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Muhammad Iqbal
محمد اقبال

Sir Allama Mohammad Iqbal
Born	November 9, 1877(1877-11-09) Sialkot, Punjab, British India
Died	21 April 1938(1938-04-21) (aged 60) Lahore, Punjab, British India
Era	20 century
Region	British India (now Pakistan)
Main interests	Urdu poetry, Persian poetry
Notable ideas	Two-Nation Theory, Conception of Pakistan
Influenced by Rumi, Aristotle, Ahmad Sirhindi, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson, Maulana Mohammad Ali, Thomas Walker Arnold, Hegel[citation needed]
Influenced Pakistan Movement, Indian independence movement, Khilafat Movement, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Israr Ahmed, Abul Ala Maududi, Khalilullah Khalili, Jawdat Said, Bahadur Yar Jung
Website	allamaiqbal.com

Sir Muhammad Iqbal (Urdu: محمد اقبال) (November 9, 1877 – April 21, 1938), also known as Allama Iqbal (Urdu: علامہ اقبال), was a philosopher, poet and politician^[1] in British India who is widely regarded as having inspired the Pakistan Movement. He is considered one of the most important figures in Urdu literature,^[2] with literary work in both the Urdu and Persian languages.^[1][2]

Iqbal is admired as a prominent classical poet by Pakistani, Indian and other international scholars of literature.^[3][4] Though Iqbal is best known as an eminent poet, he is also a highly acclaimed "Muslim philosophical thinker of modern times".^[1][4] His first poetry book, Asrar-e-Khudi, appeared in the Persian language in 1915, and other books of poetry include Rumuz-i-Bekhudi, Payam-i-Mashriq and Zabur-i-Ajam. Amongst these his best known Urdu works are Bang-i-Dara, Bal-i-Jibril, Zarb-i Kalim and a part of Armughan-e-Hijaz.^[5] Along with his Urdu and Persian poetry, his various Urdu and English lectures and letters have been very influential in cultural, social, religious and political disputes over the years.^[5] In 1922, he was knighted by King George V,^[6][7] giving him the title "Sir".^[8]

While studying law and philosophy in England, Iqbal became a member of the London branch of the All India Muslim League.^[4][5] Later, in one of his most famous speeches, Iqbal pushed for the creation of a Muslim state in Northwest India. This took place in his presidential speech in the League's December 1930 session.^[4][5] He was very close to Quid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.^[5]

Iqbal is known as Shair-e-Mushriq (Urdu: شاعر مشرق) meaning Poet of the East.^[9] He is also called Muffakir-e-Pakistan ("The Inceptor of Pakistan") and Hakeem-ul-Ummat ("The Sage of the Ummah"). In Iran and Afghanistan he is famous as Iqbāl-e Lāhorī (اقبال لاهوری‎ Iqbal of Lahore), and he is most appreciated for his Persian work.^[6] Pakistan Government had recognised him as its "national poet".^[4] His birthday (یوم ولادت محمد اقبال‎ – Yōm-e Welādat-e Muḥammad Iqbāl) is a Public holiday in Pakistan.^[10][11]

[edit] Biography

Iqbal was born in Sialkot, within the Punjab Province of British India (now in Pakistan).^[9] His ancestors were Kashmiri Pandits, the Brahmins of the Sapru clan from Kashmir who converted to Islam.^[12] In the 19th century, when Sikh were taking over rule of Kashmir, his grandfather's family migrated to Punjab. Iqbal often mentioned and reminisced about his Kashmiri Pandit Brahmin lineage in his writings.^[9]

Iqbal's father, Shaikh Noor Mohammad, was a tailor,^[13][14] not formally educated but a religious man.^[6][14] Iqbal's mother Imam Bibi was a polite and humble woman who helped the poor and solved the problems of neighbours. She died on November 9, 1914 in Sialkot.^[7] Iqbal loved his mother, and on her death he expressed his feelings of pathos in a poetic form elegy.^[6]

Who would wait for me anxiously in my native place?

Who would display restlessness if my letter fails to arrive?
I will visit thy grave with this complaint:
Who will now think of me in midnight prayers?
All thy life thy love served me with devotion—

When I became fit to serve thee, thou hast departed.^[6]

Iqbal was four years old when he was admitted to the mosque for learning the Qur'an, he learned the Arabic language from Syed Mir Hassan, his school teacher at Scotch Mission College in Sialkot, where Iqbal completed matriculation in 1893 and Intermediate with the Faculty of Arts diploma in 1895 from college of Sialkot.^{[9][7] [15]} The same year he joined Government College Lahore to study graduation and in 1897 he graduated in Bachelor of Arts with philosophy, English literature and Arabic as his subjects,^[9][7] and won the Khan Bahadurddin F.S. Jalaluddin medal as he stood first in Arabic class.^[7] He received Masters of Arts degree in 1899 from the same college and won the first place in Punjab University, Lahore.^[15]

In 1895, while studying Bachelor of Arts Iqbal had his first marriage with Karim Bibi, the daughter of a Gujrati physician Khan Bahadur Ata Muhammad Khan,^[7][14] through a arranged marriage.^[14] They had daughter Miraj Begum and son Aftab Iqbal.^[7] Later Iqbal's second marriage was with Sardar Begum mother of Javid Iqbal and third marriage with Mukhtar Begum in December 1914.^[7]

[edit] Higher education in Europe

Iqbal had great affection to Sir Thomas Arnold, a philosophy teacher at the college Lahore. Iqbal was influenced by Arnold's teachings and following that he traveled to Europe for his higher education in 1905.^[9] Iqbal qualified for a scholarship from Trinity College in Cambridge and obtained Bachelor of Arts in 1906, and in the same year he was called to the bar as a barrister from Lincoln's Inn.^[9] In 1907, Iqbal moved to Germany to study doctorate and earned PhD degree from the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich in 1908.^[9] Working under the guidance of Friedrich Hommel, Iqbal published his doctoral thesis in 1908 entitled: The Development of Metaphysics in Persia.^[16][17][18]

During Iqbal's stay in Heidelberg, Germany in 1907. His German teacher Emma Wegenast, taught him about Goethe's "Faust", Heine and Nietzsche. Iqbal had feelings for her, but no relationship developed.^[19] During his study in Europe, Iqbal began to write poetry in Persian. He prioritized it because he believed he had found an easy way to express his thoughts. He would write continuously in Persian throughout his life.^[9]

[edit] Academic

Iqbal took up an assistant professorship at Government College, Lahore, when he returned to India,^[19] but for financial reasons he relinquished it within a year to practice law. While maintaining his legal practice, Iqbal began concentrating on spiritual and religious subjects, and publishing poetry and literary works. He became active in the Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam,^[7] a congress of Muslim intellectuals, writers and poets as well as politicians. In 1919, he became the general secretary of the organisation. Iqbal's thoughts in his work primarily focus on the spiritual direction and development of human society, centred around experiences from his travels and stays in Western Europe and the Middle East. He was profoundly influenced by Western philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson and Goethe.^[6][19]

The poetry and philosophy of Mawlana Rumi bore the deepest influence on Iqbal's mind. Deeply grounded in religion since childhood, Iqbal began intensely concentrating on the study of Islam, the culture and history of Islamic civilization and its political future, while embracing Rumi as "his guide."^[6] Iqbal would feature Rumi in the role of guide in many of his poems. Iqbal's works focus on reminding his readers of the past glories of Islamic civilization, and delivering the message of a pure, spiritual focus on Islam as a source for socio-political liberation and greatness. Iqbal denounced political divisions within and amongst Muslim nations, and frequently alluded to and spoke in terms of the global Muslim community, or the Ummah.^[6][20]

Iqbal poetry has been translated into many European languages, at the time when his work was famous during the early part of the 20th century.^[4][21] Iqbal’s Asrar-i-Khudi and Javed Nama were translated into English by R A Nicholson and A J Arberry respectively.^[4][22]

[edit] Final years and death

The tomb of Muhammad Iqbal at the entrance of the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore.

