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..however, in spite of political chaos and religious confusion, Sindh made great progress in the literary and economic fields during this period. Sindhi scholars and doctors made a mark not only in their own country but the entire Muslim world. Mathematicians and philosophers from Sindh visited Baghdad in large numbers and made outstanding contribution to the promotion of learning among the Arabs. Several physicians were called from Sindh for the treatment of Caliphs among whom were Ganga and Manka who treated Haroon-ur-Rashid. The latter was a member of the Bait-ul-Hikmat of Haroon-ur-Rashid. Another Sindhi doctor who made a mark in the Muslim world was a newly converted Muslim, Saleh Bin Bhahla (Bhalla).
Among the notable Sindhi ulema were: Maulana Islami who hailed from Debal, accepted Islam during Mohammad Bin Qasim’s days and was sent by him as envoy to Raja Dahir for negotiations. Abu Maashar Sindhi was Muslim world’s noted scholar of ‘seerat’ and‘fiqh’. He lived at Medina for a number of years and later shifted to Baghdad where he died. He was so much respected that on his death Caliph Mehdi led the funeral prayers. His son Abu Abdul Malik was also an eminent scholar and had settled down in Baghdad. Haflz Abu Mohamniad Khalaf bin Saalem who was a ‘hadees’ scholar bad migrated from Sindh to Iraq where he attained fame. Abu Nasr Fateh Bin Abdulla Sindhi was known for his proficiency in ‘hadees’, ‘fiqh’ and Ilm-e-Kalaarn. He wrote ‘Tafseer’ in Sindhi and rendered Islamic teachings in such beautiful and forceful Sindhi verse that it gained immense popularity both among Hindus and Muslims. Another ‘aalim’, Ishaque Sindhi,was among the most revered muftis of the Abbasid period. Imani Auzai of Sindh was considered an authority on religion in the Muslim world. Mohammad bin Au Shwarib, the Qazi of Mansura and his son Au bin Mohammad bin Au Sbwarib were also renowned scholars.
Among the Sindhis who earned eminence in the Muslim world as Arabic poets during this period were Abul Ata Sindhi, Haroon bin Abdulla Multani, Abu Mohammad Mansuri who hailed from Mansura, Mansoor Hindi, Musa bin Yakub, Saqafi, Abu ZilaSindhi, Kashajam bin Sindhi bin Shahak etc. Sindhi bin Sadqa was a ‘Katib’, a writer as well as a poet. Some of them wrote in Sindhi as well as in Arabic. It is said that at there quest of a Sindhi Raja, Mabrook, who had embraced Islam, the Quran was translated into Sindhi during the reign of Abdulla bin Omar Hibari.
Due to the patronage extended by early Abbasid Caliphs and their Baramaka Prime Ministers, a number of Sindhi Pandits and Veds went to Baghdad and engaged themselves in scientific and literary pursuits They translated a large number of Sanskrit books on mathematics, astronomy,astrology, medicine, literature and ethics into Arabic. Prominent among them were Bhalla, Manka, Bazeegar (Bajaikar), Falbar Ful (Kalap Rai Kal), Ibn Dahañ, Saleh Bin Bhalla,Bakhar, Raja, Makka, Daher, Anko, Arikal, Andi, Jabbhar, etc. Some of these Pandits taught the Arabs, numerals.
In about 780 A.D. — 154 A.H. when a deputation of Sindhi Pandits visited Baghdad,they carried with them a Sanskrit work known as ‘Siddhanat’ which, after translation in Arabic, became known as Al—Sindh-Hind.
Sindhi accountants were also popular in the Arab world. According to Jahez (d 874 A.D. — 255 A.H.) all the ‘Sarrafs’ (money-changers) in Iraq had Sindhi treasurers. They were proficient in accounting and exchange business and were also honest and loyal servants.
The Arab rulers of Sindh-Multan were extremely liberal, spoke Sindhi and treated their subjects well. They never encroached upon the religious liberties of the Hindus and Buddhists and appointed them to positions of responsibility. Mohammad Bin Qasim had appointed Sisakar, the Prime Minister of Raja Dahir, his own Prime Minister, and Kiska, another Hindu his Revenue Minister. The entire history of Sindh under the Arabs is replete with instances of Hindus holding positions of great responsibility and honour. Three percent of the country’s revenues were given to Brahrnins as stipends. When some of the district administrators informed the Government that they were experiencing shortage of cows and bulls which were needed for agriculture and transport, Government prohibited cow slaughter.
