alhind

Al-Hind is the classical Arabic name for the Indian subcontinent. In medieval Arab, Persian, and Ottoman writings, al-Hind referred to the lands east of the Persian Gulf that roughly correspond to the Indian subcontinent, including parts of modern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, though the exact boundaries varied by author.

Etymology and usage: The term Hind derives from the Sanskrit Sindhu, the name of the Indus River, and was adopted into Persian and Arabic as Hind or Hindu. The compound al-Hind literally denotes “the India” or “the land of Hind.” Over time, Hindustan—formed in Persian and Urdu—emerged to designate the broader subcontinent.

Historical significance: The Indian subcontinent appears in numerous Islamic-era sources under the name al-Hind. The 11th-century scholar Al-Biruni’s Kitab al-Hind (Book of India) is a foundational work that surveys Indian geography, society, religion, science, and philosophy. Other travelers and geographers, such as Ibn Battuta, also used Hind or al-Hind when describing the region. The term circulated in Islamic world literature, geography, and historiography.

Legacy: The concept of al-Hind influenced later toponyms, notably Hindustan, which came to denote the Indian subcontinent in Persian, Urdu, and related literary traditions. In contemporary Arabic, al-Hind is primarily of historical or literary interest, with modern terms for the region used in everyday speech. Hind and Hindustan remain common in South Asian languages when referring to the subcontinent.