Sura Al Imran (Arabic: آل عمران‎, Sūratu Āl 'Imrān,"The Family of Imran")^[1] is the 3rd chapter of the Qur'an with two hundred verses.

Overview[link]

Imran in Islam is regarded as the father of Mary. This chapter is named after the family Imran (Amram), which includes Imran, Saint Anne, Mary, and Jesus. The chapter is believed to have been revealed in Medina and is either the second or third of the Medinan suras. Almost all of it also belongs to the third year of the Hijra with the possible exception of verse 61, which mentions Mubāhalah and therefore might have been revealed during the visit of the Najrān Christian deputation which was occurred in the 10th year of the Hijrah. This chapter primarily focuses on the departure of prophethood from the Mosaic dispensation. Another speculation^{[by whom?]} is that since the event of Mobahela is the highlight of this surah, Al Imran could very well refer to the progeny of Abu Talib ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib, whose real name was Imran.

Ayah 7 exegesis[link]

Verse 7 is notable for several reasons. It states that:

1. Some Qur'anic verses are to be understood by others
2. Some verses are allegorical
3. It includes a disclaimer against misrepresenting the allegorical verses as factual.
4. It states that a set of people are to be consulted, those firmly rooted in knowledge.

Shi'a understand those firmly rooted in knowledge to be the Muhammad's household (Arabic: Ahl al-Bayt). Sunni understand them to the Muslim jurists (Arabic: ulema).

Translation[link]

هُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُّحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلاَّ اللّهُ وَالرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ كُلٌّ مِّنْ عِندِ رَبِّنَا وَمَا يَذَّكَّرُ إِلاَّ أُوْلُواْ الْأَلْبَابِ

3:7 He is the One Who has since sent to you, the Messenger [Sal'lallaa'hoalaih'wa'salam] the Book. Unitary verbal passages, who have the adjectival specification of "permanently erected fixtures" containing commands and injunctions of firm, established and universal application, are a subset of him/the Book. These are the Mother/Essence/ Main Purpose/Pivot of the Book. In addition, the other subset is such verbal passages that perform the act of mirroring invisible realities and facts through metaphorical presentations. Thereby/making it a pretext, as regards that type of people some atilt/deflection has since made home in whose hearts, thereby they keep pursuing that, which in itself was individually perceived as causing state of confusion, from him/the Book. They do so with the objective of self-distancing from people and self-pursuit of finding the physical manifestation and outcome of him/Book. Allah is the only, none else, Who fully knows the physical elucidation and manifestation and actual outcome of it/the Book; and [contrary to the people of tilted hearts/psyche] as for holders of in depth knowledge-true believers are concerned they keep saying, "We have consciously believed in that, the Book. This is all/entirely is from our Sustainer Lord". [True believers know/have knowledge of conviction that it is a fact from their Sustainer Lord-2:26]

مُّحْكَمَاتٌ is Passive Participle, feminine, plural, nominative; [Form-IV]- -اِحْكَامٌ Verbal Noun.

As against that مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ is Active Participle, feminine, plural, nominative; [Form-VI]- -تَشَابُهٌ Verbal noun.

الْكِتَابَ referring to Qur'aan is masculine.The pronouns are also masculine, referring to Book and not to آيَاتٌ which are feminine.

[For detailed study see 01. Surat Fateh "Word by Word Analysis"]

3:169 Take note that you should not consider in respect of those people who get murdered/slain in the way of Allah that they are dead bodies. They are not dead bodies, the fact of the matter is that they are alive. They people are continuously getting sustenance from their Sustainer Lord. [3:169, read with 2:154]

Verses 65-68: Warning to the Christans and the Jews[link]

"O People of the Scripture, why do you argue about Abraham while the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed until after him? Then will you not reason?

Here you are - those who have argued about that of which you have [some] knowledge, but why do you argue about that of which you have no knowledge? And Allah knows, while you know not.

Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, a Muslim [submitting to Allah ]. And he was not of the polytheists.

Indeed, the most worthy of Abraham among the people are those who followed him [in submission to Allah ] and this prophet, and those who believe [in his message]. And Allah is the ally of the believers."

Verse 85: Warning to other religions other than the Islam[link]

"And whoever desires other than submission (Islam) as religion - never will it be accepted from him, and he, in the Hereafter, will be among the losers."

See also[link]

Aale Imran, 7 House of Imran

External links[link]

• Surah Ala-Imran (Flash)
• Ali-Imran at Quran.com

References[link]

Ali Imran (Urdu: علی عمران) is a fictional character in various Urdu language detective novels written by Asrar Ahmed under the pseudonym of Ibn-e-Safi. He serves as the titular protagonist in the Imran Series novels. He is usually referred to only by his last name in the context of the novels.

Imran is written out as a bright and young Oxford graduate, holding both a master's degree and a doctorate in chemistry. Although being highly inquisitive and trained in the matters of criminology, Imran is portrayed rather as showing clumsiness at times to hide the fact that he is a spymaster for a special branch of secret service spy operatives working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Like Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther, this facet of his personality serves also as comic relief throughout the novel series and teems the extreme morbidity and ruthlessness espionage with decent humour.

