Conquest of the first fort

After the Isha prayer, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim selected five young men for this campaign and handed over their horses to the rest of the army and ordered Muhammad ibn Haroon to advance and he himself hid in a hillock with his followers.

At midnight, the moon disappeared and Muhammad bin Qasim built the fort.

The defenders of all the hills on the way had taken the advance of Muhammad bin Haroon as a sign of the entire army and had vacated their posts and gone towards the east. The Sindhi horsemen in the fort informed Bheem Singh of the unexpected advance of the Muslims towards the east and he left three hundred soldiers inside the fort to block the path of the Muslim army.

By the third hour, Muhammad bin Qasim had reached a hill about a mile from the fort. The sound of the horses of Bheem Singh's riders echoed in the distant rocks and Muhammad told his companions that they were leaving the fort.

We must hurry, but there must be a small force within the fort for protection.

Therefore, there should be no noise from your side.

A little shout from your side will alert the guards of the fort and even if they are forty in number, they will be able to keep us out of the fort for a long time.

After giving these instructions, Muhammad divided his soldiers into small groups and advanced towards the fort. On approaching the fort, the army hid in the hills nearby

The voices of the guards on the ramparts had a hint of fatigue and sleepiness in them, and it seemed that they were muttering rather than speaking. Muhammad ibn al-Qasim took ten young men with him and proceeded to a relatively quiet part of the wall and after climbing up with a noose, threw the rope ladder. Two guards were fast asleep at this place.

Suddenly, six companions of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim climbed the wall, but the seventh had not reached the top when a soldier from a few steps away raised a torch and said in shock.

Who is it?" the other soldier shouted.

The enemy has arrived.

Be careful!

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim raised the slogan of Allahu Akbar and at the same time emptied a large part of the fortress by a vigorous attack.

Hearing this slogan, the soldiers hiding outside the fort moved forward and started climbing the wall by placing their bows. The soldiers who were sleeping comfortably inside the fort were still handling their swords when Muhammad ibn al-Qasim's pechas soldiers reached the fort.

Instead of resisting the wall for a long time, the guards thought it more appropriate to go inside and wake up their comrades who were sleeping deeply, and they preferred to escape through a tunnel instead of fighting for a long time. The tunnel was very narrow, and all the soldiers wanted to enter it at the same time. Some were disappointed and opened the gate of the fort and some came out of the fort on foot and some on horseback. Seeing the gate of the fort open, the Muslims also gave up the idea of ​​climbing the wall and moved towards it, and not many men could get a chance to escape.

Desperate, the enemy drew their swords from all sides, but surrendered after fighting for a while. The soldiers gathered in the tunnel inside the fort were fighting each other badly. Following them, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim picked up a torch that had fallen under a guard and passed through different rooms with a few soldiers and reached a door of a basement and spoke in Persian.

"For those of you who want to escape, the gate of the fort is open. You may drop your weapons and go.

Saying that, Muhammad ibn al-Qasim moved aside, among the soldiers of the King (Raja) who knew Persian, they explained to each other the meaning of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim and came out of the basement looking at Muhammad ibn al-Qasim with suspicious eyes. Some of them pushed the tunnel, but at the behest of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim, a few soldiers entered the basement and stood at the mouth of the tunnel with their swords drawn.

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim said,

"Why do you take a narrow and dark path when there is an open path for you? "

Trust us. If we were to kill you, your necks would not be far from our swords. This of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim." Hearing the words, the rest of the soldiers also threw down their weapons and came out of the basement. Muhammad ibn al-Qasim returned to the gate of the fort and ordered his soldiers not to stand in the way of those coming out of the fort. These people hesitated. Stepping up and looking back, they left the fort.

This treatment of the conquered enemy was a new chapter in the history of Sindh.

An old soldier walked slowly to the door and came back thinking something.

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim said to him. If you lost something in the castle, you can find it. He carefully looked at Muhammad ibn al-Qasim and asked,

"Are you the commander of the Arab army?"

Yes! I am ? Muhammad replied.

The enemy does not deserve good treatment under any circumstances. can I ask ?

Why did you treat us this way?

Our aim is not to destroy the enemy but to show him the way to safety.

So be sure that no one can defeat you.

These people, whom you consider worthy of your mercy today, will tomorrow gather under your banner and fight against these proud kings, who do not know how to show mercy to the fallen enemy?

Having said that, he went out of the door.

Muhammad ibn al-Qasim went round the fort.

The basement was full of food and drink and there were sixty horses in the stable. Muhammad bin Qasim was sure that the army going in pursuit of Muhammad ibn Haroon would return as soon as he heard the news of the conquest of this fort. He sent four horsemen to Muhammad ibn Haroon with a message that he should camp at a safe place and wait for his orders. After that, the gate of this fort was closed and archers were placed around the wall and Islamic flags were installed on the fort.