List of Muslim military leaders

A Muslim soldier is a Muslim who has engaged in war, or is trained in the art of war. Some of the more contemporary belong to state or national military forces and are more accurately described as soldiers. Some of the older entries may be more accurately be described as warriors, and some as militia. Entries in this chronological list are accompanied by dates of birth and death, branch of Islam, country of birth, field of study, campaigns fought in, and a short biographical description.

Muslim military leaders
This list includes notable conquerors, generals, and admirals from early Islamic history to the 20th century.

500s

 * Prophet Muhammad was never defeated when in command
 * Ali bin Abi Talib Lion Of Allah
 * Hamza ibn Abdul Muttalib was the uncle of Muhammad. He was martyred in the Battle of Uhud. He was known for his bravery and was a commander in the Battle of Badar which was a Muslim victory.
 * Khalid ibn al-Walid he is known as the Sayf Allāh al-Maslūl (Drawn Sword of God)
 * Abu Bakr The First Caliph of Islam after Muhammad's death.
 * Umar bin al-Khattab was a leading companion to Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Abu Bakr.
 * Usman ibn Affan The third Caliph of Islam. Usman is regarded by Sunnis as a beacon of light.
 * Jafar ibn Abi Talib
 * Usama ibn Zaid
 * Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah
 * Zayd ibn Harithah
 * Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi
 * Sharjeel bin Hasnah
 * Akrama bin abu-jahl
 * Yazeed bin Abu Sufyan
 * Muawiya bin Abu Sufyan

600s

 * Husayn ibn Ali(Sha'aban 4 AH – 10th Muharram 61 AH; 8 January 626 CE – 10 October 680 CE) Was The son of Ali Ibni Talib and the grandson of Muhammad  who fought tyranny as he refused to pledge allegiance to Yazid.On 10 October 680 (Muharram 10, 61 AH), he and his small group of his followers and family members, who were between 72 or more, fought with a large army. Husayn and all of his men were killed and beheaded.
 * Abbas ibn Ali- The son of Ali Ibni Talib (ra)
 * Musa bin Nusair, (640-716). An Umayyad governor and general in North Africa.
 * Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef, (661-714). Umayyad administrator of Iraq.
 * Muhammad bin Qasim, (695-715). An early Arab General who captured Sindh in Pakistan.
 * Nusaybah Bint k’ab Al Maziniyyah. Female fighter who fought at the Battle of Uhud with the army of Muhammad after converting to Islam.
 * Umar II, Umayyad Caliph

700s

 * Tariq ibn-Ziyad, (d. 720) . An Umayyad Amazigh general, who swept Hispania with Muslim army.
 * Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi [Founder of Muslim Dynasty in Spain]
 * Zaid ibn Ali - Arab, fought the Banu Umayyad
 * Muhammad ibn Qasim captured Sind and Multan in Pakistan
 * Isma'il ibn Jafar - Arab, fought the Banu Umayyad
 * Qutaibah bin Muslim

900s

 * Mahmud of Ghazni, (971—1030). Ruler of Ghazni.
 * Jawhar as-Siqilli, commander of Fatimid forces. Founded Cairo and built Al-Azhar Mosque.

1000s

 * Avicenna
 * Alp Arslan
 * Togrul, Founder of the Seljuq Dynasty

1100s

 * Muhammad of Ghor
 * Zengi
 * Muḥammad Shahābuddīn Ghorī
 * Nur ad-Din Zangi, (1118–1174). A Syrian ruler and military leader who fought in the Crusades.
 * Saif ad-Din Ghazi I, Muslim leader during crusades
 * Salahuddin - 1138 to March 4, 1193, (known as Saladin in English), Kurd, Crusades
 * Shirkuh, Muslim Kurd leader during crusades