A night view of the tomb.

In 1933, after returning from a trip to Spain and Afghanistan, Iqbal began suffering from a mysterious throat illness.^[23] He spent his final years helping Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan establish the Dar ul Islam Trust Institute at the latter's Jamalpur estate near Pathankot,^[24][25] an institution where studies in classical Islam and contemporary social science would be subsidised, and advocating the demand for an independent Muslim state. Iqbal ceased practising law in 1934 and he was granted pension by the Nawab of Bhopal. In his final years he frequently visited the Dargah of famous Sufi Hazrat Ali Hujwiri in Lahore for spiritual guidance. After suffering for months from his illness, Iqbal died in Lahore on 21 April 1938.^[5][9] His tomb is located in Hazuri Bagh, the enclosed garden between the entrance of the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort, and official guards are provided by the Government of Pakistan.

Iqbal is commemorated widely in Pakistan, where he is regarded as the ideological founder of the state. His Tarana-e-Hind is a song that is widely used in India as a patriotic song speaking of communal harmony. His birthday is annually commemorated in Pakistan as Iqbal Day, a national holiday. Iqbal is the namesake of many public institutions, including the Allama Iqbal Campus Punjab University in Lahore, the Allama Iqbal Medical College in Lahore, Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Allama Iqbal Open University, the Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, and Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town in Karachi. Government and public organizations have sponsored the establishment of colleges and schools dedicated to Iqbal, and have established the Iqbal Academy to research, teach and preserve the works, literature and philosophy of Iqbal. Allama Iqbal Stamps Society established for the promotion of Iqbaliyat in philately and in other hobbies. His son Javid Iqbal has served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Javaid Manzil was the last residence of Allama Iqbal.^[26]

[edit] Influences

[edit] Political

While dividing his time between law and poetry, Iqbal had remained active in the Muslim League. He did not support Indian involvement in World War I, as well as the Khilafat movement and remained in close touch with Muslim political leaders such as Maulana Mohammad Ali and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was a critic of the mainstream Indian National Congress, which he regarded as dominated by Hindus and was disappointed with the League when during the 1920s, it was absorbed in factional divides between the pro-British group led by Sir Muhammad Shafi and the centrist group led by Jinnah.^{[citation needed]}

In November 1926, with the encouragement of friends and supporters, Iqbal contested for a seat in the Punjab Legislative Assembly from the Muslim district of Lahore, and defeated his opponent by a margin of 3,177 votes.^[27] He supported the constitutional proposals presented by Jinnah with the aim of guaranteeing Muslim political rights and influence in a coalition with the Congress, and worked with the Aga Khan and other Muslim leaders to mend the factional divisions and achieve unity in the Muslim League.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Iqbal, Jinnah and concept of Pakistan

Ideologically separated from Congress Muslim leaders, Iqbal had also been disillusioned with the politicians of the Muslim League owing to the factional conflict that plagued the League in the 1920s. Discontent with factional leaders like Sir Muhammad Shafi and Sir Fazl-ur-Rahman, Iqbal came to believe that only Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a political leader capable of preserving this unity and fulfilling the League's objectives on Muslim political empowerment. Building a strong, personal correspondence with Jinnah,^[21] Iqbal along with Moulana Abdur Raheem Dard (Resident missionary of the Ahmadiyya movement in London) were influential forces in convincing Jinnah to end his self-imposed exile in London, return to India and take charge of the League.^[21] Iqbal firmly believed that Jinnah was the only leader capable of drawing Indian Muslims to the League and maintaining party unity before the British and the Congress:

"I know you are a busy man but I do hope you won't mind my writing to you often, as you are the only Muslim in India today to whom the community has right to look up for safe guidance through the storm which is coming to North-West India and, perhaps, to the whole of India."^[28]

The two men were quite similar though they had viewed things differently at some time — Iqbal believed that Islam was the source of government and society and Jinnah worked hard to get Muslims a part in government and state and had laid out an Islamic vision for Pakistan upholding the Islamic value of freedom of religion saying religion would have "nothing to do with the business of the state." Iqbal had backed the Khilafat struggle; Jinnah had dismissed it as "religious frenzy." And while Iqbal espoused the idea of Muslim-majority provinces in 1930, Jinnah would continue to hold talks with the Congress through the decade and only officially embraced the goal of Pakistan in 1940. Some historians postulate that Jinnah always remained hopeful for an agreement with the Congress and never fully desired the partition of India.^[29] Iqbal's close correspondence with Jinnah is speculated by some historians as having been responsible for Jinnah's embrace of the idea of Pakistan. Iqbal elucidated to Jinnah his vision of a separate Muslim state in a letter sent on June 21, 1937:

"A separate federation of Muslim Provinces, reformed on the lines I have suggested above, is the only course by which we can secure a peaceful India and save Muslims from the domination of Non-Muslims. Why should not the Muslims of North-West India and Bengal be considered as nations entitled to self-determination just as other nations in India and outside India are."^[27]

Iqbal, serving as president of the Punjab Muslim League, criticised Jinnah's political actions, including a political agreement with Punjabi leader Sir Sikandar Hyat Khan, whom Iqbal saw as a representative of feudal classes and not committed to Islam as the core political philosophy. Nevertheless, Iqbal worked constantly to encourage Muslim leaders and masses to support Jinnah and the League. Speaking about the political future of Muslims in India, Iqbal said:

"There is only one way out. Muslims should strengthen Jinnah's hands. They should join the Muslim League. Indian question, as is now being solved, can be countered by our united front against both the Hindus and the English. Without it, our demands are not going to be accepted. People say our demands smack of communalism. This is sheer propaganda. These demands relate to the defense of our national existence.... The united front can be formed under the leadership of the Muslim League. And the Muslim League can succeed only on account of Jinnah. Now none but Jinnah is capable of leading the Muslims."^[28]

[edit] Revival of Islamic polity

Iqbal's six English lectures were published first from Lahore in 1930 and then by Oxford University press in 1934 in a book titled The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam. Which were read at Madras, Hyderabad and Aligarh.^[20] These lectures dwell on the role of Islam as a religion as well as a political and legal philosophy in the modern age.^[20] In these lectures Iqbal firmly rejects the political attitudes and conduct of Muslim politicians, whom he saw as morally misguided, attached to power and without any standing with Muslim masses. Iqbal expressed fears that not only would secularism weaken the spiritual foundations of Islam and Muslim society, but that India's Hindu-majority population would crowd out Muslim heritage, culture and political influence. In his travels to Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, he promoted ideas of greater Islamic political co-operation and unity, calling for the shedding of nationalist differences.^[6] He also speculated on different political arrangements to guarantee Muslim political power; in a dialogue with Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Iqbal expressed his desire to see Indian provinces as autonomous units under the direct control of the British government and with no central Indian government. He envisaged autonomous Muslim provinces in India. Under one Indian union he feared for Muslims, who would suffer in many respects especially with regard to their existentially separate entity as Muslims.^[27] Sir Muhammad Iqbal was elected president of the Muslim League in 1930 at its session in Allahabad, in the United Provinces as well as for the session in Lahore in 1932. In his presidential address on December 29, 1930, Iqbal outlined a vision of an independent state for Muslim-majority provinces in northwestern India:^[5]

