Draft:Khurshid Ahmad

Khurshid Ahmad, Islamic economist, Islamic thinker, Vice President of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, founding member of International Islamic University Islamabad, President and Founder of Lahore University of Management and Technology and board member of numerous institutions and organizations across the Islamic world, and author of 70 books in English and Urdu and research on Islamic economics and contemporary Islamic thought, who passed away on 13 April 2025 AD, at the age of 93 in United Kingdom.

Biography

He was born on 23 March 1932 AD, in Delhi. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Law and Basics. He also holds a Master's degree in Economics and Islamic Studies and an honorary degree in Education from the university.

Childhood and Education

He says about himself: It has been a great blessing of God for me that the family into whose eyes I opened was a good family both religiously and intellectually. My father was a graduate of Aligarh. He was actively involved in his political life in the struggle for Muslims Caliphate and the establishment of Pakistan. My father had deep connections with religious, political, and literary figures, and thus important figures would come to visit us. Hence, in childhood, I found the opportunity to benefit from the literary and cultural life of Delhi. There was a children's association in Delhi of which I was the youngest elected president. In the home environment, I had the opportunity to read the speeches of Iqbal Lahori, Hali, Ghalib. I had the opportunity to memorize hundreds of poems. From this perspective, there was an environment where I grew up with a scientific and literary taste from childhood. During university, I started reading books regularly, but in elementary and secondary school, I became interested in writing and speaking in English and Urdu.

Influence of Important Political and Religious Figures

He also says about his influence from political and religious figures: Among the first people I was influenced by were Abul Kalam Azad, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Hasrat Mohani, and coincidentally I had read two books of Nehru at the age of graduation. Glimpses of World History These are actually letters that Nehru wrote to Indira Gandhi. He narrated the story of history beautifully. Since I read Jawaharlal Nehru, I had a slight tendency towards Communism, but at the same time, since my father was active in Pakistan Justice Movement, I also joined Pakistan Muslim League F. It was very interesting that under that Islam Pakistan, Muslims tended towards independence and national identity. Hence when I came to Pakistan, for the first time I became acquainted with Maulana Maududi and read his literature. He says about influence from Syed Abul A'la Maududi: I had seen Maulana in childhood. Around 1938 or 1939 AD, my father had a friendly ceremony with him and I recited a revolutionary ghazal for him at that time. After that, when I read Maulana Maududi's writings, another world opened up to me. The two books that influenced me the most were Maulana's sermons and critiques. Critiquing the book is a bit hard, but due to my mental connection with the society, this book influenced me very much. Especially two articles Our Mental Slavery and Its Causes and The Decline of Islamic Civilization in India. During this time, I read the writings of Allama Muhammad Asad The New Muslim. At the time of the formation of the country Pakistan, until 1947 AD, 6 or 7 issues of his magazine Arafat had been published which I found after much search. Another world opened up to me.

Release from Communist Thought and Joining Jamaat-e-Islami

He says about his salvation from communist thought: Iqbal Lahori, Maulana Maududi and Allama Muhammad Asad,. These three were people who at a stage of life, when my tendency was towards Communism, became a means to bring me to Islam. Later I joined Jamaat-e-Islami to the Student Group and very soon took on important responsibilities.

Organizational Activities

During the period when I was in Jamaat-e-Islami Talaba, the English-language student weekly was launched, which was the first student magazine in Pakistan. This afforded me great opportunities: participating in debates, presenting the message of Islam, and subsequently recognizing the non-Islamic movements of that time and striving to demonstrate the superiority of Islam in these debates. During this period, I also became interested in economics. I had a criterion: my religious Islamic thought, based on which I examined Western philosophy; therefore, I was never intimidated by the thoughts of Western philosophers. Maulana Maududi established my relationship with the Holy Quran. The late Professor Muhammad Akram, who was a memorizer of the Quran, played a significant role in my religious upbringing. He was a mentor to me. Mr. Muhammad Akram and subsequently Maulana Maududi's understanding of the Quran played a fundamental role in my reading and comprehension of the Quran.

Joining Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan

He officially became a member of Jamaat-e-Islami in 1956. He performed extensive work in the fields of Islam, education, global economics, and the Islamic society at large. Consequently, he gained international fame.

