The Islamic conquest of Afghanistan (642–870) began in the middle of the 7th century[1] after the Islamic conquest of Persia was completed, when Arab Muslims defeated the Sassanid Empire at the battles of Walaja, al-Qādisiyyah andNahavand.[2] The Muslim Arabs then began to move towards the lands east of Persia and in 652 captured the city, Herat.[3]By 667, the Afghan area was under invasion by the Arabs but in 683 Kabul revolted and completely routed the invading army which was led by the Governor of Seistan. It was not until 870 that Kabul and the Afghan area was brought under control by the Saffarids.[4] The near-complete conversion of Afghanistan to Islam was during the period of the Ghaznavids in the 10th century, with Kafiristan holding out until the 1890s.
Kabul Shahis
The area had been under the rule of the Buddhist and then Hindu dynasty called the Kabul Shahis since the 5th century. The Arabs were unable to succeed in converting the population because of constant revolts from the mountain tribes in the Afghan area. The Hindu Shahi were defeated in the early part of the 10th century by Mahmud of Ghazna who ruled between 998 and 1030. He expelled the Hindus from Gandhara.[5]
Earlier in 870, Yaqub bin Laith as-Saffar, a local ruler from the Saffarid dynasty of Zaranj, Afghanistan, conquered most of present-day Afghanistan in the name of Islam. In many cases, the people he conquered had rebelled against their Islamic overlords and reverted to prior forms of worship.[6]
From the 8th century to the 9th century, many inhabitants of what is present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, were converted toSunni Islam. It is surmised from the writings of Al Biruni that some Pashtuns living in Pakhtunkhwa (present-day western Pakistan) had not been completely converted. Al Biruni, writing in Tarikh al Hind, also alludes to the Pashtun tribes of Pakhtunkhwa as Hindus.
The most explicit mentioning of the Afghans appears in Al- Baruni’s Tarikh Al-Hind (eleventh century AD). Here it is said that various tribes of Afghans lived in the mountains in the west of India. Al Baruni adds that they were savage people and he describes them as Hindus.[8]
Various historical sources such as Martin Ewans, E.J. Brill and Farishta have recorded the introduction of Islam to Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan to the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazna
The Arabs advanced through Sistan and conquered Sindh early in the eighth century. Elsewhere however their incursions were no more than temporary, and it was not until the rise of the Saffarid dynasty in the ninth century that the frontiers of Islam effectively reached Ghazni and Kabul. Even then a Hindu dynasty the Hindu Shahis, held Gandhara and eastern borders. From the tenth century onwards as Persian language and culture continued to spread into Afghanistan, the focus of power shifted to Ghazni, where a Turkish dynasty, who started by ruling the town for the Samanid dynasty of Bokhara, proceeded to create an empire in their own right. The greatest of the Ghaznavids was Muhmad who ruled between 998 and 1030. He expelled the Hindus from Ghandhara, made no fewer than 17 raids into India.[5]
He encouraged mass conversions to Islam, in India as well as in Afghanistan[5]
Al-Idirisi (1100-1165/1166) testifies that until as late as the 12th century, a contract of investiture for every Hindu Shahi king was performed at Kabul and that here he was obliged to agree to certain ancient conditions which completed the contract.[9]
In 1192 AD, according to Farishta, the army assembled by Muizz al din Muhammed bin Sam consisted of Turks, Tajiks and Afghans, and his opponent Pithorai (Prithoi Rai) assembled a force of Rajput and Afghan horsemen. Thus, in this great war Mussulmans and Hindu Afghans are represented as fighting on both sides, which probably indicates that they were not yet completely converted to Islam.[10]
During the end of the 9th century, the Samanids extended its rule from Bukhara to as far south as the Indus River and west into most of Persia. Although Arab Muslim intellectual life was still centered in Baghdad, Shi'a Islam, predominated in the Samanid areas at this time. By the mid-10th century, the Samanid Dynasty had crumbled in the face of attacks from Turkish tribes to the north and from the Ghaznavids, a rising Turkic dynasty in Afghanistan.
The region was ruled by Hindu and Buddhist dynasty called the Kabul Shahis since the 5th century. The Arabs were unable to succeed in converting the population of that area because of constant revolts from the mountain tribes. In 870, Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, a local Persian[11] ruler from the Saffarid dynasty of Zaranj, Afghanistan, conquered most of the cities of present-day Afghanistan in the name of Islam.