Biography of Ali Imran[link]

Early years[link]

Like James Bond, Ali Imran is also an ageless character. He is described to be in his late twenties in earlier novels, and in some later books, early thirties.

Imran's childhood was briefly described by Ibn-e-Safi in one of the novels, Dr. Duago, when he was stating the reasons for Imran's paradoxical personality. Imran's mother was a pious Muslim lady, who wanted to see her son following the religion as well. However, Imran's father, Mr. Karam Rahman (who was also the director general of the Intelligence Bureau's detective unit), chose an American Christian missionary school for his early education. The contradictory teachings of his mother and his school transformed Imran's personality in such a twisted manner that after getting initially confused, he started ridiculing almost everything. Also, due to the strict and dictatorial personality of Karam Rahman, Imran started living a dual personality from his childhood, acting differently at home and in the outside world.

It is often told in the novels that Imran's family is Pashtun and descendant of Genghis Khan. See also: Family of Ali Imran

Time in London[link]

After completing high school, Imran was sent to London to live with one of Mr. Rahman's English friends, who was a police officer. That friend urged Imran to study criminology, and even provided him with some cases for practical experience. It was during this time that Imran first met the Chinese criminal mastermind, "Sing Hee", and defeated a gangster named McLawrence, who had terrorized London.The entire story is mentioned in Imran Series novel Lashon ka Bazaar.^[1]

Imran returned to his homeland (believed to be Pakistan, although never explicitly stated by Ibn-e-Safi) after earning M.Sc. and D.Sc. degrees in chemistry.

Start of crime fighting career[link]

Mr. Rahman wanted Imran to join a local university as a professor after his return from London, but Imran flatly refused. After some time, he became friends with Captain Fayyaz, who was a subordinate of Mr. Rahman. Imran started helping Fayyaz in some of his cases, which boosted Fayyaz's profile, and also made some higher officials notice Imran's skills. This led to Imran's appointment as "officer on special duties" in his own father's department. Mr. Rahman was infuriated at first, but couldn't object because Imran was being recommended by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In Bhayanak Aadmi (Imran Series no. 4), Imran dealt with a mysterious smuggler of Shadab Nagar in his own style, which was dismissed by Mr. Rahman as a "non-detective, scoundrelly approach". Imran had also brought with him an Anglo-Burmese girl, Roshi, from Shadab Nagar. This annoyed Mr. Rahman so much that he forced Imran to resign and ordered him to leave the house.^[2]

Imran moved into a flat (which was previously illegally confiscated by Captain Fayyaz), and together with Roshi, opened a private detective agency, disguised as a "Divorce Bureau", since the law didn't allow any private detectives.

Secret Service[link]

Sir Sultan, who was a secretary in Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a friend of Mr. Rahman, used to highly acknowledge Imran's abilities, and once requested for his aid in getting rid of a blackmailer. After Imran successfully helped him out, he offered to Imran the position of chief officer (X-2) in the ministry's secret service, which Imran accepted.^[3]

Imran's role as X-2 is in complete contrast to his apparent personality. As Ali Imran, he acts as an opportunist, becoming either a police informer or a blackmailer according to the situation's needs. He also works as an informant and a mere "outside agent" for the Secret Service, and is almost always made fun of by other Secret Service members. However, as X-2, he is feared by the same Secret Service members, who do not know the identity of their chief officer, and have only heard his voice over the telephone or a transmitting device. The voice of X-2 is different from the voice of Ali Imran. The members of Secret Service follow X-2's orders almost religiously, scared of any punishment that he may give if they disobey him. Only three other people know Imran's position as X-2, and those include Sir Sultan, Roshi, and Tahir/Black Zero (a Secret Service member whose duty was to pose as X-2 in Imran's absence).

Imran's adventures as X-2 included (among others) the thwarting of many espionage attempts, discovering of spies within national institutions, stopping a civil war conspiracy, and encounters with Zeroland (an international, mysterious, and highly resourceful "nation" of criminals). He was considered a "specialist" of Zeroland, having obtained high knowledge of its hierarchy, operations, and scientific advancements. Imran also had to deal with double crossing foreign agents, who conspired to reveal the identity of X-2.

As X-2, Imran reports directly to Sir Sultan, or to the Head of the State.

Description and personal life[link]

In the books, Ali Imran has frequently been described as young, good looking and having a strong, athletic body, but also with a perpetual demeanor of foolishness showing constantly on his face. Sometimes, the words "gorgeous moron" have been used to state his presence. He also dresses in an eccentric manner, referred to by Ibn-e-Safi as his "technicolor" outfit. For example, Imran may wear a pink coat, with a light green shirt, a yellow necktie, white pants, and a purple flat hat with a red rose in it. However, at times when the need arises, he wears proper and expensive suits. Imran's foolish acts have often described by Ibn-e-Safi to be his second nature and completely without any fabrication. In Imran's own words, he is a "fool of 1st degree" in times of peace.^[4]

Imran lives in a modest flat that he obtained through Captain Fayyaz. However, in later books, Mr. Rahman referred to that flat as his own property.

