The wikipedia page about Muhammad bin Qasim says:

According to Al-Baladhuri, a 9th-century Persian historian, Qasim was killed due to a family feud with the governor of Iraq. After the death of the caliph Al-Walid I, his brother Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik became the new caliph. Sulayman became hostile against Qasim because apparently he had followed the order of Hajjaj to declare Sulayman's right of succession void in all territories conquered by him. When Qasim received the news of the death of Hajjaj he returned to Aror. Qasim was later arrested under the orders of the caliph by the successor governor of Sindh, Yazid ibn Kabsha as-Sasaki, who worked under the new governor of Iraq, Yazid ibn al-Muhallab, and the new fiscal manager, Salih ibn Abd ar-Rahman. Salih, whose brother was executed by Hajjaj, tortured Qasim and his relatives to death. The account of his death by Al-Baladhuri is very brief compared to the one in Chachanama.[4][23][24]

The Chachnama narrates a tale in which Qasim's demise is attributed to the daughters of King Dahir who had been taken captive during the campaign. Upon capture they had been sent on as presents to the Khalifa for his harem in the capital. The account relates that they then tricked the caliph into believing that Muhammad bin Qasim had violated them before sending them on and as a result of this subterfuge, Muhammad bin Qasim was wrapped and stitched in oxen hides,[25] and returned to Syria, which resulted in his death en route from suffocation.[26] This narrative attributes their motive for this subterfuge to securing vengeance for their father's death. Upon discovering this subterfuge, the Khalifa is recorded to have been filled with remorse and ordered the sisters buried alive in a wall.

Wikipedia presents two different accounts of his death. Both can't be correct. Which of these accounts is more accurate?

  • He was killed by Suleyman that much is sure. And he was killed after being ordered to report back to the Imperial Palace in Damascus. I have read a third account that it was because Suleyman was man who held a grudge. He asked generals like Musa bin Naseer (Conqueror of Hispania), Muhammad bin Kasem (Conqueror of North-West India) to withhold their reports of victory until his dying brother the Caliph Walid could die and then present the reports in his court. The generals didn't obey the prince due to loyalty to the old caliph and came to report the victories which resulted in their downfall – NSNoob Jan 12 '17 at 12:04
  • Presumably the reason the two different stories are listed is that we can't really be certain which (or if either) story is true. – T.E.D. Jan 12 '17 at 18:49

I am no expert on the topic, but I know Arabic and I have access to sources in Arabic (but disclaimer, I am a Sunni Muslim, so my sources are "Wahhabist" sources, and I do not agree with that misleading term "Wahhabism", but just you would understand).

From Al Alukah Website, an author called Shareef AbdulAziz Al-Zuhairi wrote:

"The Sad Ending:

The new governor of Al-Iraq, Salih ibn Abdurrahman, full of hatred and despise towards Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf Ath-thaqafi, that is because the Hajjaj has killed Adam, the brother of Salih, who followed the opinion of Al-Kharawij(1). So, Salih wanted to have his revenge from Al-Hajjaj, and he saw that the relatives of Al-Hajjaj are a means to that.

This enmity towards the relatives of Al-Hajjaj is the exact definition of fanaticism, transgression and tyranny, and it was also what Al-Hajjaj did to his enemies. Allah said {And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another.}

Salih ibn Abdurrahman imprisoned Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim Al-Thaqafi in the city of Wasit in which the Hajjaj threw in his enemies for the least suspicion. And with the same torture devices, Salih commanded the torture of Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim until he confesses whether he committed the horrible crime that the pagan 'Sayta' claimed that he did. And Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim swears that he is innocent and insists on that, while reciting poems in which he has said: Even if you flatten Wasit and its lands, In the Iron cladded and chained, By the Lord of the palms of Persia I have Maintained It(2) By the Lord of Qarn(3) I have been killed(4)

And Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim perseveres the torture, insisting on his innocence and his purity from this lowly claim, and there is no deed he has done except his great victories and his triumph over the kings of disbelief, and no guilt except that he is the cousin of a tyrant whose kin have shouldered his crimes(5), until the sad moment in which he met his demise came, when he died unjustly as a martyr - if Allah wills - and goes out the light of a candle that if it had been destined for it to remain it would have been a burning sun to the enemies of Islam, and the Muslims would have triumphed over India whose conquest was delayed afterwards for a number of centuries.

