AN IQBAL CHRONOLOGY

1877 == Born in Sialkot, Panjab; father a tailor; large pious family, Kashmiri Brahman ancestry

1892 == Graduates from Scotch Mission High School, Sialkot
1892 == Parents marry him to Karim Bibi

1893 == Enters Scotch Mission College, in liberal arts course

1894(?) == Takes Dagh as his ustad, begins to send him verses by mail

1895 == Daughter, Mi'raj Begam (d. 1914), born to Karim Bibi
1895 == Passes Intermediate examination
1895 == Goes to Lahore, enters Government College

1897 == Receives B.A., second division; stands first in Arabic

1898 == Begins to study Philosophy with Prof. Thomas Arnold
1898 == After some study, appears for exams in law; but fails in Jurisprudence

1899 == Receives M.A. in Philosophy, third division; gets gold medal since he's the only successful candidate in Phil. at all
1899 == Becomes known in Lahore for his Urdu poetry
1899 == Son, Aftab Iqbal, born to Karim Bibi
1899 == Appointed Reader in Arabic, Oriental College, Lahore

1900 == Recites, or 'sings', his poem nālah-e yatīm (Orphan's lament) at Anjuman-e Himayat ul-Islam; receives tremendous acclaim, becomes instantly famous

1901 == Baby boy born to Karim Bibi, dies soon after birth
1901 == Applies for post as Extra Ass't Commissioner, rejected for eye defect

1901-05 == Publishes poems in 'Abd ul-Qadir's new journal 'Makhzan'; including the patriotic ones tarānah-e hindī (Indian song) (Oct. 1904), hindustānī bachchoñ kā qaumī gīt (Indian children's national song) (Feb. 1905), nayā shivālah (New Shiva-temple) (Mar. 1905); becomes well-known as a nationalist

1903 == Becomes Ass't Prof. of Philosophy and English Literature, Government College, Lahore
1903 == Publishes ʿilm ul-iqtisād , the first book in Urdu on economics

1905 == Goes to Europe: studies in London at Lincoln's Inn (law), Trinity Colleg e (B.A.); simultaneously prepares doctoral dissertation on 'The Development of Metaphysics in Persia' for University of Munich

1907 == Meets 'Atiyah Faizi, and begins close personal relationship with her
1907 == Awarded B.A. degree from Trinity College, Cambridge University
1907 == Awarded doctorate in philosophy by University of Munich

1908 == Qualifies as barrister-at-law, Lincoln's Inn
1908 == Dissertation published in London
1908 == Elected to Executive Committee, London Branch, All-India Muslim League
1908 == Returns from Europe; is offered academic positions, but gives up academia in favor of law for financial reasons

1909 == Marries(?) Sardar Begam; but has doubts about her based on anonymous letters; rejects her
1909 == Marries Mukhtar Begam
1909 == Takes a temporary professorship at Government College, in addition to law practice
1909 == In a letter to Munshi Ghulam Qadir Farrukh, he writes that contrary to his personal views, it may prove 'too difficult for the Hindus and the Muslims to forge a common policy' because their 'basic cultures' are different 'and the Muslims would not like to submerge their identity among the Hindu majority'; (M. ul-H. v.1, p. 94)

1910 == Keeps the notebooks which become 'Stray Reflections'
1910 == Composes tarānah-e millī (Song of the religious community) as a children's song

1911 == Recites shikvah (Complaint) at annual meeting, Anjuman-e Hidayat ul-Islam, Lahore; insists on speaking it taht ul-lafż though the audience demands singing in tarannum , because the subject is so important
1911 == Resigns from professorship, but continues to act as Examiner
1911 == Acquires an all-India reputation

1912 == 'Atiyah Faizi marries someone else (Faizi Rahman)

1913 == Recites javāb-e shikvah (Answer to the complaint) at a mushairah in Mochi Gate, Lahore
1913 == Re(?)marries Sardar Begam; lives with both women together

1915 == Publishes asrār-e ḳhvudī (Secrets of the self) (P)

1916 == Karim Bibi begins to live separately, supported by Iqbal (d. 1946)

1918 == Publishes rumūz-e be-ḳhvudī (Mysteries of selflessness) (P)

1919 == Elected General Secretary, Anjuman-e Himayat ul-Islam

1920 == 'The Secrets of the Self' (trans. of asrār-e ḳhvudī ) published in England by Reynold Nicholson of Cambridge University

1923 == Publishes payām-e mashriq (Message of the east) (P), a response to Goethes 'West-Ostlicher Divan'
1923 == Knighted by British Government

1924 == Resigns from Secretaryship of Anjuman
1924 == Publishes bāng-e darā (Sound of the bell) (U)
1924 == Mukhtar Begam dies of pregnancy complications and pneumonia
1924 == Son Javed Iqbal born to Sardar Begam

1926 == Elected to a Lahore seat in the new Punjab Legislative Assembly, begins active political involvement

1927 == Publishes zubūr ul-ʿajam (Persian psalms) (P)

1929 == Travels to Madras, delivers 'The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam', lectures to the Madras Muslim Association
1929 == Schoolchildren greet him in Hyderabad singing chīn-o-ʿarab hamārā from tarānah-e millī

1930 == Daughter Munirah born to Sardar Begam
1930 == Publishes 'The reconstruction of religious thought in Islam' (English), in which he declares the bāb-e ijtihād to be open again
1930 == Giving his Presidential Address to the Muslim League in Allahabad, speaks of the possibility of a separate Muslim state

1931 == Last known poetry recitation: masjid-e qurt̤ubah (Mosque of Cordoba), Jamia Millia, Delhi

1931-32 == Revisits England for Second and Third Round Table Conferences, travels extensively in Europe; visits Bergson in Paris; sees Spain; meets Mussolini in Rome; visits Egypt, Palestine

1932 == Giving his Presidential Address to the Muslim League, he declares his opposition to nationalism 'as it is understood in Europe'
1932 == Publishes jāved-nāmah (The book of eternity) (P), perhaps his favorite Persian work, with Miltonic overtones

1933 == Briefly visits Afghanistan, as part of a commission for educational reforms

1934 == Health deteriorates; ceases practicing law

1935 == Publishes bāl-e jibrīl (The wing of Gabriel) (U), his Urdu masterpiece
1935 == Sardar Begam dies
1935 == Granted pension by Navab of Bhopal

1935-36 == Visits Bhopal several times

1936 == Publishes zarb-e kalīm (The staff of Moses) (U)

1938 == Publishes armuġhān-e ḥijāz (Gift of the Hijaz) (U & P)
1938 == Dies in Lahore; buried next to Badshahi Masjid

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