The Conquest of Mukran

The conquest of Mukran also took place in 23 AH at the hands of Hakam bin Amr. Today, it is called Makran whereas in history, it was referred to as Mukran. It was conquered by Shihaab bin Mukhaariq, Sohail bin Adi and Abdullah bin Abdillah who joined them with their armies. The Muslims united to fight against the king of Sindh and were victorious. Hakam bin Amr sent news of this victory and the spoils of war with Suhar Abdi, and sought guidance about the elephants that were seized in the spoils.

When glad tidings of the victory reached Hazrat Umar (ra), he enquired about the land of Mukran. He replied, “O Leader of the Faithful, its soft plains are as hard as the mountains, there is a severe shortage of water, the fruits are inedible, the enemy there is very courageous and the evil there greatly outweighs the good. Whatever abundance there is seems to be very little, and what is scarce goes to waste. Furthermore, what is beyond that is even worse.”

Having heard his manner of speaking, Hazrat Umar (ra) asked, “Are you reciting couplets of a poem or really describing the situation there?” He answered, “I am conveying to you the true state of affairs there.”

Hazrat Umar (ra) then said, “If you speak the truth, by God, my army shall not attack there.”

Therefore, he wrote to Hakam bin Amr and Hazrat Suhail (ra) stating, “Neither army is to advance beyond Mukran and to remain in the area before the river.” He also instructed that the elephants be sold in the Muslim lands, and that wealth be distributed among the Muslim army.

(Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Tabari Translation, Vol. 3, Pt. 1 [Karachi, Pakistan: Dar al-Isha’at, 2003], pp. 198-199) (Muhammad Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Tabari, Vol. 2 [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, 2012], p. 555)

The details of this battle that have been mentioned have been taken from Tabari. In relation to this battle, Allamah Shibli has written a note stating that the final victory in the time of Hazrat Umar (ra) was in Mukran. However, this is the narration of Tabari.

The historian, Baladhuri narrates that the armies reached the lowland areas of Debal and Thana. If this is correct, then during the era of Hazrat Umar (ra), Islam had reached Sindh and India. He writes in the footnote that half of Mukran is now Baluchistan. Even though Baladhuri states that the victories in the time of Hazrat Umar (ra) reached the city Debal in Sindh; however, Tabari has stated that Mukran was the final victory.

(Shibli Nu‘mani, al-Farooq, [Karachi, Pakistan: Dar al-Isha‘at, 2004], p. 157)