He was the son of Ishaq ibn Kundaj, a Turkic strongman who had established himself, with sanction from the Abbasid court, as the ruler of Mosul in 879.
Ishaq ruled Mosul and parts of the Jazira almost uninterruptedly until his death in 891, when he was succeeded by Muhammad.
[1] Already in the next year, however, he was driven from Mosul by a rival strongman, Ahmad ibn Isa al-Shaybani.
The party crossed the Syrian Desert, losing a few to thirst, and arrived in Kufa, from where they sought asylum with al-Mu'tadid.
[7] In 903/4 Muhammad was among the leading officers in the campaigns against the Qarmatians, and in June 906 he led the army that drove them from the town of Hit.