Imran's household staff include his cook, Sulaiman, and Joseph Mugonda, Imran's black bodyguard. In later novels, Sulaiman gets married to a girl named Gul-Rukh and they both live with Imran.

Personality traits[link]

Imran possesses a sharp wit, which when combined with his intelligence and foolish sense of humor, often leads to interesting conversations. He rarely shuts up, annoying all others around him, even in the face of grave circumstances. He is sometimes stated to be an expert in enraging even the most serene of people.

Imran has often shown a certain disregard towards rules, and does break them if doing so is to his own advantage. It was due to his non-conformity to rules that Mr. Rahman demanded his resignation after he dealt with the smuggler of Shadab Nagar. However, Imran does not override the law and respects its authority, showing yet another side of his paradoxical personality.

Due to Imran's apparently vulnerable nature and handsome looks, women quickly develop a crush on him, but most of the time, Imran uses them to achieve his own goals and offers nothing but a cold shoulder. He is mostly unmoved by the charms of the fairer sex (just like Colonel Faridi), but has been shown to develop some affectionate feelings of friendship towards some of the women he had encountered, notably, Roshi and Mariana (during the Ad Lava series). Juliana Fitzwater, the only female member of Secret Service, has shown romantic feelings towards Imran on numerous occasions. Theresia Bumble Bee of Bohemia (T3B), who is one of the main antagonists of Imran Series and chief of the Zeroland, also has a huge crush on Imran, and Imran often flirts with her. However, being an extremely beautiful woman, Theresia once made Imran "aware of the existence of the most delicate portions of his mind" when she appeared before him without any disguise and makeup.^[5]

Imran is fiercely patriotic and protecting his country from foreign spies and threats is his top priority. It is his this personality trait that makes him highly ruthless in the line of his duty. At times, Imran had also dropped his comical nature and acted in a cold and serious manner, intimidating other Secret Service members to an extent that they followed his lead silently without any objection. This was specially evident during Secret Service's adventure in the tribal area of Shikral.^[6]

Mostly, Imran likes working alone, though he keeps in contact with his subordinates, either as X-2 or as Imran.

Skills and abilities[link]

Intelligence[link]

Despite his foolish exterior, Imran is a quick thinker and a demon planner. He often comes up with clever and prompt solutions to different problems, and concludes correctly about various aspects of a case. He is also an expert con-artist, and uses his sharp tongue and comical personality to squeeze the required information out of other people.

Combat[link]

Imran can handle himself in hand to hand combat easily and rarely gets beaten up by others. His style of fighting is often described as playful, with his face calm and his actions and movements smooth and under his control. In some novels, it is revealed that he practised Judo and other martial arts. Sometimes, he acted in a cowardly manner during a fight to give his opponent a false sense of superiority and then used it to his advantage.

Imran can also handle a great array of weapons competently. He once used a wooden stick to defend himself against opponents armed with spears.^[7] He also judged at another time that a gun was not loaded by feeling its weight.^[7]

Imran is also proficient in the Sing Art, the technique of literally dodging bullets by judging the hand movements of the attacker, and moving sharply. The Sing Art was devised by Sing Hee, who performed it in front of Imran during his student years in London. Imran asked Sing to perform it again five times, and being a quick learner, was able to grasp the technique.^[1] Sing, initially stunned at Imran's brilliance, then declared Imran to be his nephew in the cunning arts, while Imran started calling Sing his "uncle". The Sing Art, however, works only if the attacker is single and is firing a single shot at a time.

Linguistics[link]

Imran is a fluent speaker in many languages, including Urdu and almost all the regional ones. Foreign languages that he is shown to be fluent in include English, Arabic, Persian, Swahili, Shakrali (a fictional language in the series), Tamil, Hindi, French, Russian, Greek, Italian, Spanish, and German.^[1] He is also capable of assuming native accents. It is not stated when or how he learnt all of them, but it can be assumed that most of these were learnt by him during his time in London.

Footnotes[link]

See also[link]

Novels portal

• Ibn-e-Safi
• Imran Series
• Tiger (Rizwan)
• Family of Ali Imran
• Secret Service members in Imran Series
• Other Important Characters of Imran Series
• Villains of Imran Series
• Download & Read in a PDF Format

External links[link]

• Character of Ali Imran

Saud al-Shuraim سعود الشريم
Saud ash-Shuraim
Born	January 19, 1964 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Occupation	Imam, Professor, Judge, Qari'
Religion	Sunni Islam
Children	2 sons 1 daughter

Saud bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad al-Shuraim (Arabic: سعود بن ابراهيم بن محمد الشريم،, born on January 19, 1964) is one of the Imams and khateeb of the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) in Makkah. He holds a doctorate (Ph.D) and is a Professor of Sharia and Islamic studies at the Umm al-Qura University in Makkah, and was recently appointed as a Dean and "Specialist Professor in Fiqh" at the University.^[1]

