I came across this beautiful piece of speech by Maulana Tariq Jamil in which he explains the Muslim history of Baluchistan. He argues that this is the area in Indo-Pak subcontinent which was introduced to Islam first, as early as 11 Hijri/644 AD.
See Photos & Listen to Recording here (in Urdu)
Baluchistan was divided into two parts:
1- Eastern Part, called Seestan. It is in Pakistan now.
2- Western Part, called Kirman. It is in Iran now.
Hazrat Umar (RA) (2nd Khaleef) sent Sohaib bin Ali (RA) in 11 Hijri / 644 AD to the Kirman & Makran’s coastal area that faces Saudi Arabia. Hence people of Southern part of Baluchistan were introduced to Islam.
Later in 18 Hijri / 652 AD, Hazrat Usman (RA) (3rd Khaleef) sent Mushajeh bin Mas-a-ood who conquered the Northern part.
Muhammad bin Qasim arrived late in 90 Hijri / 724 AD.
Abdul Rehman bin Samra (RA), a sahabi was appointed as first Governor of the area by Usman (RA) in 20 Hijri / 654 AD, who established his capital at Zehri. Seestan, Kirman & Sajistan (now Afghanistan) were under his control. Zehri remained the capital for 400 years.
Khuzdar is an ancient city which was called Khuzdar even 1000 years ago. Currently it houses a population of 6,00,000 & is located in a district also called Khuzdar. After Zehri, capital was shifted to this city.
Abdul Rehman bin Samra (RA), the first Governor of the area passed away while serving and was buried in Baluchistan. He (RA) is the ONLY known Sahabi buried in entire Indo-Pak area. Exact location of burial is unknown.
Baluchistan is a beautiful piece of land; short on water but rich in natural minerals. I visited it back in 2007, let’s see When Allah (SWT) takes me to this majestic land again.
Please see my photos here.