"I would like to see the Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan amalgamated into a single state. Self-government within the British Empire, or without the British Empire, the formation of a consolidated Northwest Indian Muslim state appears to me to be the final destiny of the Muslims, at least of Northwest India.^[5]

In his speech, Iqbal emphasised that unlike Christianity, Islam came with "legal concepts" with "civic significance," with its "religious ideals" considered as inseparable from social order: "therefore, the construction of a policy on national lines, if it means a displacement of the Islamic principle of solidarity, is simply unthinkable to a Muslim."^[30] Iqbal thus stressed not only the need for the political unity of Muslim communities, but the undesirability of blending the Muslim population into a wider society not based on Islamic principles. He thus became the first politician to articulate what would become known as the Two-Nation Theory — that Muslims are a distinct nation and thus deserve political independence from other regions and communities of India. However, he would not elucidate or specify if his ideal Islamic state would construe a theocracy, even as he rejected secularism and nationalism. The latter part of Iqbal's life was concentrated on political activity. He would travel across Europe and West Asia to garner political and financial support for the League, and he reiterated his ideas in his 1932 address, and during the Third Round-Table Conference, he opposed the Congress and proposals for transfer of power without considerable autonomy or independence for Muslim provinces. He would serve as president of the Punjab Muslim League, and would deliver speeches and publish articles in an attempt to rally Muslims across India as a single political entity. Iqbal consistently criticised feudal classes in Punjab as well as Muslim politicians averse to the League. He fell prey to Punjabi dominated Muslims of region. Muslims across Indian subcontinent opposed the idea of two nation theory. Many unnoticed account of Iqbal's frustration toward Congress leadership were also pivotal of visioning the two nation theory. He also wanted to prove that defeat of Muslim ummat can be at least saved in this region by dividing the societies within British India in the name of Islam.

[edit] Patron of The Journal Tolu-e-Islam

Iqbal was the first patron of the historical, political, religious, cultural journal of Muslims of British India. This journal played an important part in the Pakistan movement. The name of this journal is The Journal Tolu-e-Islam. In 1935, according to his instructions, Syed Nazeer Niazi initiated and edited, a journal Tolu-e-Islam^[31] named after the famous poem of Iqbal, Tulu'i Islam. He also dedicated the first edition of this journal to Iqbal. For a long time Iqbal wanted a journal to propagate his ideas and the aims and objective of Muslim league. It was Syed Nazeer Niazi, a close friend of his and a regular visitor to him during his last two years, who started this journal.^{[citation needed]} He also made Urdu translation of The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, by Sir Muhammad Iqbal.

In the first monthly journal of Oct. 1935, an article "Millat Islamia Hind" The Muslim nation of India was published. In this article Syed Nazeer Niazi described the political conditions of British India and the aims and objectives of the Muslim community. He also discussed the basic principles of Islam which were aims and objective of Iqbal's concept of an Islamic State.^{[citation needed]}

The early contributors to this journal were eminent Muslim scholars like Maulana Aslam Jairajpuri, Ghulam Ahmed Pervez, Dr. Zakir Hussain Khan, Syed Naseer Ahmed, Raja Hassan Akhtar, Maulvi Ghulam Yezdani, Ragheb Ahsan, Sheikh Suraj ul Haq, Rafee ud din Peer, Prof. fazal ud din Qureshi, Agha Muhammad Safdar, Asad Multani, Dr. Tasadaq Hussain, Prof. Yusuf Saleem Chisti.^{[citation needed]}

Afterward, this journal was continued^[32] by Ghulam Ahmed Pervez, who had already contributed many articles in the early editions of this journal. After the emergence of Pakistan, the mission of the journal Tolu-e-Islam was to propagate the implementation of the principle which had inspired the demand for separate Muslim State according to the Quran. This journal is still published by Idara Tolu-e-Islam, Lahore.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Literary work

[edit] Persian

Iqbal's poetic works are written primarily in Persian rather than Urdu. Among his 12,000 verses of poetry, about 7,000 verses are in Persian. In 1915, he published his first collection of poetry, the Asrar-e-Khudi (Secrets of the Self) in Persian. The poems emphasise the spirit and self from a religious, spiritual perspective. Many critics have called this Iqbal's finest poetic work^[33] In Asrar-e-Khudi, Iqbal explains his philosophy of "Khudi," or "Self."^[5][6] Iqbal's use of the term "Khudi" is synonymous with the word "Rooh" mentioned in the Quran. "Rooh" is that divine spark which is present in every human being, and was present in Adam, for which God ordered all of the angels to prostrate in front of Adam. One has to make a great journey of transformation to realize that divine spark which Iqbal calls "Khudi".^[5]

The same concept was used by Farid ud Din Attar in his "Mantaq-ul-Tair". He proves by various means that the whole universe obeys the will of the "Self." Iqbal condemns self-destruction. For him, the aim of life is self-realization and self-knowledge. He charts the stages through which the "Self" has to pass before finally arriving at its point of perfection, enabling the knower of the "Self" to become a viceregent of God.^[20]

In his Rumuz-e-Bekhudi (Hints of Selflessness), Iqbal seeks to prove the Islamic way of life is the best code of conduct for a nation's viability. A person must keep his individual characteristics intact, but once this is achieved he should sacrifice his personal ambitions for the needs of the nation. Man cannot realise the "Self" outside of society. Also in Persian and published in 1917, this group of poems has as its main themes the ideal community,^[20] Islamic ethical and social principles, and the relationship between the individual and society. Although he is true throughout to Islam, Iqbal also recognises the positive analogous aspects of other religions. The Rumuz-e-Bekhudi complements the emphasis on the self in the Asrar-e-Khudi and the two collections are often put in the same volume under the title Asrar-e-Rumuz (Hinting Secrets). It is addressed to the world's Muslims.^[20]

Iqbal's 1924 publication, the Payam-e-Mashriq (The Message of the East) is closely connected to the West-östlicher Diwan by the famous German poet Goethe. Goethe bemoans the West having become too materialistic in outlook, and expects the East will provide a message of hope to resuscitate spiritual values. Iqbal styles his work as a reminder to the West of the importance of morality, religion and civilization by underlining the need for cultivating feeling, ardour and dynamism. He explains that an individual can never aspire to higher dimensions unless he learns of the nature of spirituality.^[20] In his first visit to Afghanistan, he presented his book "Payam-e Mashreq" to King Amanullah Khan in which he admired the liberal movements of Afghanistan against the British Empire. In 1933, he was officially invited to Afghanistan to join the meetings regarding the establishment of Kabul University.^[19]