Kabul Shahis
The area had been under the rule of the Buddhist and then Hindu dynasty called the Kabul Shahis since the 5th century. The Arabs were unable to succeed in converting the population because of constant revolts from the mountain tribes in the Afghan area. The Hindu Shahi were defeated in the early part of the 10th century by Mahmud of Ghazna who ruled between 998 and 1030. He expelled the Hindus from Gandhara.[5]
Earlier in 870, Yaqub bin Laith as-Saffar, a local ruler from the Saffarid dynasty of Zaranj, Afghanistan, conquered most of present-day Afghanistan in the name of Islam. In many cases, the people he conquered had rebelled against their Islamic overlords and reverted to prior forms of worship.[6]
From the 8th century to the 9th century, many inhabitants of what is present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, were converted toSunni Islam. It is surmised from the writings of Al Biruni that some Pashtuns living in Pakhtunkhwa (present-day western Pakistan) had not been completely converted. Al Biruni, writing in Tarikh al Hind, also alludes to the Pashtun tribes of Pakhtunkhwa as Hindus.
The most explicit mentioning of the Afghans appears in Al- Baruni’s Tarikh Al-Hind (eleventh century AD). Here it is said that various tribes of Afghans lived in the mountains in the west of India. Al Baruni adds that they were savage people and he describes them as Hindus.[8]
Various historical sources such as Martin Ewans, E.J. Brill and Farishta have recorded the introduction of Islam to Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan to the invasions of Mahmud of Ghazna
The Arabs advanced through Sistan and conquered Sindh early in the eighth century. Elsewhere however their incursions were no more than temporary, and it was not until the rise of the Saffarid dynasty in the ninth century that the frontiers of Islam effectively reached Ghazni and Kabul. Even then a Hindu dynasty the Hindu Shahis, held Gandhara and eastern borders. From the tenth century onwards as Persian language and culture continued to spread into Afghanistan, the focus of power shifted to Ghazni, where a Turkish dynasty, who started by ruling the town for the Samanid dynasty of Bokhara, proceeded to create an empire in their own right. The greatest of the Ghaznavids was Muhmad who ruled between 998 and 1030. He expelled the Hindus from Ghandhara, made no fewer than 17 raids into India.[5]
He encouraged mass conversions to Islam, in India as well as in Afghanistan[5]
Al-Idirisi (1100-1165/1166) testifies that until as late as the 12th century, a contract of investiture for every Hindu Shahi king was performed at Kabul and that here he was obliged to agree to certain ancient conditions which completed the contract.[9]
In 1192 AD, according to Farishta, the army assembled by Muizz al din Muhammed bin Sam consisted of Turks, Tajiks and Afghans, and his opponent Pithorai (Prithoi Rai) assembled a force of Rajput and Afghan horsemen. Thus, in this great war Mussulmans and Hindu Afghans are represented as fighting on both sides, which probably indicates that they were not yet completely converted to Islam.[10]
During the end of the 9th century, the Samanids extended its rule from Bukhara to as far south as the Indus River and west into most of Persia. Although Arab Muslim intellectual life was still centered in Baghdad, Shi'a Islam, predominated in the Samanid areas at this time. By the mid-10th century, the Samanid Dynasty had crumbled in the face of attacks from Turkish tribes to the north and from the Ghaznavids, a rising Turkic dynasty in Afghanistan.
The region was ruled by Hindu and Buddhist dynasty called the Kabul Shahis since the 5th century. The Arabs were unable to succeed in converting the population of that area because of constant revolts from the mountain tribes. In 870, Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, a local Persian[11] ruler from the Saffarid dynasty of Zaranj, Afghanistan, conquered most of the cities of present-day Afghanistan in the name of Islam.
