Editing Muhammad ibn al-Qasim (section)

{{Short description|Umayyad general and governor of Sindh (695–715)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Muhammad ibn al-Qasim
| nickname   = {{lang|ur|فاتح سندھ }}
| office              = 1st [[Sind (caliphal province)|Governor of al-Sindh]]
| term_start          = 712
| term_end            = 18 July 715
| predecessor         = ''Position established''
| successor           = [[Habib ibn al-Muhallab]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|695|12|31|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Taif]], [[Hejaz]], Umayyad Caliphate<br/>{{small|(present-day [[Saudi Arabia]])}}
| death_date          = {{death date and age|715|7|18|695|12|31|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Mosul]], Umayyad Caliphate<br/>{{small|(present-day [[Iraq]])}}
| spouse              = Zaynab (daughter of [[al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf]])
| father              = al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hakam
| mother              = Habibat al-Uzma
| signature           = 
| image               = Umayyad Caliphate coinage temp Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik al-Hind (possibly Multan) mint. Dated AH 97 (AD 715-6).jpg
| image_size          = 300px
| caption             = Qasim-era [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] coinage of [[Sindh|Sind]] (minted possibly at [[Multan]]), dated [[Islamic calendar|97 AH]] ({{circa|715 CE}}) per obverse circular legend: ''"In the name of [[Allah]], struck this [[dirham]] in [[Indian Subcontinent|al-Hind]] {{nowrap|([[File:India in Abd al-Malik al-Hind coin 715 CE.jpg|40px|India in Abd al-Malik al-Hind coin 715 CE]])}} in the year seven and ninety"''
| native_name         = {{Script/Arabic|محمد بن القاسم}}
| native_name_lang    = ar
| leader              = [[Al-Walid I]]
| military_blank1     = Allegiance
| military_data1      = {{flagicon image|Umayyad Flag.svg}} [[Umayyad Caliphate]]
| military_blank2     = Battles/wars
| military_data2      = [[Muslim conquest of Sindh|Muslim conquest of Sind]] (708–711)<br>[[Siege of Debal]] (711)<br>[[Battle of Aror]] (711)
| relations           = Sulb, al-Hajjaj (brother)
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=April 2022}}

'''Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim al-Thaqafī''' ({{langx|ar|محمد بن القاسم الثقفي}}; {{Birth date|695|12|31|df=y}}–{{Death date|715|7|18|df=y}}) was an [[Arabs|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 [[Sind (caliphal province)|Islamic province of Sindh]], and the takeover of the region from the [[Brahmin dynasty of Sindh|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 [[Muslims|Muslim]] to have successfully captured Indian land, which marked the beginning of [[Islamic rulers in the Indian subcontinent|Muslim rule in South Asia]].

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim belonged to the [[Banu Thaqif]], an [[Tribes of Arabia|Arab tribe]] that is concentrated around the city of [[Taif]] in western [[Arabian Peninsula|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 [[Sharia|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|date=April 2022}} record that his body was buried in [[Makran]], a semi-desert coastal region in [[Balochistan]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}