Jinnah was born as Mahomedali Jinnahbhai in Wazir Mansion, Karachi, then a province of the Bombay Presidency of British India. Although his earliest school records state that he was born on October 20, 1875, (but Sarojini Naidu, the author of Jinnah's first biography gives the date ”December 25, 1876”). Jinnah belonged to the Ismaili branch of Shi’a Islam. He was not an observing Muslim, dressed mostly throughout his life in European-style clothes, and spoke in English more than his mother tongue, Gujarati. Contrary to his subsequent image as founder of an Islamic Pakistan, Jinnah was fond of the good life of a typical wealthy Bombay socialite, enjoying his Scotch in the evenings and relishing a breakfast of 'ham and egg' sandwich which his Parsee wife lovingly made for him each morning. Jinnah was the eldest of seven children born to Mithibai and Jinnahbhai Poonja. His father, Jinnahbhai (1857–1901), was a prosperous Gujarati merchant who had moved to Sindh from Kathiawar, Gujarat before Jinnah's birth. His grandfather was Poonja Gokuldas Meghji, a Bhatia from Paneli village in Gondal state in Kathiawar and Jinnah's ancestors were Hindu Rajputs that converted to Islam.The firstborn Jinnah was soon joined by six siblings, brothers Ahmad Ali, Bunde Ali, and Rahmat Ali, and sisters Maryam, Fatima and Shireen. Jinnah's family belonged to the Ismaili Khoja branch of Shi'a Islam, though Jinnah later converted to Twelver Shi'a Islam. Their mother tongue was Gujarati, however, in time they also came to speak Kutchi, Sindhi, Urdu and English.The young Jinnah, a restless student, studied at several schools: at the Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam in Karachi; briefly at the Gokal Das Tej Primary School in Mumbai; and finally at the Christian Missionary Society High School in Karachi, where, at age sixteen, he passed the matriculation examination of the University of Bombay.The same year, 1892, Jinnah was offered an apprenticeship at the London office of Graham's Shipping and Trading Company, a business that had extensive dealings with Jinnahbhai Poonja's firm in Karachi. However, before he left for England, he married his distant cousin, at his mother's urging, Emibai Jinnah who was two years junior. The marriage was not to last long: a few months later, Emibai died. Later, during his sojourn in England, his mother too would pass away. In London, Jinnah soon left the apprenticeship to study law instead, by joining Lincoln's Inn. The welcome board of the Lincoln's Inn had the names of the world's all time top ten magistrates. This list was led by the name of Muhammad, which was the sole reason of Jinnah's joining of Lincoln's Inn. He In three years, at age 19, he became the youngest Indian to be called to the bar in England. Around this time, Jinnah also became interested in politics. An admirer of the Indian political leaders Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Pherozeshah Mehta, he worked, with other Indian students, on the former's successful campaign for a seat in the British Parliament. Although, by now, Jinnah had developed largely constitutionalist views on Indian self-government, he nevertheless condemned both the arrogance of British officials in India and the discrimination practised by them against Indians.
Jinnah House in Mumbai, India.During the final period of his stay in England, Jinnah came under considerable pressure when his father's business was ruined. Settling in Mumbai, he became a successful lawyer—gaining particular fame for his skilled handling of the "Caucus Case". Jinnah built a house in Malabar Hill, later known as Jinnah House. His reputation as a skilled lawyer prompted Indian leader Bal Gangadhar Tilak to hire him as defence counsel for his sedition trial in 1905. Jinnah argued that it was not sedition for an Indian to demand freedom and self-government in his own country, but Tilak received a rigorous term of imprisonment test.
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