1200s

 * Qutb-ud-din Aybak built the Qutub Minar
 * Iltutmish
 * Razia Sultana, Indian princess
 * Mu'in ad-Din Unur
 * Al-Kamil Sunni Kurd leader
 * Baibars, fought with Crusaders and Mongols
 * Saif ad-Din Qutuz, fought with Crusaders and Mongols
 * Qalawun, fought with Crusaders
 * Khalil
 * Ghiyas ud din Balban
 * Ala ud din Khilji, Indian king who fought with the Mongols
 * Uthman I, Founder of the Ottoman Dynasty
 * Berke Khan, Fought with Mongols
 * Aybak, Founder of the Mamluk Dynasty
 * Saif ad-Din Qutuz

1300s

 * Tamerlane (1370,1405). Conqueror and founder of the Timurid dynasty.
 * Ala ud din Khilji
 * Bayezid I Victor of Battle of Nicopolis
 * Zheng He (1371–1433) Chinese mariner, explorer, and fleet admiral

1400s

 * Hayreddin Barbarossa (1475–1546) Ottoman Admiral
 * Zahiruddin Babur Conqueror and founder of the powerful Mughal Empire
 * Selim I
 * Mehmed II also known as Mehmed the Conqueror
 * Sharifa Fatima'''. Female Zaidi chieftain of Yemen who conquered Sana'a.

1500s



 * Humayun (Mughal King)
 * Akbar (Mughal King)At the end of his reign in, Mughal empire covered most of India.
 * Malik Ambar Ethiopian slave who became a General and challenged the might of the Mughal army and turned Marathas into guerillas
 * Sayyed Mahmud Khan Commander in chief of the Mughal Empire.
 * Sher Shah Sur Founder the short-lived Sur Dynasty.
 * Isa Khan Niazi Commander of Sher Shah Suri.
 * Tahmasp I Ensured the survival of the Saffavids of Persia.
 * Suleiman the Magnificent
 * Jehangir Real name Prince Salim

1600s

 * Shah Jahan Ruler of the Mughal Empire 1628 - 1658
 * Aurangzeb 6th Mughal Emperor whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.

1700s

 * Hyder Ali - (1722–1782).
 * Imam Shamil, (1797–1871). An Avar (modern day Dagestan) who is considered both a political and religious leader for Chechens, Dagestanis, and Circassians.
 * Tipu Sultan. (1750–1799).also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore.He Fought Against British Empire and emprassed martyrdom in Seringapatam in 4 May 1799.
 * Syed Ahmad Shaheed Great Muslim of the sub-continent(Pak-India-Bangladesh)
 * Shah Ismail Shaheed
 * [ Nawab Najib Ud Doula]

1800s

 * Diponegoro. (1785-1855). A Javanese prince who opposed the Dutch colonial rule, during Java War (1825-1830)
 * Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi. (1797–1861). Most remembered for his role as a freedom fighter.
 * Abd al-Qādir al-Jazā'irī. (1808–1883). Algerian militant against the French occupation.
 * Mir Masjidi Khan (died 1841) Afghan resistance leader, during First Anglo-Afghan War
 * Bakht Khan, Indian Muslim commander during Indian war of independence
 * Husein Gradaščević, leader of Great Bosnian uprising
 * Muhammad Ahmad, (1844–1885). a Muslim religious leader and militant in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.
 * Omar Mukhtar, (1862–1931).
 * Nadir Shah, (aka Nadir Qoli Beg and Tahmasp-Qoli Khan). (1688–1747). A Shah of Iran and a military leader.
 * Bai Chongxi, (1893–1966). A Chinese General of the Republic of China (ROC).
 * Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-Karim al-Khattabi, (1882–1963). Berber leader fighting against the French and Spanish occupations in Northern Morocco.
 * Hakim Ajmal Khan
 * Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
 * Begum Hazrat Mahal, Indian Queen who fought for independence from the British
 * Syed Ahmad Shaheed Great Muslim of sub-Continent (Pak-India-Bangladesh)
 * Shah Ismail Shaheed ( 1779–1831) A great scholar of Islam and a warrior in the jihad proclaimed by Syed Ahmed Shaheed against the Sikhs kingdom in Punjab in 19th century.
 * Ma Zhan'ao, (1830–1886) Chinese Muslim Qing dynasty General
 * Ma Anliang, (1855–1920) Chinese Muslim Qing dynastyGeneral, then Republic of General
 * Ma Guoliang, Chinese Muslim Qing dynasty General
 * Dong Fuxiang, (1839–1908) Chinese Muslim Qing dynasty General
 * Ma Qianling, (1824－1909) Chinese Muslim Qing dynasty General
 * Ma Zhanshan, (1885–1950) Chinese Muslim Republic of China General