The Zabur-e-Ajam (Persian Psalms), published in 1927, includes the poems Gulshan-e-Raz-e-Jadeed (Garden of New Secrets) and Bandagi Nama (Book of Slavery). In Gulshan-e-Raz-e-Jadeed, Iqbal first poses questions, then answers them with the help of ancient and modern insight, showing how it affects and concerns the world of action. Bandagi Nama denounces slavery by attempting to explain the spirit behind the fine arts of enslaved societies. Here as in other books, Iqbal insists on remembering the past, doing well in the present and preparing for the future, while emphasising love, enthusiasm and energy to fulfill the ideal life.^[20]

Iqbal's 1932 work, the Javed Nama (Book of Javed) is named after and in a manner addressed to his son, who is featured in the poems. It follows the examples of the works of Ibn Arabi and Dante's The Divine Comedy, through mystical and exaggerated depictions across time. Iqbal depicts himself as Zinda Rud ("A stream full of life") guided by Rumi, "the master," through various heavens and spheres, and has the honour of approaching divinity and coming in contact with divine illuminations. In a passage re-living a historical period, Iqbal condemns the Muslim who were instrumental in the defeat and death of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula of Bengal and Tipu Sultan of Mysore respectively by betraying them for the benefit of the British colonists, and thus delivering their country to the shackles of slavery. At the end, by addressing his son Javid, he speaks to the young people at large, and provides guidance to the "new generation."^[20]

His love of the Persian language is evident in his works and poetry. He says in one of his poems:^[34]

گرچہ اردو در عذوبت شکر است

garche Urdū dar uzūbat shekkar ast

طرز گفتار دري شيرين تر است

tarz-e goftar-e Dari shirin tar ast

Translation: Even though in sweetness Urdu* is sugar – (but) speech method in Dari (Persian) is sweeter *

[edit] Urdu

Iqbal's first Urdu work, the Bang-e-Dara (The Call of the Marching Bell), was published in 1924 and is a collection of poetry written in three distinct phases of his life.^[20] The poems he wrote up to 1905, the year Iqbal left for England imbibe patriotism and imagery of landscape and includes the Tarana-e-Hind (The Song of India),^[19] popularly known as Saare Jahan Se Achcha and another poem Tarana-e-Milli (Anthem of the (Muslim) Community), The second set of poems date from between 1905 and 1908 when Iqbal studied in Europe and dwell upon the nature of European society, which he emphasized had lost spiritual and religious values. This inspired Iqbal to write poems on the historical and cultural heritage of Islamic culture and Muslim people, not from an Indian subcontinent but with a global perspective. Iqbal urges the global community of Muslims, addressed as the Ummah to define personal, social and political existence by the values and teachings of Islam.^[20]

Iqbal work mainly in Persian for a predominant period of his career and after 1930, his works were mainly in Urdu. The works of this period were often specifically directed at the Muslim masses of India, with an even stronger emphasis on Islam and Muslim spiritual and political reawakening. Published in 1935, the Bal-e-Jibril (Wings of Gabriel) is considered by many critics as the finest of Iqbal's Urdu poetry, and was inspired by his visit to Spain, where he visited the monuments and legacy of the kingdom of the Moors. It consists of ghazals, poems, quatrains, epigrams and carries a strong sense of religious passion.^[20]

The Pas Cheh Bayed Kard ai Aqwam-e-Sharq (What are we to do, O Nations of the East?) includes the poem Musafir (Traveler). Again, Iqbal depicts Rumi as a character and an exposition of the mysteries of Islamic laws and Sufi perceptions is given. Iqbal laments the dissension and disunity among the Indian Muslims as well as Muslim nations. Musafir is an account of one of Iqbal's journeys to Afghanistan, in which the Pashtun people are counseled to learn the "secret of Islam" and to "build up the self" within themselves.^[20] Iqbal's final work was the Armughan-e-Hijaz (The Gift of Hijaz), published posthumously in 1938. The first part contains quatrains in Persian, and the second part contains some poems and epigrams in Urdu. The Persian quatrains convey the impression as though the poet is travelling through the Hijaz in his imagination. Profundity of ideas and intensity of passion are the salient features of these short poems.^[20]

Iqbal's vision of mystical experience is clear in one of his Urdu ghazals which was written in London during his days of studying there. Some verses of that ghazal are:^[20]

At last the silent tongue of Hijaz has

announced to the ardent ear the tiding
That the covenant which had been given to the
desert-dwelles is going to be renewed
vigorously:
The lion who had emerged from the desert and
had toppled the Roman Empire is
As I am told by the angels, about to get up
again (from his slumbers.)
You the dwelles of the West, should know that
the world of God is not a shop (of yours).
Your imagined pure gold is about to lose it
standard value (as fixed by you).
Your civilization will commit suicide with its

own daggers.^[20]

[edit] English

Iqbal also wrote two books on the topic of The Development of Metaphysics in Persia and The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam^[20] and many letters in English language, besides his Urdu and Persian literary works. In which, he revealed his thoughts regarding Persian ideology and Islamic Sufism - in particular, his beliefs that Islamic Sufism activates the searching soul to a superior perception of life.^[20] He also discussed philosophy, God and the meaning of prayer, human spirit and Muslim culture, as well as other political, social and religious problems.^[20]

Iqbal was invited to Cambridge to participate in the conference in 1931, where he expressed his views to students and other audience.^[20]

"I would like to offer a few pieces of advice to the youngmen who are at present studying at Cambridge ...... I advise you to guard against atheism and materialism. The biggest blunder made by Europe was the separation of Church and State. This deprived their culture of moral soul and diverted it to the atheistic materialism. I had twenty-five years ago seen through the drawbacks of this civilization and therefore had made some prophecies. They had been delivered by my tongue although I did not quite understand them. This happened in 1907..... After six or seven years, my prophecies came true, word by word. The European war of 1914 was an outcome of the aforesaid mistakes made by the European nations in the separation of the Church and the State".^[20]

[edit] Iqbal and the West

Name plate of a street Iqbal-Ufer, Heidelberg, Germany, honored in the name of Iqbal.^[35]

Iqbal's views on the Western world were applauded by men including United States Supreme Court Associate Justice William O. Douglas, who said that Iqbal's beliefs had "universal appeal."^[36] In his Soviet biography N. P. Anikoy wrote:

"(Iqbal is) great for his passionate condemnation of weak will and passiveness, his angry protest against inequality, discrimination and oppression in all forms i.e., economic, social, political, national, racial, religious, etc., his preaching of optimism, an active attitude towards life and man's high purpose in the world, in a word, he is great for his assertion of the noble ideals and principles of humanism, democracy, peace and friendship among peoples.".^[36]

Others, including Wilfred Cantwell Smith, stated that with Iqbal's anti-capitalist holdings he was 'anti-intellect', because "capitalism fosters intellect".^[36] Professor Freeland Abbot objected to Iqbal's views saying that Iqbal's view of the West was based on the role of imperialism and Iqbal was not immersed enough in Western culture to learn about the various benefits of the modern democracies, economic practices and science.^[36] Critics of Abbot's viewpoint note that Iqbal was raised and educated in European way of life, and spent enough time there to grasp the general concepts of Western civilization.^[36]

[edit] Bibliography

Prose book

• Ilm ul Iqtisad-1903^[5]