He is also known as a researcher in fiqh, a judge, and a writer who has composed many books on aqeedah, fiqh, and Arabic poetry. Due to his position, rank, and love among Muslims, his voice has been widely recorded and is internationally distributed by various mediums.^[2][3]

Shuraim is most famously and notably known among Muslims for leading the Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan in Makkah since 1991, and for his deep voice and smooth Quranic recitation style in accordance with the rules of tajweed.^[4]

Short Biography[link]

Al-Shuraim studied elementary at Areen schools, then middle school at the Modern schools then high school at Al Yarmouk North. During the last years of his secondary school he became a hafiz of the Quran. He graduated from his high school in 1983, then went to the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, from where he graduated in 1988. The following year, in 1989, he went on to the "Ma'had Al-'aali Lilqadhah" institute and received a Masters degree in 1992.

In 1991, he was made Imam and Khateeb of Masjid al-Haram by the order of Custodian of the Two Holy Harams, King Fahad Bin Abd Al-Aziz Al-Saud. In 1992, by Royal order, he was appointed judge in the High court of Makkah. In 1993, the High approval was made for him to teach in the Holy Masjid. In 1995, he pursued the Doctorate degree in the Umm al-Qura University of Makkah. He has since been serving as a professor at the Umm al-Qura University in Makkah. In recent years he has been the dean of the faculty of "Shari'ah and Islamic Studies". In June 2010, he was promoted from the rank of professor to the specialist professor in fiqh by the president of the university Dr. Bakri bin Mat'ooq.^[1]

Family[link]

Sa'ud ash-Shuraim's family is from the Haraqees of the Banu Zayd tribe of Saudi Arabia. He was married in 1992 and he has 2 sons and 1 daughter.

In a rare interview with the Al-Watan newspaper, when asked about his wife's role in his success, Saud Ash-Shuraim memorably stated,

"Before I say something about my wife, I can’t forget my mother’s love and mercy for me in my childhood and youth as well; As she raised me in orphanage in childhood... her love is a tonic for me. May Allah shower His mercy upon her as she did with me when I was a child.
And as for my wife, she has proven herself to be the best companion for me in happiness and sorrow, she is there when I need her, cheers me up, and tries her best to lighten my sorrows. May Allah include this in her good deeds."^[5]

Honors and Appointments[link]

• 1991 - Made Imam and Khateeb of the Holy Mosque by King Fahd bin Abd al-Azeez al-Saud.
• 1992 - Appointed judge in the High court of Mecca.
• 1993 - Approved to teach in the Holy Mosque in Makkah (al-Masjid al-Haram)
• 1995 - Pursued a Doctorate degree in Umm Al-Qura University
• 2010 - Promoted to Specialist Professor as Dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Islamic studies Umm Al-Qura University
• 2011 - Commissioned as Dean of the Faculty of Judicial Studies and Regulations Umm Al-Qura University

See also[link]

• Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais

References[link]

External links[link]

• haramainrecordings.com - Recent recordings (audio / video) of Sa'ud Al-Shuraim from Masjid al-Haram
• shuraym.com - Unofficial Website of Imam Al-Shuraim]

v t e Recitors of the Holy Quran Sheikh Muhammad Rifat Sheikh Ali As-Suwaisy Sheikh Abdul Basit 'Abd us-Samad Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim Sheikh Mohamed Mahmoud Buheiri Sheikh Mishary bin Rashid Alafasy Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais Muhammad Farooq Yacine Eldjazairi Zakaria Badat Portal:Quran Portal:Islam

Sonakshi Sinha
Born	Sonakshi Sinha (1987-06-02) 2 June 1987 (age 25) Patna
Education	Fashion Designing course from SNDT, Mumbai
Occupation	Actress, Model
Years active	2010 - present
Parents	Shatrughan Sinha Poonam Sinha
Relatives	Luv Sinha and Kussh Sinha (brothers)
Website
www.sonakshisinha.net

Sonakshi Sinha (born 2 June 1987)^[1][2] is an Indian Bollywood actress and model. She is popular for her role of Rajjo in 2010 hit film Dabangg opposite Salman Khan. The film also marked her debut in the Hindi film industry.

Early life[link]

She is the daughter of actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha and Punam Sinha. She has two brothers, Luv Sinha and Kussh Sinha. Luv is also an aspiring actor. She studied fashion designing at SNDT in Mumbai.

Career[link]

Early career and film debut (2008–2011)[link]

Sinha started her career as a model and walked the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week 2008^[3] and then again in Lakme Fashion Week 2009.^[3] Sonakshi Sinha is also a fashion designer. She designed costumes for movie Mera Dil Leke Deko in 2005.

She made her acting debut in the 2010 film Dabangg co-starring Salman Khan. The film went on to become one of the highest grossing Bollywood films^[4]. Salman had seen her at a function engaging in dancing and offered her the role.^[5]. Speaking about it, she said that she had lost a weight of 30 kg over a period of two years in order to prepare for her character of a village girl by "a combination of proper diet and vigorous exercise". She also added that she had been "observing people and trying to pick up nuances" as a step of further preparation^[6]. She also featured as the cover girl of Indian edition of Maxim magazine for the month December 2010.^[7]

Although Sinha had no film release in 2011, she won quite a few awards for her debut. This included the Filmfare Award among others.

