ation. He also cannot be represented in a picture
or statue, which is considered to be idolatry.
However, he can be partially known through the
Quran, which is his speech, and the “signs” he
provides in nature and the course of history. He
can also be known through his qualities, many
of which are described in the 99 names oF god.
Muslims through the centuries have nonetheless
sought to bridge the gap between God and cre-
ation with intermediary figures such as angels,
prophets, and saints. Among the Shia, imams
(revered descendants of Muhammad’s family)
play this role. An important part of the Islamic
mystical tradition understood the universe to be
the result of emanations of light from God, which
were embodied most fully by the perFect man.
Some mystics believed this to be the idealized
Adam or Muhammad and that those with true
spiritual insight might therefore come to know
God through this reality. Others anticipated a
mystical vision of God in the course of a spiritual
ascent or in the afterlife.
See also anthropomorphism; aya; Five pillars;
monotheism; prophets and prophecy.
Further reading: Sachiko Murata and William C.
Chittick, The Vision of Islam (New York: Paragon
House, 1994); Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes in the
Quran (Minneapolis and Chicago: Bilbliotheca Islamica,
1980); W. Montgomery Watt, Islamic Philosophy and
Theology: An Extended Survey. 2d ed. (Edinburgh: Edin-
burgh University Press, 1985).
All-India Muslim League (also known as
the Muslim League)
Incorporated in December 1906 in Dacca (in mod-
ern bangladesh), the All-India Muslim League
(AIML) played a leading role in the Indian inde-
pendence movement and the creation of pakistan.
It grew out of the aligarh movement that had
aimed to give Muslims more of a voice in British
India. It supported British rule until 1912, when,
under the leadership of the journalist and reformer
Muhammad Ali (d. 1931), a resolution was passed
calling for self-government. During World War
I, however, the AIML again supported the Brit-
ish, as did the Indian National Congress (INC),
the main Indian nationalist organization. During
this period, the INC and AIML worked together,
and both organizations passed the Lucknow Pact
in 1916 calling for a wider franchise for Indians,
larger representations for Indians on councils and
in regional governments, and separate electorates
for Muslims. During these proceedings, mUham-
mad ali Jinnah (d. 1948) emerged as one of the
chief figures in the AIML.
Jinnah, a lawyer, had joined the INC in 1896
and the AIML in 1913. In 1920, Jinnah quit the
INC in opposition to the management of INC
leader Mohandas K. Gandhi’s (d. 1948) first anti-
British action that ended in some chaos. The break
between the INC and the AIML and other Muslim
organizations continued to widen as the indepen-
dence struggle developed. By the 1930’s, Muslim
demands for protections were increasingly ignored
as the INC emerged as the chief Indian negotiator
with the colonial government. Up to this point,
the AIML’s efforts to position itself as the sole
voice for India’s Muslim population had not been
very successful, and a large number of seats in
local legislative councils were lost in the 1935
elections. The AIML was widely seen as an urban,
elite, Westernized organization out of touch with
both the largely rural population and the Muslim
religious establishment. After the 1935 electoral
losses, Jinnah led the campaign to consolidate
the Muslim vote, eventually establishing himself
and the AIML as the “sole spokesman” for Indian
Muslim interests. In 1940, Jinnah and the AIML
met at Lucknow and called for a separate state for
India’s Muslims. At first, this initiative got a luke-
warm reception, especially in Punjab and Bengal,
the regions with the largest Muslim populations,
where local coalition parties of landlords based in
the countryside were more successful. However,
due to the INC’s apparent Hindu bias, their oppo-
sition to significant concessions to Muslims, andAll-India Muslim League 35 J