Poetic books in Persian

• Asrar-i-Khudi-1915^[5]
• Rumuz-i-Bekhudi-1917^[5]
• Payam-i-Mashriq-1923^[5]
• Zabur-i-Ajam-1927^[5]
• Javid Nama-1932^[5]
• Pas Cheh Bayed Kard ai Aqwam-e-Sharq-1936^[5]
• Armughan-e-Hijaz (Persian-Urdu)-1938^[4][5]

Poetic books in Urdu

• Bang-i-Dara-1924^[5]
• Bal-i-Jibril-1935^[5]
• Zarb-i Kalim-1936^[5]

Books in English

• The Development of Metaphysics in Persia-1908^[4][5]
• The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam-1930^[4][5]

[edit] See also

• Muhammad Ali Jinnah
• Iblees Ki Majlis-e-Shura, a poem by Iqbal
• Iqbal bibliography
• Jagan Nath Azad
• List of Pakistani poets
• List of Urdu language poets

[edit] References

• Dr. Allama Mohammad Iqbal, the poet of the East
• Dr. Iqbal Society of North America
• A collection of some of his Urdu poems, hosted by Columbia University
• Sir Muhammad Iqbal
• The Thinker Poet of Islam
• Allama Muhammad Iqbal,Poems and Work
• Dr.Muhammad Iqbal is one of the most outstanding poets
• Iqbal’s pro-Kashmir approach highlighted
• Iqbal Philosopher, Poet, and Political leader
• Sir Alama Mohammad Iqbal (1877 . 1938)
• Iqbal-Encyclopedia Britannica.
• Mohammad Iqbal: A Voice of His People
• Iqbal and the story of Pakistan
• Inspiring philosopher- poet of Islam, Allama Mohamed Iqbal
• How Allama Iqbal Led The Decisive Reformation Of The Oppressed Muslims
• Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal and the Ahmadiyya Movement
• November 9 declared as holiday.
• Banks and National holiday November 9
• Allama Iqbal and English newspapers
• Allama Iqbal Day
• Allama Iqbal

[edit] Further reading

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Muhammad Iqbal

• Ayesha Jalal (1994). The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45850-1. 
• Ram Nath Kak (1995). Autumn Leaves: Kashmiri Reminiscences. India: Vitasta. ISBN 81-86588-00-0. http://www.koausa.org/Books/AutumnLeaves. 
• Mustansir Mir (2006), Iqbal, I.B. Tauris, ISBN 1-84511-094-3 
• Bruce Lawrence (2008), The Qu'ran, Grove Press, ISBN 0-8021-4344-X 
• Muhammad Munawwar. Iqbal-Poet Philosopher of Islam. ISBN 969-416-061-8. 
• Sailen Debnath, Secularism: Western and Indian, ISBN 978-81-269-1366-4, Atlantic Publishers, New Delhi
• V. S. Naipaul (1998). Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples. USA: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50118-5. 
• Annemarie Scimmel (1963), Gabriel's Wing: a study of the religious ideas of Sir Muhammad Iqbal, Leiden, Netherlands: E. J. Brill 

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Prophet Muhammad[1]
Common calligraphic representation of Muhammad's name
Born	Muḥammad ibn `Abd Allāh c. 26 April 570(570-04-26) Makkah, Arabia (present-day Mecca, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia)
Died	8 June 632(632-06-08) (aged 62) Yathrib, Arabia (present-day Medina, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia)
Cause of death	Illness (high fever)
Resting place	Tomb under the Green Dome of Al-Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia
Other names	See Names of Muhammad
Ethnicity	Arab
Religion	Islam
Spouse	Wives: Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (595-619) Sawda bint Zamʿa (619-632) Aisha bint Abi Bakr (619-632) Hafsa bint Umar (624-632) Zaynab bint Khuzayma (625-627) Hind bint Abi Umayya (629-632) Zaynab bint Jahsh (627-632) Juwayriya bint al-Harith (628-632) Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan (628-632) Rayhana bint Zayd (629-631) Safiyya bint Huyayy (629-632) Maymuna bint al-Harith (630-632) Maria al-Qibtiyya (630-632)
Children	Sons: al-Qasim, `Abd-Allah, Ibrahim Daughters: Zainab, Ruqayyah, Umm Kulthoom, Fatimah Zahra
Parents	Father: `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-Muttalib Mother: Aminah bint Wahb
Relatives	Ahl al-Bayt

Muhammad (c. 26 April 570 – 8 June 632;^[2] also transliterated as Mohammad, Mohammed, or Muhammed; Arabic: مُحَمَّد‎), full name: Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: مُحَمَّد بِن عَبْدَالله بِن عَبْد اَلْمُطَّلِب‎) was the founder of the religion of Islam.^{[3][n 1]} Born in 570 CE in the Arabian city of Mecca,^[4][5] he was orphaned at an early age and brought up under the care of his uncle Abu Talib. He later worked mostly as a merchant, as well as a shepherd, and was first married by age 25.^[6] Discontented with life in Mecca, he retreated to a cave in the surrounding mountains for meditation and reflection. According to Islamic beliefs it was here, at age 40,^[4][7] in the month of Ramadan, where he received his first revelation from God. Three years after this event Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "surrender" to Him (lit. islām) is the only way (dīn)^{[n 2]} acceptable to God, and that he himself was a prophet and messenger of God, in the same vein as earlier prophets.^[8][9][10]

Muhammad gained few followers early on,^[11] and was met with hostility from some Meccan tribes; he and his followers were treated harshly. To escape persecution, Muhammad sent some of his followers to Abyssinia^[12] before he and his remaining followers in Mecca migrated to Medina (then known as Yathrib) in the year 622.^[13] This event, the Hijra, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, which is also known as the Hijri Calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina,.^[13] After eight years of fighting with the Meccan tribes, his followers, who by then had grown to 10,000, conquered Mecca. Muhammad destroyed the symbols of paganism in Mecca^[14] and then sent his followers out to destroy all of the remaining pagan temples throughout Eastern Arabia.^[15][16] In 632, a few months after returning to Medina from his Farewell pilgrimage, Muhammad fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam, and he had united the tribes of Arabia into a single Muslim religious polity.^[17][18]

Muhammad is considered by Muslims and Bahá'ís to be a messenger and prophet of God.^[19] Muslims consider him the last law-bearer in a series of Islamic prophets,^{[n 3]} the restorer of the uncorrupted original monotheistic faith (islām) of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.^[20][21][8] The revelations (or Ayah, lit. "Signs [of God]")—which Muhammad reported receiving until his death—form the verses of the Quran, regarded by Muslims as the “Word of God” around which the religion is based. Besides the Quran, Muhammad’s life (sira) and traditions (sunnah) are also upheld by Muslims. They discuss Muhammad and other prophets of Islam with reverence, adding the phrase peace be upon him whenever their names are mentioned.^[22] While conceptions of Muhammad in medieval Christendom and premodern times were largely negative, appraisals in modern history have been far less so.^[10][23] His life and deeds have been debated and criticized by followers and opponents over the centuries.^[24]

[edit] Names and appellations in the Quran

The name Muhammad written in Thuluth, a script variety of Islamic calligraphy.