Breakthrough and initial success (2012–present)[link]

Sinha is expected to feature in a total of five films in 2012. They include, Rowdy Rathore, Joker, Lootera, Son Of Sardar and Dabangg 2, the sequel to her immensely successful debut film, Dabangg. Sinha has also been signed opposite her Rowdy Rathore and Joker co-star, Akshay Kumar for Once Upon a Time Again, the sequel to Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, set for release in 2013.

Sonakshi Sinha and Akshay Kumar starrer Rowdy Rathore released on Ist June 2012.Rowdy Rathore has got thumbs up from the critics.Sonakshi plays a lovable, charming yet impish character.^[8]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Provogue Selected Sonakshi Sinha as a new^[when?] Provogue Brand Ambassador at Yashraj Studio, Mumbai

Other Awards

• 2011: Aaj Tak Award for Best Debutante Actress; Dabangg^[22]
• 2011: Dadasaheb Phalke Awards for Best Debutant Actor - Female; Dabangg^[23]
• 2011: Bollywood Hungama Surfers Choice Movie Awards for Best Debut Actress; Dabangg^[24]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sonakshi Sinha

• Sonakshi Sinha at the Internet Movie Database

Imran Khan Niazi عمران خان نیازی
Personal details
Born	(1952-11-25) 25 November 1952 (age 59) Lahore, West Punjab, Dominion of Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Spouse(s)	Jemima Khan (1995–2004)
Children	Sulaiman Qasim Khan
Residence	Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Alma mater	Keble College, Oxford
Occupation	Politician Philanthropist Cricketer
Religion	Islam
Website	PTI

Imran Khan Niazi (Urdu: عمران خان نیازی; born 25 November 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics. Currently, besides his political activism, Khan is also a philanthropist, cricket commentator, Chancellor of the University of Bradford and Founder and Chairman Board of Governors of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre.

Arguably Pakistan's most successful cricket captain, Khan played for the Pakistani cricket team from 1971 to 1992 and served as its captain intermittently throughout 1982–1992.^[1] After retiring from cricket at the end of the 1987 World Cup, he was called back to join the team in 1988. At 39, Khan led his teammates to Pakistan's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. He has a record of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, making him one of eight world cricketers to have achieved an 'All-rounder's Triple' in Test matches.^[2] On 14 July 2010, Khan was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.^[3]

In April 1996, Khan founded and became the chairman of a political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice).^[4] He represented Mianwali as a member of the National Assembly from November 2002 to October 2007.^[5] Foreign Policy magazine has described him as "Pakistan's Ron Paul".^[6]

Through worldwide fundraising, he has also helped establish the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in 1996 and Mianwali's Namal College in 2008.

Family, education, and personal life[link]

Imran Khan was born in Lahore, the only son of Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, and his wife Shaukat Khanum.^[7] Although long settled in Mianwali in Punjab, the family were of Pashtun ethnicity and belonged to the Niazi Shermankhel tribe.^[8] A quiet and shy boy in his youth, Khan grew up with his four sisters in relatively affluent (upper middle-class) circumstances^[9] and received a privileged education. He was educated the Cathedral School in Lahore, the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he excelled at cricket, and at Aitchison College, Lahore. In 1972, he enrolled to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keble College, Oxford, where he graduated with a second-class degree in Politics and a third in Economics.^[10] Khan's mother hailed from the Burki family which had produced several successful hockey players,^[7] as also cricketers such as Javed Burki and Majid Khan.^[8] Early in life, Khan developed an interest in cricket, which is an extremely popular sport in Pakistan.

Marriage to Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith[link]

On 16 May 1995, Khan married Jemima Goldsmith, in an Islamic ceremony in Paris. A month later, on 21 June, they were married again in a civil ceremony at the Richmond register office in England, followed by a reception at the Goldsmiths' house in Surrey.^[11] . The marriage, described as "tough" by Khan,^[8] produced two sons, Sulaiman Isa (born 18 November 1996) and Kasim (born 10 April 1999).^[12] As an agreement of his marriage, Khan spent four months a year in England. On 22 June 2004, it was announced that the Khans had divorced because it was "difficult for Jemima to adapt to life in Pakistan".^[13] The marriage ended amicably. Imran has regular access to his children and his relationship with his ex-wife is friendly. Khan now resides in Bani Gala, Islamabad, where he built a farmhouse with the money he gained from selling his London flat. He grows fruit trees, wheat, and keeps cows, while also maintaining a cricket ground for his two sons, who visit during their holidays.^[8]

Cricket career[link]

Pride of Performance Award Recipient
Imran Khan was recipient of the Pride of Performance Award 1983
Presented by	Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Date	1983
Country	Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Khan made a lacklustre first-class cricket debut at the age of sixteen in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969–70), Lahore B (1969–70), Lahore Greens (1970–71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970–71).^[14] Khan was part of Oxford University's Blues Cricket team during the 1973–75 seasons.^[10] At Worcestershire, where he played county cricket from 1971 to 1976, he was regarded as only an average medium pace bowler. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan include Dawood Industries (1975–76) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975–76 to 1980–81). From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.^[2]