In the economic field also Sindh made considerable progress. Agriculture received great impetus with food grains being exported to the Middle East. A number of new varieties of fruits were cultivated among which the bananas of Sindh were extremely popular in the neighbouring countries. Camphor, neel, banana, coconut, dates, sugar cane, lemon, mangoes, almonds, nuts, wheat and rice are mentioned by almost all visitors as grown in plenty in Sindh. Bishari Maqdasi writes that there were innumerable gardens in Sindh and the trees were tall and luxuriant. The whole city of Mansura was covered with almond and nut trees.
The cities established by the Arabs “flourished as great centers of trade and learning. A busy trade grew up and the merchants of different nationalities carried Indian goods through Sindh to Turkistan and Khurasan and imported horses into Sindh.” Debal, Nairun Kot, Sehwan, Khuzdar, Aror, Multan and Mansura were flourishing commercial centers. Arabs had more trade with this country than with Gujrat, Malabar and Bengal. Alarge proportion of merchandise was transported from the Punjab by rivers. 700-800 maunds of goods were sewn in jute cloth, put in leather bags oiled from outside to prevent water penetrating and put in the rivers.
“On account of their favourable geographical position the ports of Sindh played a vital role, even before the Arab invasion, in the commercial intercourse between the countries to the west (Iran, South Arabia, Ethiopia) and to the east of the Indus delta, as well as inthe export of commodities manufactured in Sindh itself. This role gained momentum after Islam had reached Sindh. The author of Hudud al’Alam mentions that there were plenty of merchants in Sindh, stressing that many a citizen of the coastal areas were engaged in sea trade. The cities of Daibul and Mansura were major trade centres of Lower Sindh at the turn of the first and second millennia. In the first centuries of the second millennium, Thatta came in the fore as another major economic and political centre of the country: in the opinion of some scholars, the city in its prime had a population of 280,000.”
Leather and leather goods industry also made great progress during this period. The coloured and soft leather of Sindh was known all over the world markets as Al-Sindhi.According to ‘Muruj-uz-Zahab’, the shoes of Mansura were very popular in Iran and the Arab world. Imam Hanbal relates that a large number of shoes were imported from Mansura into Baghdad where they were in great demand among the royal family and the gentry. But, he remarks, they were very showy.
Arabs also took keen interest in animal husbandry. They improved several breeds of camels, horses, cows, bulls and buffaloes. Sindhi buffaloes were so popular that Arabs used to carry them to their home towns when returning from Sindh.
Building of cities and construction of roads and houses was a hobby with the Arabs. They built several new cities such as Mahfooza (in 732 A.D.), Mansura (737 A.D.), Baiza (835A.D.), Jundrore near Multan (in 854 A.D.) and several others. They also improved and expanded the existing cities by constructing satellite towns. A bridge called “Sukkar-al-Maid” was built over the Indus near Sukkur.
A number of Arab tribes of Quraish, Kaib, Tanieem, Saqeef, Harris, Aal-e-Utba, Aal-e-Jareema and Asad, and several prominent families of Yemen and Hejaz had settled in Sindh. Masudi (915 A.D. — 302 A.H.) writes that he met many descendants of Hazrat Ali in Mansura who were in the line of Omar bin Ali and Mohammad Bin Ali. He also mentions that there was fertility and opulence here and people were healthy. Some authorities have expressed the view that the wife of Hazrat Imam Hussain, who was the mother of Hazrat Imam Zainul Abdin from whom the line of Hussaini Syeds is traced, was not a Persian as is generally believed, but a Sindhi lady of a noble family.”
Bishari writes that the people of Multan were prosperous, they did not drink wine and their women did not use cosmetics. Both Arabic and Sindhi were spoken. Regarding Mansura he states that the people were very well-read, courteous and religious. The city had a large number of scholars and the general standard of morals and intelligence was high. Mansura remained the capital of Sindh from 737 A.D. — 120 A.H. to 1026 A.D. — 416 A.H. for about 300 years till its conquest by Mahmud Ghaznavi. In late 3rd century Hijri when Multan became the capital of the northern kingdom, Mansura remained the capital of only the southern region i.e., modern Sindh. It survived till the Tughlaq period in the 14th century A.D. when it disappeared due to change in the course of River Indus. As during the time of Darius when Sindh constituted the 20th Satrapy of the Achaemenian Empire and considered an extremely rich province, so also during the Arab rule Sindh was regarded a prosperous part of the Caliphate and paid a million dirham per annum as revenue to the Government at Baghdad.