The name Muhammad means "Praiseworthy" and occurs four times in the Quran.^[25] The Quran addresses Muhammad in the second person not by his name but by the appellations prophet, messenger, servant of God ('abd), announcer (bashir)^{[Quran 2:119]}, witness (shahid),^{[Quran 33:45]} bearer of good tidings (mubashshir), warner (nathir),^{[Quran 11:2]} reminder (mudhakkir),^{[Quran 88:21]} one who calls [unto God] (dā‘ī),^{[Quran 12:108]} light personified (noor)^{[Quran 05:15]}, and the light-giving lamp (siraj munir)^{[Quran 73:1]}. Muhammad is sometimes addressed by designations deriving from his state at the time of the address: thus he is referred to as the enwrapped (al-muzzammil) in Quran 73:1 and the shrouded (al-muddaththir) in Quran 74:1.^[26] In the Quran, believers are not to distinguish between the messengers of God and are to believe in all of them (Sura Al-Baqara 2:285). God has caused some messengers to excel above others 2:253 and in Sura Al-Ahzab 33:40 He singles out Muhammad as the "Seal of the Prophets".^[27] The Quran also refers to Muhammad as Aḥmad "more praiseworthy" (Arabic: أَحْمَد‎, Sura As-Saff 61:6).

[edit] Sources for Muhammad's life

Muhammad being a highly influential historical figure, his life, deeds, and thoughts have been debated by followers and opponents over the centuries, which makes a biography of him difficult to write.^[10]

[edit] Quran

A folio from an early Quran, written in Kufic script (Abbasid period, 8th–9th century).

The Quran is the central religious text of Islam and Muslims believe that it represents the words of God revealed to Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel.^[24][28][29] Although it mentions Muhammad directly only four times,^[30] there are verses which can be interpreted as allusions to Muhammad's life.^{[10][n 4]} The Quran however provides little assistance for a chronological biography of Muhammad, and many of the utterances recorded in it lack historical context.^[31][32]

[edit] Early biographies

Next in importance are historical works by writers of the 3rd and 4th centuries of the Muslim era.^[33] These include the traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad (the sira literature), which provide further information on Muhammad's life.^[34]

The earliest surviving written sira (biographies of Muhammad and quotes attributed to him) is Ibn Ishaq's Life of God's Messenger written ca. 767 (150 AH). The work is lost, but was used verbatim at great length by Ibn Hisham and Al-Tabari.^[35][36] Another early source is the history of Muhammad's campaigns by al-Waqidi (death 207 of Muslim era), and the work of his secretary Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi (death 230 of Muslim era).^[33]

Many scholars accept the accuracy of the earliest biographies, though their accuracy is unascertainable.^[35] Recent studies have led scholars to distinguish between the traditions touching legal matters and the purely historical ones. In the former sphere, traditions could have been subject to invention while in the latter sphere, aside from exceptional cases, the material may have been only subject to "tendential shaping".^[37]

[edit] Hadith

In addition, the hadith collections are accounts of the verbal and physical traditions of Muhammad that date from several generations after his death.^[38] Hadith compilations are records of the traditions or sayings of Muhammad. They might be defined as the biography of Muhammad perpetuated by the long memory of his community for their exemplification and obedience.^[39]

Western academics view the hadith collections with caution as accurate historical sources.^[38] Scholars such as Madelung do not reject the narrations which have been compiled in later periods, but judge them in the context of history and on the basis of their compatibility with the events and figures.^[40] Although usually discounted by historians, oral tradition plays a major role in the Islamic understanding of Muhammad.^[24]

[edit] Non-Arabic sources

The earliest documented Christian knowledge of Muhammad stems from Byzantine sources. They indicate that both Jews and Christians saw Muhammad as a "false prophet". In the Doctrina Jacobi nuper baptizati of 634, Muhammad is portrayed as being "deceiving[,] for do prophets come with sword and chariot?, [...] you will discover nothing true from the said prophet except human bloodshed."^[41] Another Greek source for Muhammad is the 9th-century writer Theophanes. The earliest Syriac source is the 7th-century writer John bar Penkaye.^[42]

[edit] Pre-Islamic Arabia

Main tribes and settlements of Arabia in Muhammad's lifetime

The Arabian Peninsula was largely arid and volcanic, making agriculture difficult except near oases or springs. The landscape was thus dotted with towns and cities, two prominent ones being Mecca and Medina. Medina was a large flourishing agricultural settlement, while Mecca was an important financial center for many surrounding tribes.^[43] Communal life was essential for survival in the desert conditions, as people needed support against the harsh environment and lifestyle. Tribal grouping was encouraged by the need to act as a unit, this unity being based on the bond of kinship by blood.^[44] Indigenous Arabs were either nomadic or sedentary, the former constantly travelling from one place to another seeking water and pasture for their flocks, while the latter settled and focused on trade and agriculture. Nomadic survival was also dependent on raiding caravans or oases, the nomads not viewing this as a crime.^[45][46]

In pre-Islamic Arabia, gods or goddesses were viewed as protectors of individual tribes, their spirits being associated with sacred trees, stones, springs and wells. As well as being the site of an annual pilgrimage, the Kaaba shrine in Mecca housed 360 idol statues of tribal patron deities. Aside from these gods, the Arabs shared a common belief in a supreme deity called Allah^{[citation needed]} (literally "the god"), who was remote from their everyday concerns and thus not the object of cult or ritual.^{[citation needed]} Three goddesses were associated with Allah as his daughters: Allāt, Manāt and al-‘Uzzá. Monotheistic communities existed in Arabia, including Christians and Jews.^[47] Hanifs – native pre-Islamic Arab monotheists – are also sometimes listed alongside Jews and Christians in pre-Islamic Arabia, although their historicity is disputed amongst scholars.^[48][49] According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad himself was a Hanif and one of the descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham.^[50]

[edit] Life

[edit] Life in Mecca

Muhammad was born and lived in Mecca for the first 52 years of his life (570–622). This period is generally divided into two phases, before and after declaring the prophecy.

[edit] Childhood and early life

Muhammad was born in the month of Rabi' al-awwal in 570. He belonged to the Banu Hashim clan, one of the prominent families of Mecca, although it seems not to have been prosperous during Muhammad's early lifetime.^[10][51] The Banu Hashim clan was part of the Quraysh tribe. Tradition places the year of Muhammad's birth as corresponding with the Year of the Elephant, which is named after the failed destruction of Mecca that year by the Aksumite king Abraha who had in his army a number of elephants. 20th-century scholarship has suggested alternative dates for this event, such as 568 or 569.^[52]

Miniature from Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's Jami al-Tawarikh, c. 1315, illustrating the story of Muhammad's role in re-setting the Black Stone in 605.^[53]

Muhammad's father, Abdullah, died almost six months before he was born.^[54] According to Islamic tradition, soon after Muhammad's birth he was sent to live with a Bedouin family in the desert, as the desert life was considered healthier for infants. Muhammad stayed with his foster-mother, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, and her husband until he was two years old.^[6] Some western scholars of Islam have rejected the historicity of this tradition.^{[55][not in citation given]} At the age of six, Muhammad lost his biological mother Amina to illness and he became fully orphaned.^[6][56] For the next two years, he was under the guardianship of his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib, of the Banu Hashim clan, but when Muhammad was eight, his grandfather also died. He then came under the care of his uncle Abu Talib, the new leader of Banu Hashim.^[6][52] According to William Montgomery Watt, because of the general disregard of the guardians in taking care of weak members of the tribes in Mecca in the 6th century, "Muhammad's guardians saw that he did not starve to death, but it was hard for them to do more for him, especially as the fortunes of the clan of Hashim seem to have been declining at that time."^[57]

