To escape the lot of being dragged away in chains and then kept in bondage in a distant and alien land as a slave, Indus men did not merely convert. They also changed their names and gave ‘Muslim’ names to their offspring. The names they chose instead were those of the invaders, names of Arabic and Persian origin, intended to establish their ‘Muslim’ identity. This alone would convince the invading armies that Allah’s law forbade them being taken as slaves.