http://panhwar.com/Books_By_Sani/The...d-of-Sindh.pdf
Among the notable Sindhi ulema were: Maulana Islami who hailed from Debal, accepted Islam during Mohammad Bin Qasim’s days and was sent by him as envoy to Raja Dahir for negotiations. Abu Maashar Sindhi was Muslim world’s noted scholar of ‘seerat’ and‘fiqh’. He lived at Medina for a number of years and later shifted to Baghdad where he died. He was so much respected that on his death Caliph Mehdi led the funeral prayers. His son Abu Abdul Malik was also an eminent scholar and had settled down in Baghdad. Haflz Abu Mohamniad Khalaf bin Saalem who was a ‘hadees’ scholar bad migrated from Sindh to Iraq where he attained fame. Abu Nasr Fateh Bin Abdulla Sindhi was known for his proficiency in ‘hadees’, ‘fiqh’ and Ilm-e-Kalaarn. He wrote ‘Tafseer’ in Sindhi and rendered Islamic teachings in such beautiful and forceful Sindhi verse that it gained immense popularity both among Hindus and Muslims. Another ‘aalim’, Ishaque Sindhi,was among the most revered muftis of the Abbasid period. Imani Auzai of Sindh was considered an authority on religion in the Muslim world. Mohammad bin Au Shwarib, the Qazi of Mansura and his son Au bin Mohammad bin Au Sbwarib were also renowned scholars.
Among the Sindhis who earned eminence in the Muslim world as Arabic poets during this period were Abul Ata Sindhi, Haroon bin Abdulla Multani, Abu Mohammad Mansuri who hailed from Mansura, Mansoor Hindi, Musa bin Yakub, Saqafi, Abu ZilaSindhi, Kashajam bin Sindhi bin Shahak etc. Sindhi bin Sadqa was a ‘Katib’, a writer as well as a poet. Some of them wrote in Sindhi as well as in Arabic. It is said that at there quest of a Sindhi Raja, Mabrook, who had embraced Islam, the Quran was translated into Sindhi during the reign of Abdulla bin Omar Hibari.
Due to the patronage extended by early Abbasid Caliphs and their Baramaka Prime Ministers, a number of Sindhi Pandits and Veds went to Baghdad and engaged themselves in scientific and literary pursuits They translated a large number of Sanskrit books on mathematics, astronomy,astrology, medicine, literature and ethics into Arabic. Prominent among them were Bhalla, Manka, Bazeegar (Bajaikar), Falbar Ful (Kalap Rai Kal), Ibn Dahañ, Saleh Bin Bhalla,Bakhar, Raja, Makka, Daher, Anko, Arikal, Andi, Jabbhar, etc. Some of these Pandits taught the Arabs, numerals.
In about 780 A.D. — 154 A.H. when a deputation of Sindhi Pandits visited Baghdad,they carried with them a Sanskrit work known as ‘Siddhanat’ which, after translation in Arabic, became known as Al—Sindh-Hind.
Sindhi accountants were also popular in the Arab world. According to Jahez (d 874 A.D. — 255 A.H.) all the ‘Sarrafs’ (money-changers) in Iraq had Sindhi treasurers. They were proficient in accounting and exchange business and were also honest and loyal servants.
The Arab rulers of Sindh-Multan were extremely liberal, spoke Sindhi and treated their subjects well. They never encroached upon the religious liberties of the Hindus and Buddhists and appointed them to positions of responsibility. Mohammad Bin Qasim had appointed Sisakar, the Prime Minister of Raja Dahir, his own Prime Minister, and Kiska, another Hindu his Revenue Minister. The entire history of Sindh under the Arabs is replete with instances of Hindus holding positions of great responsibility and honour. Three percent of the country’s revenues were given to Brahrnins as stipends. When some of the district administrators informed the Government that they were experiencing shortage of cows and bulls which were needed for agriculture and transport, Government prohibited cow slaughter.
