein's paper on 'Arabic Documents on the Trade between India and
the Mediterranean Countries (11th and 12th Centuries)', 253.
102
Abo Zaid Hasan Slraft calls India mulk al-hikmat (land of wisdom): Silsilat
al-Tawartkh (Paris, 1845), 79. Jahiz calls India the source of all wisdom: Fakhr al-SttdSn,
80-1; Mas'odl quotes the ancient rulers of Persia who considered India the land from
which wisdom originated (Muraj, 357).
 EARLY ARAB CONTACT WITH SOUTH ASIA 69

and the Arabs. He writes, 'The Arabs and the people of Hindustan are
religiously near each other.'103 He refers particularly to two basic ele-
ments of identity in approach: (a) a desire to investigate and understand
the essence of things and (b) an inclination towards the spiritual aspect

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of things.104
103
Kttab al-Milal wa-l-Nihal, i. 3; ii. 215.
104
Ibid. See also Bruce B. Lawrence, Shahrastani on the Indian Religions (The Hague
and Pans, 1976).