Meeting with Imam Khomeini

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Imam Khomeini in Neauphle-le-Château

On 23 Dey 1357 SH, in France, Neauphle-le-Château, he had a meeting with Imam Khomeini on behalf of a member of the Council of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and spoke thus regarding the Iranian movement and Pakistan's positions: In the recent past, we faced major crises in Pakistan, including the partition of Pakistan, the Bhutto issue, the 1977 movement. In Pakistan, due to such conditions and for the sake of Islamic movement goals, similar to Iran, we also sought to gain political power. However, in any case, we joined the government of Zia-ul-Haq. We have always followed the situation in Iran with interest. We have published news of the Islamic movement of Iran in our newspapers. And we have repeatedly faced severe objections from Iranian officials, and the Government of Pakistan has frequently pressured us and our newspapers on this occasion.

Our participation in the government is intended to exert influence. Regarding Zia-ul-Haq's trip to Iran, we employed our influence. Our primary commitment has been to the people and to Islam. Strengthening any movement and initiative will be for the nation and Islam. We will not approve anything that is not in agreement with Islam and the people.

Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan stands beside the people of Iran who desire Islam. The relationship of the Government of Pakistan with Iran is in a very bad state. Individuals affiliated with the ruling hierarchy become worried whenever they observe any change. Our support for the Islamic movement of Iran is conducted at the level of public opinion through statements and speeches, the press, and supportive demonstrations by Muslim students. Privately, we have supported as much as we could; considering the situation in Pakistan, what else can really be expected? In some cases, we have supported Iran very openly and boldly. We do not defend the Government of Pakistan. But we have supported the Iranian Revolution as much as we could. However, you must consider the status of the Government of Pakistan and also its administrations and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which follow specific traditions. The third issue is that privately, we have tried to take actions from the side of Pakistan, officially or unofficially, for a better understanding of the Islamic flow and also greater understanding between the Government of Pakistan and the Islamic movement. Imam Khomeini says in response to him: Always nations, minus governments—if they are not under the influence of governments—have correct tendencies. Islamic nations, if it were not for their governments, had and have a tendency towards Islam, and what deviates the nations is the governments. When the government of an environment is not correct, gradually it shapes the environment to some extent in its own image. If governments are just, gradually they shape the people in their own image. And we know that the nation of Pakistan agrees with the goals of Iran, which are human and Islamic. And what is regrettable is that the President there has supported a criminal who has taken away all the Islamic and Iranian dignity of the nation.

I know that those who are human and truly Muslim are not happy. Those who forcibly engage in Islamic activity like Maududi are not satisfied with these supports of your government for the Shah, whereas the Shah is dishonored in the world and hated by the people. And what we ask from the nation in public gatherings after praying for Iran, which is under pressure, is that they expose the Shah's system and the crimes he has committed and is committing. The European press is full of these issues of Iran, while little of its news is there [in Pakistan]. In the Iranian press, despite government control, some matters of Pakistan are mentioned.

Receive the issues of Iran from Iran, [to know] what oppression is being done to us and what has passed. For fifty years, our nation has been dying under the pressure of this father and son, and strong governments have supported and do support [them]. Pressure has come from all sides. We have neither free press, nor a National Assembly, nor a government that supports the nation in these fifty years, except very rarely have these strived. The Shah has strived to keep nations back, to waste our human resources. He strives to dominate great powers over us, to give our treasures to foreigners. He gives oil to enemies of Islam, like Israel, which has risen against Islam and Muslims. He has strived to blow away our national dignity. He has strived to trample the rulings of Islam one after another. If he finds the opportunity, he will not do [it]? He will strike Islam a blow that will remain in name. He changed the honorable history of Islam to the history of Zoroastrians, and the pressure of the nation caused him to stop.

The calamities of Iran are not one or two to be mentioned; historians will record their history. Future generations will become aware of our calamities. But today the nation of Iran has awakened and unanimously in all cities, villages, and towns has taken to demonstrations, with one heart and one direction has deprived and condemned the Pahlavi monarchy and kingship and wants Islamic just government, and we also follow the nation in these goals and have had them, and we ask you to help us. Propaganda supports and demonstrations that are possible there, in the mosques there the calamities of Iran should be mentioned, in gatherings the crimes of the Government of Iran should be mentioned. So much killing has occurred that we cannot become informed of the number to reflect it. Cemeteries are populated and our houses are destroyed. We ask God to have mercy on this nation and all Islamic nations and deliver us all from oppression, injustice, and colonialism. He says in response to Imam Khomeini: We Pakistanis are with you, ready to fight shoulder to shoulder beside you. In mobilizing and shaping public opinion and political movement, I assure you that we will place the government under the maximum necessary pressure so that past support for the Shah's regime does not continue. Can anything else be done specifically that can be suggested and we act? In order to expand operations more, during the past two months the ruling hierarchy mostly strengthens the Iranian Revolution and has no feeling towards the Shah at all. Zia-ul-Haq himself is not a bad person, he has been influenced. If we act well, we will have no problem with the government. Imam Khomeini in the final sentences after thanking Ahmed Khurshid said: The duty of Muslims is assistance with one another; it is a divine duty. It is a mission that we be voiceless with all [united voice], and if Muslims were together, it would not be possible for foreigners to dominate. It is all due to the division of Muslims. May God awaken Muslims to perform Islamic duties, so that unity is preserved, so that they stand and rise against foreigners and their hands are cut off from resources, wealth, and reserves. May God grant success.

Scientific and Political Positions

Positions held by Khurshid Ahmad:

• He served as the Federal Minister for Planning and Development from 1978. He also served as the Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission of the Government of Pakistan.
• As an education specialist, he taught at the University of Karachi from 1955 to 1958.
• He was also a researcher at the University of Leicester.
• From 1983 to 1987, he was the President of the International Institute of Islamic Economics at the International Islamic University Islamabad.
• From 1984 to 1992, he was a member of the Advisory Board of the International Centre for Research in Islamic Economics, Leicester.
• From 1979 to 1983, he was the Vice President of King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah.
• From 1974 to 1978, he was the Vice President of the Permanent Conference of Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Europe, Berlin, and London.
• He was also a member of the Advisory Council of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, Selly Oak Colleges, Birmingham, United Kingdom, 1976–1978.
• From 1978 to 1983, he was a member of the National Immigration Committee.
• In 1986 and 1987, he was a member of the Legislative Committee that reviewed Islamic laws in Sudan.
• In 1988 and 1989, he was a member of the Review Committee of the Islamic Development Bank Institute for Training and Research, Jeddah.
• He was elected to the Senate of Pakistan in 1985, 1997, and 2002, and also served as the Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs and Planning.
• He was the head of two institutes: one is the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad, and the other is the Islamic Foundation, Leicester (United Kingdom).
• He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Centre Zaria (Nigeria), International Islamic University Islamabad, Foundation Council, Royal Academy for Islamic Civilization Research, Amman (Jordan), and Deputy of the Islamic Research Academy, Karachi and Lahore.

Writing and Receiving International Awards

Khurshid Ahmad has edited journals and magazines on various ideological topics. He has authored seven books in Urdu and English. He has contributed to many journals. He has participated in more than twelve international conferences and seminars, either in person or as a representative. For the first time, Islamic Economics was developed as a scientific discipline. In appreciation of this achievement, the first Islamic Development Bank Prize was awarded to him in 1988. In appreciation of his achievements, he received the King Faisal International Prize in 1990. In July 1998, in recognition of his services in Islamic economics and finance, he received the Fifth Annual Larbou Prize from the United States American Finance House. Currently, in addition to other authored works, he is the editor-in-chief of the Islamic Jamaat monthly Tarjuman al-Quran.

Death

Finally, Khurshid Ahmad passed away on 13 April 2025, at the age of 93 in the United Kingdom.