1900s

 * Faqir of Ipi-(born 1897, died 1960) Faqir of Ipi born Mirza Ali Khan was a Pashtun from today's North-Waziristan Pakistan, Federally Administrated Tribal Areas.The village of Ipi is located near Mirali Camp in North Waziristan Agency, Waziristan, from where the Faqir of Ipi started his guerrilla warfare against the British Empire throughout the 1930s and 1940s until the British departure in 1947.When he died in 1960, The Times of 20 April described him as "a doughty and honourable opponent... a man of principle and saintliness... a redoubtable organizer of tribal warfare....".The British also called him An Original Insurgent.
 * Karnal Sher Khan (1970–1999) -A Pashtun Soldier Of Pakistan Army and one of only 10 recipients of Pakistan's highest gallantry award, the Nishan-e-Haider for his actions during the Kargil Conflict with India in 1999.
 * Muhammad Ataul Ghani Osmani, is a Commander-in-Chief of the Bangladesh Armed Forces and led the Mukti Bahini during the Bangladesh Liberation War
 * Shamim Alam Khan, General, 1938-, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Pakistan
 * Sudirman, (1916–1950)
 * Abdul Haris Nasution
 * Jamal Abdel Nasser
 * King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud - Founder of modern Saudi Arabia
 * Noor Inayat Khan, intelligence operative for the British in WWII
 * Mohiuddin Jahangir, recipient of Bir Sreshtho
 * Raja Aziz Bhatti, recipient of Nishan-e-Haider (A Soldier of Pakistan martyred in the Pak-Indo war 1965)
 * Major Tufail Muhammad Shaheed, recipient of Nishan-e-Haider
 * Rashid Minhas Shaheed, recipient of Nishan-e-Haider
 * Captain Muhammad Sarwar Shaheed, recipient of Nishan-e-Haider.
 * Khaled Mosharraf, leading Sector Commander during the Bangladesh Liberation War
 * K M Shafiullah, Chief of Army Staff of the Bangladesh Army
 * Nur Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force
 * A. K. Khandker, first Chief of Staff of the Bangladesh Air Force
 * Muhammad Mahmood Alam, air commodore of the Pakistan Air Force
 * Hamidur Rahman, recipient of Bir Sreshtho
 * Ahmed Shah Massoud
 * Ayub Khan Military ruler of Pakistani Government.


 * Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni
 * Hasan Salama
 * Saad El Shazly, Egyptian Chief of Staff during the Yom Kippur War
 * Abdullah el Tell, Jordanian Military Governor of Jerusalem 1948.
 * Ahmad Ismail Ali, Commander-in-Chief of Egypt's army during the Yom Kippur War
 * Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy, Director of operations for all forces participating in the 1973 Yom Kippur War
 * Abdul Munim Riad, Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces
 * Mohammed Aly Fahmy, Commander of the Egyptian Air Defense Command during the Yom Kippur War
 * Abdul Munim Wassel, Commander of the Egyptian 3rd Army during the Yom Kippur War
 * Abd-Al-Minaam Khaleel, Commander of the Egyptian 2nd Army during the Yom Kippur War
 * Abdul Hamid, Indian soldier
 * Atif Dudaković, general of Bosnia-Herzegovina Army
 * Afsir Karim, Major General of the Indian Army,
 * Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, the "Mullah" who fought imperialism in Somalia

Unclassified

 * Ali Sadikin
 * Sukarno
 * Tahir ibn Husayn
 * Muammar Gaddafi

Muslim warriors
The following Muslim warrior and soldiers, while not in significant leadership positions, are still of particular note

1200

 * Abul Fida Ismail Ibn Hamwi - 1273