ABSTRACT
The idol in question was brought by Amr ibn al-Laith al-Saffar from one of the cities he conquered in India and the mountainous regions adjoining Bust, Ma'bar and Zamin-i Dawar. Now, in the year 332 AH/944 AD, these countries are the boundaries of Islam, surrounded by a number of different nations of infidel peoples, both sedentary and nomad. Kabul and Bamiyan, which border on Zabulistan and Rukhkhaj, are mentioned among the lands inhabited by a sedentary population. Elsewhere in this book, in the course of discussing ancient peoples and the kings of antiquity, I have mentioned that Zabulistan is known as 'the land of Firuz, son of Kabk' after the name of one of its kings. When Isa ibn Ali ibn Mahan was pursuing the Kharijites in the reign of Harun al-Rashid, he invaded Sind and its mountains, Qandahar, Rukhkhaj and Zabulistan. He devastated the country and won unparalleled victories.
