Maulana Azad，Indian scholar, author, journalist and politician. Azad's father was Muhammad Khairuddin, a Sufi (mystic) saint. After the Revolt of 1857, his father went to Mecca where he married the daughter of Shaikh Mahomed Zahir Wetri. Maulana Azad was born in 1888 in Mecca. His early years were spent in Arabia.