While still in his teens, Muhammad accompanied his uncle on trading journeys to Syria gaining experience in commercial trade, the only career open to Muhammad as an orphan.^[6][57] Islamic tradition states that when Muhammad was either nine or twelve while accompanying the Meccans' caravan to Syria, he met a Christian monk or hermit named Bahira who is said to have foreseen Muhammed's career as a prophet of God.^[58]

Little is known of Muhammad during his later youth, and from the fragmentary information that is available, it is difficult to separate history from legend.^[6][57] It is known that he became a merchant and "was involved in trade between the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea."^[59] Due to his upright character he acquired the nickname "al-Amin" (Arabic: الامين), meaning "faithful, trustworthy" and "al-Sadiq" meaning "truthful"^[60] and was sought out as an impartial arbitrator.^[5][10][61] His reputation attracted a proposal in 595 from Khadijah, a 40-year-old widow who was 15 years older than he. Muhammad consented to the marriage, which by all accounts was a happy one.^[6][59]

Several years later, according to a narration collected by Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad was involved with a well-known story about setting the Black Stone in place in the wall of the Kaaba in 605 C.E. The Black Stone, a sacred object, had been removed to facilitate renovations to the Kaaba. The leaders of Mecca could not agree on which clan should have the honour of setting the Black Stone back in its place. They agreed to wait for the next man to come through the gate and ask him to choose. That man was the 35-year-old Muhammad, five years before his first revelation. He asked for a cloth and put the Black Stone in its centre. The clan leaders held the corners of the cloth and together carried the Black Stone to the right spot, then Muhammad set the stone in place, satisfying the honour of all.^[62]

[edit] Beginnings of the Quran

The cave Hira in the mountain Jabal al-Nour where, according to Muslim belief, Muhammad received his first revelation.

Muhammad adopted the practice of meditating alone for several weeks every year in a cave on Mount Hira near Mecca.^[63][64] Islamic tradition holds that during one of his visits to Mount Hira, the angel Gabriel appeared to him in the year 610 and commanded Muhammad to recite the following verses:^[65]

Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-
Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-
He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-
Taught man that which he knew not.

—Quran, sura 96 (Al-Alaq), ayat 1-5^[66]

After returning home, Muhammad was consoled and reassured by Khadijah and her Christian cousin, Waraqah ibn Nawfal. Upon receiving his first revelations, he was deeply distressed and resolved to commit suicide.^[46] He also feared that others would dismiss his claims as being possessed.^[46] Shi'a tradition maintains that Muhammad was neither surprised nor frightened at the appearance of Gabriel but rather welcomed him as if he had been expecting him.^[67] The initial revelation was followed by a pause of three years during which Muhammad further gave himself to prayers and spiritual practices. When the revelations resumed he was reassured and commanded to begin preaching: "Thy Guardian-Lord hath not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased."^[68][69][70]

A depiction of Muhammad receiving his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. From the manuscript Jami' al-tawarikh by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, 1307, Ilkhanate period.

Sahih Bukhari narrates Muhammad describing the revelations as, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell" and Aisha reported, "I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)".^[71] According to Welch these revelations were accompanied by mysterious seizures, and the reports are unlikely to have been forged by later Muslims.^[10] Muhammad was confident that he could distinguish his own thoughts from these messages.^[72] According to the Quran, one of the main roles of Muhammad is to warn the unbelievers of their eschatological punishment (Quran 38:70, Quran 6:19). Sometimes the Quran does not explicitly refer to the Judgment day but provides examples from the history of some extinct communities and warns Muhammad's contemporaries of similar calamities (Quran 41:13–16).^[26] Muhammad is not only a warner to those who reject God's revelation, but also a bearer of good news for those who abandon evil, listen to the divine word and serve God.^[73] Muhammad's mission also involves preaching monotheism: The Quran commands Muhammad to proclaim and praise the name of his Lord and instructs him not to worship idols or associate other deities with God.^[12][26]

The key themes of the early Quranic verses included the responsibility of man towards his creator; the resurrection of dead, God's final judgment followed by vivid descriptions of the tortures in hell and pleasures in Paradise; and the signs of God in all aspects of life. Religious duties required of the believers at this time were few: belief in God, asking for forgiveness of sins, offering frequent prayers, assisting others particularly those in need, rejecting cheating and the love of wealth (considered to be significant in the commercial life of Mecca), being chaste and not to kill newborn girls.^[10]

[edit] Opposition

According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad's wife Khadija was the first to believe he was a prophet.^[74] She was soon followed by Muhammad's ten-year-old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib, close friend Abu Bakr, and adopted son Zaid.^[7][74] Around 613, Muhammad began his public preaching (Quran 26:214).^[75] Most Meccans ignored him and mocked him,^[12] while a few others became his followers. There were three main groups of early converts to Islam: younger brothers and sons of great merchants; people who had fallen out of the first rank in their tribe or failed to attain it; and the weak, mostly unprotected foreigners.^[76]

The last ayah from the sura An-Najm in the Quran: "So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him]." Muhammad's message of monotheism (one God) challenged the traditional order.

According to Ibn Sad, the opposition in Mecca started when Muhammad delivered verses that condemned idol worship and the Meccan forefathers who engaged in polytheism.^[12][77] However, the Quranic exegesis maintains that it began as soon as Muhammad started public preaching.^[78] As the number of followers increased, he became a threat to the local tribes and the rulers of the city, whose wealth rested upon the Kaaba, the focal point of Meccan religious life, which Muhammad threatened to overthrow. Muhammad’s denunciation of the Meccan traditional religion was especially offensive to his own tribe, the Quraysh, as they were the guardians of the Ka'aba.^[76] The powerful merchants tried to convince Muhammad to abandon his preaching by offering him admission into the inner circle of merchants, and establishing his position therein by an advantageous marriage. However, he refused.^[76]

Tradition records at great length the persecution and ill-treatment of Muhammad and his followers.^[10][12] Sumayyah bint Khabbab, a slave of a prominent Meccan leader Abu Jahl, is famous as the first martyr of Islam, having been killed with a spear by her master when she refused to give up her faith. Bilal, another Muslim slave, was tortured by Umayyah ibn Khalaf who placed a heavy rock on his chest to force his conversion.^[79][80] Apart from insults, Muhammad was protected from physical harm as he belonged to the Banu Hashim clan.^[12][81][82]

In 615, some of Muhammad's followers emigrated to the Ethiopian Aksumite Empire and founded a small colony there under the protection of the Christian Ethiopian emperor Aṣḥama ibn Abjar.^[10][12]

Muhammad desperately hoping for an accommodation with his tribe, either from fear or in the hope of succeeding more readily in this way, pronounced a verse acknowledging the existence of three Meccan goddesses considered to be the daughters of Allah, and appealing for their intercession. Muhammad later retracted the verses at the behest of Gabriel, claiming that the verses were whispered by the devil himself.^{[12][83][n 5]} This episode known as "The Story of the Cranes" (translation: قصة الغرانيق, transliteration: Qissat al Gharaneeq) is also known as "Satanic Verses". Some scholars argued against its historicity on various grounds.^[84] While this incident got widespread acceptance by early Muslims, strong objections to it were raised starting from the tenth century, on theological grounds. The objections continued to be raised to the point where the rejection of the historicity of the incident eventually became the only acceptable orthodox Muslim position.^[85]

