al-Aswad al-ʿAnsī, from Umm Ḥarām, who said that she heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ declare, “The first army of my community that launches a naval expedition has made Paradise obligatory for itself.” Umm Ḥarām said, “O Messenger of Allah, will I be among them?” He replied, “You will be among them.” The Prophet ﷺ then said, “The first army of my community that attacks the City of Caesar will be granted forgiveness.” I asked, “Shall I be with them, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “No.” (1)

[On the campaign against India]

Imām Aḥmad relates: Yaḥyā ibn Isḥāq told us, al-Barāʾ informed us, from al-Ḥasan, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: “My truthful friend, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, told me, ‘A detachment from this ummah will be sent to Sind and India. If I live to see it and am martyred, so be it; but if I—’ he uttered a word—‘return, then I am Abū Hurayrah the emancipated, for He has freed me from the Fire.’” (2)

Aḥmad also transmitted it through Hushaym, from Sayyār, from Jabr ibn ʿAbīdah, from Abū Hurayrah, who said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ promised us a campaign against India. If I am martyred in it, I shall be among the best of martyrs, and if I return, then I am Abū Hurayrah the emancipated.” (3)

Al-Nasāʾī likewise recorded it from Ḥushaym and Zayd ibn Abī Unaysah, from Sayyār, from Jabr—some say Jubayr—on the authority of Abū Hurayrah, and he mentioned the report. (4)

The Muslims first campaigned in India in 44 AH, during the governorship of Muʿāwiyah ibn Abī Sufyān—may Allah be pleased with him. The events that took place there we have already set out at length. Later, about 400 AH, the great and fortunate king Maḥmūd ibn Subuktakīn, ruler of Ghaznah and the surrounding regions, marched against it. He accomplished renowned and praiseworthy deeds: he smashed the greatest idol, known as Sūmanāt, seized its necklaces, jewels, gold, and ornaments, (5) took booty beyond reckoning, and returned to his realm safe and victorious.

Before that, the Umayyad governors had fought the Turks in the furthest reaches of Sind and China, subdued their sovereign, the Great Khāqān, routed his armies, and captured his wealth and strongholds. Prophetic reports have come down describing those peoples and depicting their features. Let us cite a few briefly:

Al-Bukhārī said: Abū al-Yamān related to us; Shuʿayb narrated to us; from Abū al-Zinād, from al-Aʿraj, from Abū Hurayrah, who reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight a people whose sandals are of hair, and until you fight the Turks—small-eyed, red-faced, flat-nosed, as though their faces were hammered shields. Among the best of people you will find those who most dislike authority until they are entrusted with it; and mankind is like ore: the best of them in the Age of Ignorance…” (6)(7)