Arab armies carrying the banner of Islam came out of the west to defeat the Sasanians in 642 and then they marched with confidence to the east. On the western periphery of the Afghan area the princes ofHerat and Seistan gave way to rule by Arab governors but in the east, in the mountains, cities submitted only to rise in revolt and the hastily converted returned to their old beliefs once the armies passed. The harshness and avariciousness of Arab rule produced such unrest, however, that once the waning power of the Caliphate became apparent, native rulers once again established themselves independent. Among these the Saffarids of Seistan shone briefly in the Afghan area. The fanatic founder of this dynasty, the coppersmith’s apprentice Yaqub ibn Layth Saffari, came forth from his capital at Zaranj in 870 and marched through Bost, Kandahar, Ghazni, Kabul, Bamyan, Balkh and Herat, conquering in the name of Islam.[12]
—Nancy Hatch Dupree, 1971
During the 8th through the 9th centuries, many inhabitants of what is present-day Afghanistan and western Pakistan were converted to Sunni Islam.[4] In some cases, however, people that were conquered by the Muslims would rebel and revert to prior forms of worship.[12] The mountain areas were still not completely converted and remained largely by people of non-Muslim faiths. In a book called Hudud-al-Alam, written in 982, it mentions a village near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where the local king used to have many Hindu, Muslim and Afghan wives.[13]
Ghaznavids and Ghurids
Out of the Samanid dynasty came the Ghaznavids, whose warriors forged the first great Islamic empire from Ghazni(Afghanistan) that spanned much of the Iranian plateau, Central Asia and conducted many successful raids into India. During the end of the 9th century, the Samanids extended its rule from Bukhara to as far south as the Indus River and west into most of Persia. By the mid-10th century, the Samanid dynasty had crumble in the face of attacks from Turkish tribes to the north and from the Ghaznavids, a rising Turkic Muslim dynasty in Afghanistan. Besides Turkic people, large part of the Ghaznavid Empire was made up of local Muslim Afghans from what is now Afghanistan and western parts of Pakistan.
It is surmised from the writings of Al Biruni that some Afghans who lived in west of India (modern-day Afghanistan) had not been completely converted to Islam.
—Nancy Hatch Dupree, 1971
During the 8th through the 9th centuries, many inhabitants of what is present-day Afghanistan and western Pakistan were converted to Sunni Islam.[4] In some cases, however, people that were conquered by the Muslims would rebel and revert to prior forms of worship.[12] The mountain areas were still not completely converted and remained largely by people of non-Muslim faiths. In a book called Hudud-al-Alam, written in 982, it mentions a village near Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where the local king used to have many Hindu, Muslim and Afghan wives.[13]
Ghaznavids and Ghurids
Out of the Samanid dynasty came the Ghaznavids, whose warriors forged the first great Islamic empire from Ghazni(Afghanistan) that spanned much of the Iranian plateau, Central Asia and conducted many successful raids into India. During the end of the 9th century, the Samanids extended its rule from Bukhara to as far south as the Indus River and west into most of Persia. By the mid-10th century, the Samanid dynasty had crumble in the face of attacks from Turkish tribes to the north and from the Ghaznavids, a rising Turkic Muslim dynasty in Afghanistan. Besides Turkic people, large part of the Ghaznavid Empire was made up of local Muslim Afghans from what is now Afghanistan and western parts of Pakistan.
It is surmised from the writings of Al Biruni that some Afghans who lived in west of India (modern-day Afghanistan) had not been completely converted to Islam.
The most explicit mentioning of the Afghans appears in Al- Baruni’s Tarikh al hind (11th century). Here it is said that various tribes of Afghans lived in the mountains in the west of India. Al Baruni adds that they were savage people and he describes them as Hindus.[13]
—H.A. Rose, 1997
The Arabs advanced through Sistan and conquered Sindh early in the eighth century. Elsewhere however their incursions were no more than temporary, and it was not until the rise of the Saffarid dynasty in the ninth century that the frontiers of Islam effectively reached Ghazni and Kabul. Even then a Hindu dynasty the Hindushahis, held Gandhara and eastern borders. From the tenth century onwards as Persian language and culture continued to spread into Afghanistan, the focus of power shifted to Ghazni, where a Turkish dynasty, who started by ruling the town for the Samanid dynasty of Bokhara, proceeded to create an empire in their own right. The greatest of the Ghaznavids was Mahmud who ruled between 998 and 1030. He expelled the Hindus from Ghandhara, made no fewer than 17 raids into India. He encouraged mass conversions to Islam, in India as well as in Afghanistan.[14]
Last edited:
