Iqbal: A Novel is a short text written by Francesco D’Adamo, an Italian author who is best known for his Italian noir adult fiction. He expanded into writing for young adults in the late 1990s, and Iqbal was his third book in the genre. The novel was published in 2001 in Italian, and it was translated to English by Ann Leonori. The novel is an International Literacy Association Teachers’ Choice, one of the American Library Association’s Notable Children’s Books, and a recipient of the Christopher Award for works that promote positivity. Iqbal is a work of realistic historical fiction that portrays a fictional account of Iqbal Masih, who was a real-life bonded child forced to work in a Pakistani carpet factory. It deals with themes including oppression, corruption, and murder, but it centers on the theme of coming together to escape oppression.

This study guide uses the Atheneum Books for Young Readers edition of Iqbal: A Novel translated by Ann Leonori and published in 2003.

Content Warning: This guide includes discussions of child abuse and the murder of a child.

Plot Summary

Iqbal begins with an introduction that explains the role of bonded child labor in Pakistan and in the carpetmaking industry. The main text of the novel is narrated by a young girl named Fatima who was bonded by her family and forced to work in a carpet factory owned by Hussain Khan. Fourteen young children work in the factory, and one 17-year-old boy named Karim supervises them because he is too old and big to make the tiny knots of the carpets. The children suffer from poor working conditions and abusive treatment; they are chained to their workstations for poor performance, and they are locked in an old cistern—the Tomb—as punishment. The children are divided and bully each other, but things change when a new boy, Iqbal, is brought into the factory.

Iqbal stands out from the other children. He is a highly skilled carpet artist, and he is given more complex work than they are. He is more realistic than the others, and he understands that none of them will ever pay back their families’ debts. While his outlook upsets the others, Iqbal also brings hope into the factory and inspires the children to come together. He is assigned to work on an extravagant carpet called a blue Bukhara, but when he is finished, Iqbal destroys his work. Hussain banishes him to an old cistern that everyone calls “the Tomb,” and Fatima and a few other children risk their safety to visit him and take him food and water each night while he is locked inside. After he is released, the atmosphere of the workshop changes, and the children are more united and more easily distracted by chatting.

Iqbal escapes through a small window in the bathroom, and while he is out, he listens to a speech given by Eshan Khan, who works with the Bonded Liberation Front of Pakistan. He learns that Hussain is breaking the law by holding the children in debt bondage, and he seeks help from two police officers in the crowd. However, the police officers return with Iqbal to Hussain’s factory, where they hand him back over and accept cash bribes from Hussain. Their behavior demonstrates the high levels of corruption that sustain the bonded labor market.

When Iqbal returns to the factory after being incarcerated in the Tomb for his escape attempt, he has a flyer that he got from the speech in the market square. Most of the children are unable to read, but a young girl named Maria speaks up and says that she can. The others are surprised because Maria had never spoken before, and they thought she was deaf. She explains that she quit reading and speaking after her father, who was a teacher, sold her into the bond labor market. She teaches the other children how to read, and after they decipher the flyer, Iqbal escapes again.

Eshan Khan, Iqbal, and a magistrate return to Hussain’s the next day. Hussain is arrested for his crimes, and the children are freed. Not knowing where to go, the children are taken to the Liberation Front Headquarters, where they are fed, bathed, and given beds. The Liberation Front finds their families and sends everyone but Fatima, Maria, Karim, and Iqbal home. Iqbal chooses to stay and help the cause, Maria and Karim have no families to return to, and Fatima does not know how to find her family. Iqbal works on the front lines, sneaking into factories and speaking with the children. He saves hundreds of children, shuts down several factories, and speaks at Liberation Front rallies. He gains attention through his work and interviews, and he wins an award from Reebok.

While Iqbal is away speaking in Sweden and accepting his award in Boston, Fatima is sent home to her brother, who is now the head of her family. Maria writes with an update that Iqbal’s travel has gone well, and he is expected home soon, but Fatima does not hear from Maria again for several months. When Maria writes again, it is to tell Fatima that Iqbal was murdered on Easter when he was home visiting his family. Maria tells Fatima that Iqbal will live on through the mission and through the children who are yet to be freed from their enslaved conditions, and she asks Fatima to spread the story. An epilogue to the novel addresses the murder of the real-life Iqbal, a bonded child who worked in a carpet factory in Pakistan and was murdered after fighting to end the practice in his country.