The poets of his time have praised, obitted, and cried on him, as Hamza ibn Bayd Al-Hanafi said: Chivalry, Magnanimity, and Generosity, To Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim ibn Muhammad, He Led the Armies for Seventeen Pilgrimages, How Close to a Success is this Birth(4)

May Allah's vast mercy be upon him, and may Allah compensate his chast soft youth with the greatest paradise.

And what is very surprising is that 'Sayta', the son of Dahir, when she heard of the death of Muhammad ibn Al-Qasim under torture she cried and her conscience pushed her to go to the Governor of Iraq where she confessed her crime, who submitted her matter of the Caliph Sulayman ibn Abdulmalik, who commanded her execution as a punishment in reprisal for that great hero. "

Well, enough translating the author's opinions. Here are the references he claims he used:

  1. Al-Tabari's Tareekh
  2. Al-Kamil fi Al-Tareekh
  3. Al-Bidaya Wal-nihaya (The Beginning and the End, a famous book by ibn Katheer)
  4. Al-Muntazim fi Tareekh Al-Mulook Wal Ummam (The Consistent in the History of Kings and Nations, ibn Al-Jawzi)
  5. Tareekh Al-Khulafaa' (The History of the Caliphs, Al-Suyuti)
  6. Muhadaraat Al Dawla Al Umawiyya (Lectures of the Umayyad Nation, not sure who is the author, but I suspect it is Muhammad Khidri Beik. See this)
  7. Futoohaat Al-Buldaan (The Conquests of the Countries, by Al-Balathuri)
  8. Atlas Tareekh Al Islam (The Atlas of Islam's History, an Encyclopedia)
  9. Al-Tareekh Al Islami (The Islamic History, ambiguous name. No idea who is the author)
  10. Siyyar Aa'laam Al-Nubalaa (The Biographies of the Distinguished Nobles, By Al-Dhahabi)
  11. Waffiyaat Al Aa'yaan (The Deaths of the Lords, ibn Khalkaan)
  12. Shadhraat Adh-dhahab (The Specks of Gold, Ibn Ammad Al-Hanbali)
  13. Al-'Ibar fi Khabar Man Ghabar (The Lessons in the News of Those Who Have Gone, Adh-dhahabi, again)

(1)- The sect that believes that it is permissible to go against the rulers, especially in the special case that the ruler is a tyrant like the Hajjaj. My belief (and I have to state that here, since it is my belief) is that it is impermissible regardless as long as he conducts the prayers; i.e. as long as he is not a disbeliever.

(2)- The poem has no diacritics, and I haven't found the source with diacritics online. It can probably be found in printed books that the author mentioned in the references or in one of the manuscripts. It is not my science so I do not know much about it.

(3)- I don't know the context, so I am not sure what he is referring to here. But probably the tribe of Qarn.

(4)- My translation sucks, sorry.

(5)- The word here is Jareera جريرة, see Hans Wehr for meaning. I am only putting this dictionary so you could use it as a resource later during your readings.

(6) A pilgrimage a year, that's 17 lunar years. Every 100 Solar (Julian, became Gregorian) is a 103 Lunar.

Well, I know my answer is not satisfactory as the author of the article on Al Alukah website is unknown and it would take effort to verify his authenticity. But he has mentioned some references without mentioning their authors, assuming that the reader knows the popular books and their respective authors. I have tried to find them out for you, perhaps you might find any translation about it, but I doubt any translations to English exist. Nevertheless, I hope this answer was of help to you.


When Sulaiman became a ruler, he got fake complains against Muhammad bin Qasim from the daughters of al Hajjaj ibn Yousuf. Later Muhammad bin Qasim was arrested by Sulaiman who sewed him from the animal skin and throw him inside the water.

And this is how Muhammad bin Qasim suffered from a painful death.

  • 2
    This just repeats the information in the second paragraph of the question. What sources do have indicating this is the correct version of events? – justCal Mar 13 '19 at 15:47

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