In 1971, Khan made his Test cricket debut against England at Birmingham. Three years later, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Nottingham for the Prudential Trophy. After graduating from Oxford and finishing his tenure at Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and secured a permanent place on his native national team starting from the 1976–77 season, during which they faced New Zealand and Australia.^[14] Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig, who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.^[2] His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world started to establish when he finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling contest at Perth in 1978, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.^[2]

As a fast bowler, Khan reached the peak of his powers in 1982. In 9 Tests, he got 62 wickets at 13.29 each, the lowest average of any bowler in Test history with at least 50 wickets in a calendar year.^[15] In January 1983, playing against India, he attained a Test bowling rating of 922 points. Although calculated retrospectively (ICC player ratings did not exist at the time), Khan's form and performance during this period ranks third in the ICC's All-Time Test Bowling Rankings.^[16]

Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He is also established as having the second highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 of the batting order.^[17] He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad. Khan retired permanently from cricket six months after his last ODI, the historic 1992 World Cup final against England at Melbourne, Australia.^[18] He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136 runs. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket, which made him the first Pakistani and world's fourth bowler to do so.^[2] In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score remains 102 not out. His best ODI bowling is documented at 6 wickets for 14 runs.

Captaincy[link]

At the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year-old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team from Javed Miandad. Recalling his initial discomfort with this new role, he later said, "When I became the cricket captain, I couldn’t speak to the team directly I was so shy. I had to tell the manager, I said listen can you talk to them, this is what I want to convey to the team. I mean early team meetings I use to be so shy and embarrassed I couldn’t talk to the team."^[19] As a captain, Khan played 48 Test matches, out of which 14 were won by Pakistan, 8 lost and the rest of 26 were drawn. He also played 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57 and ending one in a tie.^[2]

In the team's second match under his leadership, Khan led them to their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's.^[20] Khan's first year as captain was the peak of his legacy as a fast bowler as well as an all-rounder. He recorded the best Test bowling of his career while taking 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1981–82.^[2] He also topped both the bowling and batting averages against England in three Test series in 1982, taking 21 wickets and averaging 56 with the bat. Later the same year, he put up a highly acknowledged performance in a home series against the formidable Indian team by taking 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95. By the end of this series in 1982–83, Khan had taken 88 wickets in 13 Test matches over a period of one year as captain.^[14]

Imran Khan's test career bowling statistics

This same Test series against India, however, also resulted in a stress fracture in his shin that kept him out of cricket for more than two years. An experimental treatment funded by the Pakistani government helped him recover by the end of 1984 and he made a successful comeback to international cricket in the latter part of the 1984–85 season.^[2]

In 1987, Khan led Pakistan to its first ever Test series win in India, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England the same year.^[20] During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President Of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he announced his decision to rejoin the team.^[2] Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan to another winning tour in the West Indies, which he has recounted as "the last time I really bowled well".^[8] He was declared Man of the Series against West Indies in 1988 when he took 23 wickets in 3 tests.^[2]

Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting line-up, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to play in the top order along with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. At the age of 39, Khan scored the highest runs of all the Pakistani batsmen and took the winning last wicket himself.^[14]

Post-retirement[link]

In 1994, Khan had admitted that, during Test matches, he "occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam." He had also added, "Only once did I use an object. When Sussex were playing Hampshire in 1981 the ball was not deviating at all. I got the 12th man to bring out a bottle top and it started to move around a lot."^[21] In 1996, Khan successfully defended himself in a libel action brought forth by former English captain and all-rounder Ian Botham and batsman Allan Lamb over comments they alleged were made by Khan in two articles about the above-mentioned ball-tampering and another article published in an Indian magazine, India Today. They claimed that, in the latter publication, Khan had called the two cricketers "racist, ill-educated and lacking in class." Khan protested that he had been misquoted, saying that he was defending himself after having admitted that he tampered with a ball in a county match 18 years ago.^[22] Khan won the libel case, which the judge labelled a "complete exercise in futility", with a 10–2 majority decision by the jury.^[22]

Since retiring, Khan has written opinion pieces on cricket for various British and Asian newspapers, especially regarding the Pakistani national team. His contributions have been published in India's Outlook magazine,^[23] the Guardian,^[24] the Independent, and the Telegraph. Khan also sometimes appears as a cricket commentator on Asian and British sports networks, including BBC Urdu^[25] and the Star TV network.^[26] In 2004, when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan after 14 years, he was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive,^[27] while he was also a columnist for sify.com for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series.^[28] He has provided analysis for every cricket World Cup since 1992, which includes providing match summaries for BBC during the 1999 World Cup.^[28]

In November 2009 Khan underwent emergency surgery at Lahore's Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital to remove an obstruction in his small intestine.^[29]

Social work[link]