Reactions

Hamas

Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, in a statement, offered condolences on the death of Professor Khurshid Ahmad, Islamic scholar, great religious preacher, and one of the prominent intellectual, political, and economic figures of the Islamic world, to the people of Palestine, the Islamic Ummah, and the brotherly nation of Pakistan. The statement read: With hearts filled with faith in divine decree and destiny and with utmost satisfaction and submission, we offer condolences on the death of this great personality, former member of the Senate of Pakistan, Deputy Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami of that country and long-time companion of its founder, Allamah Sayid Abul A'la Maududi. The statement stated: Professor Khurshid Ahmad passed away on Sunday, 13 April 2025 AD, corresponding to 14 Shawwal 1446 AH, at the age of 93 in the city of Leicester, United Kingdom. He spent decades of his life serving Islamic propagation, thought, education, and economics and was an inspiration for Muslim youth and scholars in Pakistan and the Islamic World. He was also an authoritative scholarly reference in the fields of Islamic thought and economics for universities and scientific centers worldwide and the author of prominent works in the fields of thought, propagation, economics, and politics. Hamas emphasized in this statement: With the death of this great thinker, the Palestinian nation and the Islamic Ummah have lost one of their intellectual and religious pillars. He was a wise preacher, a capable educator, a prominent politician, and a staunch defender of freedom, justice, and the return of the Islamic Ummah to its civilizational status. He was also a loud voice in support of Palestine, Jerusalem, and Al-Aqsa Mosque and always took honorable and influential positions in defense of the people of Gaza and confronting the aggressions of the Zionist regime. Finally, Hamas, expressing sympathy with the family, students, and admirers of this scientific personality throughout the Islamic world, and offering condolences to Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan and the brotherly nation of that country, asked God for His vast mercy and forgiveness and companionship with the Prophets, the Truthful, the Martyrs, and the Righteous.

Secretary-General of the Islamic World Assembly of Approximation of Islamic Sects

Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Dr. Hamid Shariari, Secretary-General of the Islamic World Assembly of Approximation of Islamic Sects, in a message offered condolences on the death of Professor Khurshid Ahmad, prominent Islamic figure and former Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, to Mawlana Hafiz Naeem ur-Rehman, Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. According to the Public Relations Office of the Islamic World Assembly of Approximation of Islamic Sects, the text of the Secretary-General's message is as follows: Dear Mr. Mawlana Hafiz Naeem ur-Rehman, Honorable Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami across Pakistan, Peace be upon you. The news of the regrettable death of the late Professor Khurshid Ahmad caused me deep pain and sorrow. He was a philosopher, politician, economist, and an Islamic activist who always thought about the development of Islamic economic jurisprudence and played a broad role in promoting the spirit of Islamism in the subcontinent and Pakistan. The late Khurshid Ahmad met with Imam Khomeini, the late founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in Neauphle-le-Château, France, in 1978 AD on behalf of the Council of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. His critical questions about the situation of secular countries at that time and Imam Khomeini's answers to him in the early days of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, contained precise points regarding the orientation of Islamists and their extensive cooperations. I offer my condolences to Your Excellency and the honorable nation of Pakistan on the loss of Professor Khurshid Ahmad and ask Almighty God for the elevation of the late's degree and companionship with the righteous and for the survivors patience and well-being.

Head of the Hawzas

Ayatollah Alireza A'rafi, Head of the Hawzas, in a message offered condolences on the death of Professor Khurshid Ahmad, prominent professor of Islamic economics, political science, and philosophy.

The full text of the message is as follows:

Template:متن قرآن

I offer my condolences on the death of the prominent personality, renowned scholar, and professor of Islamic economics, political science, and philosophy, Mr. Professor Khurshid Ahmad, to the religious and cultural community of the Islamic World, especially the scholars, scientists, and Muslim people of the country of Pakistan. The late Dr. Khurshid Ahmad was among the great personalities who took positive and influential steps towards the growth and promotion of Islamic thought and economic system and political Islam theory and left behind numerous and valuable works. Scientific, religious assemblies, and Hawzas are grateful to this esteemed professor. I ask the Generous God for His mercy upon him and for the survivors patience and reward.

See also

• Pakistan
• Islamic World
• Hafiz Naeem ur-Rehman
• Sayid Abul A'la Maududi
• Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan
• Islamic World Assembly of Approximation of Islamic Sects

References

• Dr. (Khurshid Ahmad), the Preacher, Thinker, and Scholar of Islamic Economics, Forum of Scholars website, Publication date: n.d., Access date: 29 April 2025.
• Khurshid Ahmad.. Passing of Maududi's Companion, Al Jazeera website, Publication date: 14 April 2025, Access date: 29 April 2025.
• Hamas Condolences on the Death of Prominent Pakistani Thinker, Palestine Information Center website, Publication date: 15 April 2025, Access date: 29 April 2025.
• Death of Professor Khurshid Ahmad; Loss of a Prominent Islamic Figure in Pakistan, World Assembly for Approximation of Islamic Sects website, Publication date: n.d., Access date: 29 April 2025.
• Condolences by the Head of Hawzas Following the Death of Prominent Islamic Economics Professor, Hawza News Agency website, Publication date: 21 April 2025, Access date: 29 April 2025.