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The Conversion of al-Usayfan's King

إسلام ملك العسيفان

al-Usayfan

At al-Usayfan between Kashmir, Multan and Kabul, a king begged his idol's sadins to pray for his sick son — they claimed its answer, the boy died, and he demolished the shrine, broke the idol, slew the sadins — then summoned Muslim merchants who taught him tawhid, and he converted under al-Mu'tasim.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Early Abbasid Caliphate
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Overview

Al-Baladhuri mentions a land called al-Usayfan, between Qashmir, Multan and Kabul, whose king became Muslim in the caliphate of al-Mu'tasim. 1

The report

The people of the land worshipped an idol, over which a house had been built. The son of the king fell ill, and he asked the guardians of the house to call on the idol to heal him. They came back and said that it had answered them, but the boy died. 1

The king tore down the house, broke the idol and killed the guardians. Then he called Muslim merchants, who put forward the Oneness of God, and he professed it and became Muslim. 1

The specific year is not given in the data and needs an additional source.

Connections

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Had participant
al-Mu'tasim Abu Ishaq ibn al-Rashid
Occurred at
al-Usayfan

People and things also explored

Conquest of Amorium· Death of al-Mu'tasim· The Fall of Qaliqala, 133, and its Rebuilding· The Garrisoning of Sur man Ra'a (Samarra)· Imran ibn Musa's Sind and the Zutt-Mayd Wars· The Court's Wooing of Transoxania· The Sack of Zibatra and al-Mu'tasim's Retaliation· The Zutt Brigandage and Ujayf's War

Sources

  1. Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Conversion of al-Usayfan's King”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/usayfan-king-islam/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Conquest of Amorium

Al-Mu'tasim set out campaigning into Byzantine lands in the year 223, though some say his departure was in 224 or 222, after he had killed Babak. According to al-Suyuti, he took it by the sword, killed thirty thousand of its people and took as many captive. The astrologers had judged the ascendant unlucky when he was preparing and that he would be broken; yet his victory exceeded anything feared, and Abu Tammam said that the sword is truer in its reports than books. According to al-Mas'udi, al-Mu'tasim was roused to war, donning a white woollen tunic and the raider's turban, when Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi recited to him, 'O raid of God, you have now beheld it, so break in.' He encamped on the west bank of the Tigris on Monday, two nights into Jumada I in the year 223. He placed Ashnas in the vanguard, Itakh on the right wing, Ja'far ibn Dinar al-Khayyat on the left, Bugha al-Kabir in the rear, and Ajif at the centre. He entered by the Pass of Safety, while al-Afshin entered by the Pass of Hadath; he met the king and defeated him. Lawi the patrician came out to him from Amorium and surrendered it; he took Batis captive, killed thirty thousand, and stayed four days demolishing and burning.