For more than four years after retiring from cricket in 1992, Khan focused his efforts solely on social work. By 1991, he had founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, a charity organisation bearing the name of his mother, Mrs. Shaukat Khanum. As the Trust's maiden endeavour, Khan established Pakistan's first and only cancer hospital, constructed using donations and funds exceeding $25 million, raised by Khan from all over the world.^[4] Inspired by the memory of his mother, who died of cancer, the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, a charitable cancer hospital with 75 percent free care, opened in Lahore on 29 December 1994.^[8] Khan currently serves as the chairman of the hospital and continues to raise funds through charity and public donations.^[30]

During the 1990s, Khan also served as UNICEF's Special Representative for Sports^[31] and promoted health and immunisation programmes in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.^[32]

On 27 April 2008, Khan's brainchild, a technical college in the Mianwali District called Namal College, was inaugurated. Namal College was built by the Mianwali Development Trust (MDT), as chaired by Khan, and was made an associate college of the University of Bradford (of which Khan is Chancellor) in December 2005.^[33] Currently, Khan is building another cancer hospital in Karachi, using his successful Lahore institution as a model. While in London, he also works with the Lord’s Taverners, a cricket charity.^[4]

Political work[link]

Imran Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in World Economic Forum

In 1996, Khan founded a political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which emphasized on anti-corruption policies.^[8][34] The newly formed party was unable to win a seat during the 1997 Pakistani general election.^[35] Khan supported General Pervez Musharraf's military coup in 1999,^[36] believing Musharraf would "end corruption, clear out the political mafias".^[37] According to Khan, he was Musharraf's choice of prime minister in 2002 but turned down the offer.^[38] The 2002 Pakistani general election were held in October across 272 constituencies. Khan anticipated doing well in the elections and was prepared to form a coalition if his party did not get a majority of the vote.^[39] He was elected from the NA-71 constituency of Mianwali and being the only party member to have secured a seat, PTI won only 0.8% of the popular vote. Khan, who was sworn in as an MP on 16 November,^[40] remained part of the Standing Committees on Kashmir and Public Accounts, and expressed legislative interest in Foreign Affairs, Education and Justice.^[41]

On 6 May 2005, Khan became one of the first Muslim figures to criticise a 300-word Newsweek story about the alleged desecration of the Qur'an in a U.S. military prison at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Khan held a press conference to denounce the article and demanded that Gen. Pervez Musharraf secure an apology from the American president George W. Bush for the incident.^[42]. In June 2007, the federal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr. Sher Afghan Khan Niazi and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) party filed separate ineligibility references against Khan, asking for his disqualification as member of the National Assembly on grounds of immorality. Both references, filed on the basis of articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution of Pakistan, were rejected on 5 September.^[43]

On 2 October 2007, as part of the All Parties Democratic Movement, Khan joined 85 other MPs to resign from Parliament in protest of the Presidential election scheduled for 6 October, which General Musharraf was contesting without resigning as army chief.^[5] On 3 November 2007, Khan was put under house arrest at his father's home hours after President Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan. Khan had demanded the death penalty for Musharraf after the imposition of emergency rule, which he equated to "committing treason". The next day, on 4 November, Khan escaped and went into peripatetic hiding.^[44] He eventually came out of hiding on 14 November to join a student protest at the University of the Punjab.^[45] At the rally, Khan was captured by students from the Jamaat-i-Islami political party, who claimed that Khan was an uninvited nuisance at the rally, and they handed him over to the police, who charged him under the Anti-terrorism act for allegedly inciting people to pick up arms, calling for civil disobedience, and for spreading hatred.^[46].

On 30 October, 2011, Imran Khan changed the political picture of the country by addressing more than 100,000 supporters, challenging the policies of the current government, calling this new change a "tsunami" against the ruling parties,^[47] followed by another successful public gathering in Karachi on 25 December, 2011.^[48] Since then Imran Khan has become a real threat for the current ruling parties and future political prospect in Pakistan. According to International Republican Institute (IRI)'s survey, Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tops the list of popular parties in Pakistan both at the national as well as provincial level, leaving Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peopleís Party (PPP) behind.^[49]

Ideology[link]

Khan's proclaimed political platform and declarations include: Islamic values, to which he rededicated himself in the 1990s; liberal economics, with the promise of deregulating the economy and creating a welfare state; decreased bureaucracy and the implementation of anti-corruption laws, to create and ensure a clean government; the establishment of an independent judiciary; overhaul of the country's police system; and an anti-militant vision for a democratic Pakistan.^[18][26][50]

Khan told Britain's Daily Telegraph, "I want Pakistan to be a welfare state and a genuine democracy with a rule of law and an independent judiciary."^[18] Other ideas he has presented include a requirement of all students to spend a year after graduation teaching in the countryside and cutting down the over-staffed bureaucracy in order to send them to teach too.^[51] "We need decentralisation, empowering people at the grass roots," he has said.^[52]

Criticism[link]