In 617, the leaders of Makhzum and Banu Abd-Shams, two important Quraysh clans, declared a public boycott against Banu Hashim, their commercial rival, to pressure it into withdrawing its protection of Muhammad. The boycott lasted three years but eventually collapsed as it failed in its objective.^[86][87] During this, Muhammad was only able to preach during the holy pilgrimage months in which all hostilities between Arabs were suspended.^[88]

[edit] Isra and Mi'raj

The Al-Aqsa Mosque, part of the al-Haram ash-Sharif complex in Jerusalem, is believed to be the "farthest mosque" to which Muhammad travelled in his night journey. The al-Haram ash-Sharif is the third holiest place on earth for Muslims.^[89]

Islamic tradition relates that in 620, Muhammad experienced the Isra and Mi'raj, a miraculous journey said to have occurred with the angel Gabriel in one night. In the first part of the journey, the Isra, he is said to have travelled from Mecca on a winged steed (Buraq) to "the farthest mosque" (in Arabic: masjid al-aqsa), which Muslims usually identify with the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. In the second part, the Mi'raj, Muhammad is said to have toured heaven and hell, and spoken with earlier prophets, such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus.^[88][90] Ibn Ishaq, author of the first biography of Muhammad, presents this event as a spiritual experience whereas later historians like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir present it as a physical journey.^[90]

Quranic inscriptions on the Dome of the Rock, adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the al-Haram ash-Sharif. The Dome of the Rock marks the spot from which Muhammad is believed to have ascended to heaven.^[91]

Some western scholars of Islam hold that the oldest Muslim tradition identified the journey as one traveled through the heavens from the sacred enclosure at Mecca to the celestial al-Baytu l-Maʿmur (heavenly prototype of the Kaaba); but later tradition identified Muhammad's journey as having been from Mecca to Jerusalem.^[92]

[edit] Last years in Mecca before Hijra

Muhammad's wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib both died in 619, the year thus being known as the "year of sorrow". With the death of Abu Talib, the leadership of the Banu Hashim clan was passed to Abu Lahab, an inveterate enemy of Muhammad. Soon afterwards, Abu Lahab withdrew the clan's protection from Muhammad. This placed Muhammad in danger of death since the withdrawal of clan protection implied that the blood revenge for his killing would not be exacted. Muhammad then visited Ta'if, another important city in Arabia, and tried to find a protector for himself there, but his effort failed and further brought him into physical danger.^[10][87][88] Muhammad was forced to return to Mecca. A Meccan man named Mut'im b. Adi (and the protection of the tribe of Banu Nawfal) made it possible for him safely to re-enter his native city.^[10][87][88]

Many people were visiting Mecca on business or as pilgrims to the Kaaba. Muhammad took this opportunity to look for a new home for himself and his followers. After several unsuccessful negotiations, he found hope with some men from Yathrib (later called Medina).^[10] The Arab population of Yathrib were familiar with monotheism and prepared for the appearance of a prophet because a Jewish community existed there.^[10][13] They also hoped by the means of Muhammad and the new faith to gain supremacy over Mecca, as they were jealous of its importance as the place of pilgrimage.^[13] Converts to Islam came from nearly all Arab tribes in Medina, such that by June of the subsequent year there were seventy-five Muslims coming to Mecca for pilgrimage and to meet Muhammad. Meeting him secretly by night, the group made what was known as the "Second Pledge of al-`Aqaba", or the "Pledge of War"^[13][93] Following the pledges at Aqabah, Muhammad encouraged his followers to emigrate to Yathrib. As with the migration to Abyssinia, the Quraysh attempted to stop the emigration. However, almost all Muslims managed to leave.^[94]

[edit] Hijra

The Hijra is the migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. In September 622, warned of a plot to assassinate him, Muhammad secretly slipped out of Mecca, moving with his followers to Medina,^[13] 320 kilometres (200 mi) north of Mecca. The Hijra is celebrated annually on the first day of the Muslim year.

[edit] Migration to Medina

A delegation consisting of the representatives of the twelve important clans of Medina, invited Muhammad as a neutral outsider to Medina to serve as chief arbitrator for the entire community.^[95][96] There was fighting in Yathrib mainly involving its Arab and Jewish inhabitants for around a hundred years before 620.^[95] The recurring slaughters and disagreements over the resulting claims, especially after the Battle of Bu'ath in which all clans were involved, made it obvious to them that the tribal conceptions of blood-feud and an eye for an eye were no longer workable unless there was one man with authority to adjudicate in disputed cases.^[95] The delegation from Medina pledged themselves and their fellow-citizens to accept Muhammad into their community and physically protect him as one of themselves.^[10]

Muhammad instructed his followers to emigrate to Medina until virtually all his followers left Mecca. Being alarmed at the departure of Muslims, according to the tradition, the Meccans plotted to assassinate Muhammad. With the help of Ali, Muhammad fooled the Meccans who were watching him, and secretly slipped away from the town with Abu Bakr.^[13][97] By 622, Muhammad emigrated to Medina, a large agricultural oasis. Those who migrated from Mecca along with Muhammad became known as muhajirun (emigrants).^[10]

[edit] Establishment of a new polity

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Medina Charter

Among the first things Muhammad did to settle down the longstanding grievances among the tribes of Medina was drafting a document known as the Constitution of Medina, "establishing a kind of alliance or federation" among the eight Medinan tribes and Muslim emigrants from Mecca, which specified the rights and duties of all citizens and the relationship of the different communities in Medina (including that of the Muslim community to other communities, specifically the Jews and other "Peoples of the Book").^[95][96] The community defined in the Constitution of Medina, Ummah, had a religious outlook but was also shaped by practical considerations and substantially preserved the legal forms of the old Arab tribes.^[10] It effectively established the first Islamic state.

Several ordinances were proclaimed to win over the numerous and wealthy Jewish population. But these were soon rescinded as the Jews insisted on preserving the entire Mosaic law, and did not recognize him as a prophet because he was not of the race of David.^[13]

The first group of pagan converts to Islam in Medina were the clans who had not produced great leaders for themselves but had suffered from warlike leaders from other clans. This was followed by the general acceptance of Islam by the pagan population of Medina, apart from some exceptions. According to Ibn Ishaq, this was influenced by the conversion of Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (a prominent Medinan leader) to Islam.^[99] Those Medinans who converted to Islam and helped the Muslim emigrants find shelter became known as the ansar (supporters).^[10] Then Muhammad instituted brotherhood between the emigrants and the supporters and he chose Ali as his own brother.^[100]

[edit] Beginning of armed conflict

Following the emigration, the Meccans seized the properties of the Muslim emigrants in Mecca.^[101] Economically uprooted and with no available profession, the Muslim migrants turned to raiding Meccan caravans, initiating armed conflict with Mecca.^{[102][103][104]} Muhammad delivered Quranic verses permitting the Muslims to fight the Meccans (see sura Al-Hajj, Quran 22:39–40).^[105] These attacks allowed the migrants to acquire wealth, power and prestige while working towards their ultimate goal of conquering Mecca.^[106][107]