Qais Abdur Rashid

Qais Abdur Rashid Khan (575 - 661) (), also known as Kesh, Qesh and Imraul Qais, is a legendary ancestor of the Pashtun race, claimed to be the first ethnic Pashtun who travelled to Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia during the early days of Islam., Afghanistan Country Study: Religion, Illinois Institute of Technology (retrieved 18 January 2007).) Qais Abdur Rashid is believed to be thirty-seventh in descent from King Saul or Malik Talut.Dawn, , by Alauddin Masood, April 4, 2004.

Qais Abdur Rashid Khan was born in Zhob, a region of modern day in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Upon hearing about the advent of Islam, he was sent by his tribe to Medina in Saudi Arabia. He met the Islamic prophet Muhammad and embraced Islam there, and was given the name Abdur Rashid by Muhammed. He then returned to the region of Afghanistan and introduced Islam to his tribe. It is also claimed that the famous warrior companion, Khalid ibn al-Walid, introduced Qais Abdur Rashid to the Prophet.

According to Thomas Walker Arnold however, the account in which Afghans were introduced to Muhammad by Khalid ibn al-Walid is without any historical foundation.The Preaching of Islam: A History of the Propagation of the Muslim Faith By Thomas Walker...
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