Khan had a child out of wedlock with Ana-Luisa White (Sita White).^[53] This was confirmed by a judgement of paternity rendered by a Superior Court of the State of California for the county of Los Angeles in favour of White^[54] wherein it was held that Khan was the father of a female child born on June 15, 1992.^{[55][56][not in citation given]} Khan did not challenge that judgement and in 2004 accepted the child as his daughter. He and his wife Jemima became the girls guardians.^{[57][58] [59] [60] [61]}

During the 1970s and 1980s, Khan became known as a socialite due to his "non-stop partying" at London nightclubs such as Annabel's and Tramp, though he claims to have hated English pubs and to never drink alcohol.^{[4][8][26][42]} He gained notoriety in London gossip columns for romancing young debutantes such as Susannah Constantine, Lady Liza Campbell and the artist Emma Sergeant.^[8]

Khan is often dismissed as a political lightweight^[45] and a celebrity outsider in Pakistan,^[19] where national newspapers also refer to him as a "spoiler politician".^[62] The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, has asserted that Khan is "a sick person who has been a total failure in politics and is alive just because of the media coverage".^[63] Political observers say the crowds he draws are attracted by his cricketing celebrity, and the public has been reported to view him as a figure of entertainment rather than a serious political authority.^[51]

Declan Walsh in The Guardian newspaper in England in 2005 described Khan as a "miserable politician," observing that, "Khan's ideas and affiliations since entering politics in 1996 have swerved and skidded like a rickshaw in a rainshower... He preaches democracy one day but gives a vote to reactionary mullahs the next."^[64] The charge constantly raised against Khan is that of hypocrisy and opportunism, including what has been called his life's "playboy to puritan U-turn."^[19] Political commentator Najam Sethi, stated that, "A lot of the Imran Khan story is about backtracking on a lot of things he said earlier, which is why this doesn’t inspire people."^[19]. He is also criticized for being a puppet of Pakistan's 'establishment'.^[65]

Awards and honours[link]

Khan in Germany

• Khan is featured in the University of Oxford's Hall of Fame and has been an honorary fellow of Oxford's Keble College.^[31]
• In 1976 as well as 1980, Khan was awarded The Cricket Society Wetherall Award for being the leading all-rounder in English first-class cricket.
• In 1983, he was also named Wisden Cricketer of the Year
• In 1983, he had received the President’s Pride of Performance Award
• In 1985, Sussex Cricket Society Player of the Year
• In 1990, Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year^[14]
• In 1992, Khan was given Pakistan's civil award, the Hilal-i-Imtiaz
• On 8 July 2004, Khan was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2004 Asian Jewel Awards in London, for "acting as a figurehead for many international charities and working passionately and extensively in fund-raising activities.^[66]
• On 7 December 2005, Khan was appointed the fifth Chancellor of the University of Bradford, where he is also a patron of the Born in Bradford research project.
• On 13 December 2007, Khan received the Humanitarian Award at the Asian Sports Awards in Kuala Lumpur for his efforts in setting up the first cancer hospital in Pakistan.^[67]
• On 5 July 2008, he was one of several veteran Asian cricketers presented special silver jubilee awards at the inaugural Asian cricket Council (ACC) award ceremony in Karachi.^[68]
• In 2009, at International Cricket Council's centennial year celebration, Khan was one of fifty-five cricketers inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.^[69]
• In 2011 he was given Jinnah award.

Writings by Khan[link]

Khan has published six works of non-fiction, including an autobiography co-written with Patrick Murphy. He periodically writes editorials on cricket and Pakistani politics in several leading Pakistani and British newspapers. It was revealed in 2008 that Khan's second book, Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan, had required heavy editing from the publisher. The publisher Jeremy Lewis revealed in a memoir that when he asked Khan to show his writing for publication, "he handed me a leatherbound notebook or diary containing a few jottings and autobiographical snippets. It took me, at most, five minutes to read them; and that, it soon became apparent, was all we had to go on."^[70]

Books

• Khan, Imran (1989). Imran Khan's cricket skills. London : Golden Press in association with Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-56349-9. 
• Khan, Imran & Murphy, Patrick (1983). Imran: The autobiography of Imran Khan. Pelham Books. ISBN 0-7207-1489-3. 
• Khan, Imran (1991). Indus Journey: A Personal View of Pakistan. Chatto & Windus. ISBN 0-7011-3527-1. 
• Khan, Imran (1992). All Round View. Mandarin. ISBN 0-7493-1499-0. 
• Khan, Imran (1993). Warrior Race: A Journey Through the Land of the Tribal Pathans. Chatto Windus. ISBN 0-7011-3890-4. 
• Khan, Imran (2011). Pakistan: A Personal History. Bantam Press. ISBN 0-593-06774-6. 

Articles

• Guardian comments, political and cricket commentary by Khan
• Telegraph columns, sports articles penned by Khan from 2000 to present
• We must address the root causes of this terror, Khan's editorial in the Independent following the 11 September attacks
• Benazir Bhutto has only herself to blame, Khan's 2007 editorial on Bhutto's return to Pakistan

In popular culture[link]

After the permission from him, Kaptaan is a biographical film about him.

References[link]