In the economic field also Sindh made considerable progress. Agriculture received great impetus with food grains being exported to the Middle East. A number of new varieties of fruits were cultivated among which the bananas of Sindh were extremely popular in the neighbouring countries. Camphor, neel, banana, coconut, dates, sugar cane, lemon, mangoes, almonds, nuts, wheat and rice are mentioned by almost all visitors as grown in plenty in Sindh. Bishari Maqdasi writes that there were innumerable gardens in Sindh and the trees were tall and luxuriant. The whole city of Mansura was covered with almond and nut trees.
The cities established by the Arabs “flourished as great centers of trade and learning. A busy trade grew up and the merchants of different nationalities carried Indian goods through Sindh to Turkistan and Khurasan and imported horses into Sindh.” Debal, Nairun Kot, Sehwan, Khuzdar, Aror, Multan and Mansura were flourishing commercial centers. Arabs had more trade with this country than with Gujrat, Malabar and Bengal. Alarge proportion of merchandise was transported from the Punjab by rivers. 700-800 maunds of goods were sewn in jute cloth, put in leather bags oiled from outside to prevent water penetrating and put in the rivers.
“On account of their favourable geographical position the ports of Sindh played a vital role, even before the Arab invasion, in the commercial intercourse between the countries to the west (Iran, South Arabia, Ethiopia) and to the east of the Indus delta, as well as inthe export of commodities manufactured in Sindh itself. This role gained momentum after Islam had reached Sindh. The author of Hudud al’Alam mentions that there were plenty of merchants in Sindh, stressing that many a citizen of the coastal areas were engaged in sea trade. The cities of Daibul and Mansura were major trade centres of Lower Sindh at the turn of the first and second millennia. In the first centuries of the second millennium, Thatta came in the fore as another major economic and political centre of the country: in the opinion of some scholars, the city in its prime had a population of 280,000.”
Leather and leather goods industry also made great progress during this period. The coloured and soft leather of Sindh was known all over the world markets as Al-Sindhi.According to ‘Muruj-uz-Zahab’, the shoes of Mansura were very popular in Iran and the Arab world. Imam Hanbal relates that a large number of shoes were imported from Mansura into Baghdad where they were in great demand among the royal family and the gentry. But, he remarks, they were very showy.
Arabs also took keen interest in animal husbandry. They improved several breeds of camels, horses, cows, bulls and buffaloes. Sindhi buffaloes were so popular that Arabs used to carry them to their home towns when returning from Sindh.
Building of cities and construction of roads and houses was a hobby with the Arabs. They built several new cities such as Mahfooza (in 732 A.D.), Mansura (737 A.D.), Baiza (835A.D.), Jundrore near Multan (in 854 A.D.) and several others. They also improved and expanded the existing cities by constructing satellite towns. A bridge called “Sukkar-al-Maid” was built over the Indus near Sukkur.
A number of Arab tribes of Quraish, Kaib, Tanieem, Saqeef, Harris, Aal-e-Utba, Aal-e-Jareema and Asad, and several prominent families of Yemen and Hejaz had settled in Sindh. Masudi (915 A.D. — 302 A.H.) writes that he met many descendants of Hazrat Ali in Mansura who were in the line of Omar bin Ali and Mohammad Bin Ali. He also mentions that there was fertility and opulence here and people were healthy. Some authorities have expressed the view that the wife of Hazrat Imam Hussain, who was the mother of Hazrat Imam Zainul Abdin from whom the line of Hussaini Syeds is traced, was not a Persian as is generally believed, but a Sindhi lady of a noble family.”
Bishari writes that the people of Multan were prosperous, they did not drink wine and their women did not use cosmetics. Both Arabic and Sindhi were spoken. Regarding Mansura he states that the people were very well-read, courteous and religious. The city had a large number of scholars and the general standard of morals and intelligence was high. Mansura remained the capital of Sindh from 737 A.D. — 120 A.H. to 1026 A.D. — 416 A.H. for about 300 years till its conquest by Mahmud Ghaznavi. In late 3rd century Hijri when Multan became the capital of the northern kingdom, Mansura remained the capital of only the southern region i.e., modern Sindh. It survived till the Tughlaq period in the 14th century A.D. when it disappeared due to change in the course of River Indus. As during the time of Darius when Sindh constituted the 20th Satrapy of the Achaemenian Empire and considered an extremely rich province, so also during the Arab rule Sindh was regarded a prosperous part of the Caliphate and paid a million dirham per annum as revenue to the Government at Baghdad.
http://panhwar.com/Books_By_Sani/The...d-of-Sindh.pdf
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