دور الصحابة في تطوير العلاقات العربية الهندية في زمن الفتوحات الإسلامية الأولية ....................................................... The Role of Prophet’s Companions in Developing Arab-Indian Relations during Early Islamic Conquests

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the commercial, religious and cultural dimensions of the relations between India and the Arabian Peninsula before and after the mission of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). It looks into the mechanics and channels that contributed to strengthening those relations. The paper focuses on investigating the mutual commercial activities between the parties, describing the maritime routes they used, and the Indian commercial goods that were brought from India to the Arabian Peninsula and other Western regions. These accounts show the volume of trade and the extent of economic cooperation between the parties under study.

            The paper also highlights the factors that led the Caliphs to pay attention to the Islamic conquests of India. Further, it deals with the extent to which the Companions played a role in strengthening these ties and consolidating them through their participation in the first Islamic conquests of India by land and sea routes.

            The paper concludes with a notice of the military activities that enabled them to reach Indian coastal areas such as Gujarat, Bombay and Sind. Moreover, it touches upon the role of the military activities in paving the way for the great conquests which took place in the Umayyad era. It further emphasizes that those conquests were the first thread to connect the Indian regions with Al-Khilafat Al-Rashidah, then the Umayyad and Abbasid reigns later on.