Khurshīd Ahmad (; 23 March 1932 – 13 April 2025) was a Pakistani economist, philosopher, politician and an Islamic activist who helped to develop

Islamic economic jurisprudence Islamic economics () refers to the knowledge of economics or economic activities and processes in terms of Islamic principles and teachings. Islam has a set of specific moral norms and values about individual and social economic behavior. There ...

as an academic discipline and one of the co-founders (along with Khurram Murad) of The Islamic Foundation in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, UK. A senior conservative figure, he was a long-standing party worker of the Islamist

Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...

(JeI) party, where he successfully ran for

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in the

general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

held in 2002 on a platform of

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal The Muttahida Majlis–e–Amal (MMA; Urdu: , ) is a political alliance consisting of conservative, Islamist, Religion in Pakistan, religious, and right-wing parties of Pakistan. Naeem Siddiqui (the founder of Tehreek e Islami) proposed such a ...

(MMA). He served in the Senate until 2012. He played his role as a policy adviser in Zia administration when he

chaired The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

the Planning Commission, focusing on the role of Islamising the country's national economy in the 1980s.

Early life and education

Ahmad was born into an

Urdu-speaking Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi Belt, Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccanis, Deccani people of the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in south-central I ...

family in Delhi,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, on 23 March 1932. He entered in the Anglo-Arabic College in Delhi. After the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947, the family moved to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and were settled in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, after which, he enrolled at the Government College University to study business and economics in 1949. In 1949, at the age of 17, Ahmad published his first English article in the ''Muslim Economist.'' He secured his graduation in BA in

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

in Economics (1952). He began reading the philosophical work of

Abul A'la Maududi Abul A'la al-Maududi (; – ) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist, and scholar active in British India and later, following the partition, in Pakistan. Described by Wilfred C ...

and was a worker of his party, the

(JeI). In 1952, he took the

bar exam A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associat ...

and entered the law programme of the GCU with strong emphasis on

Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

and

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

. At his university, he remained a student worker for the JeI while offering tutoring in

Islamic studies Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...

. As an aftermath of violent riots in Lahore, Ahmad left the GCU to avoid the mass arrest and detainment of the JeI workers by the Punjab Police Department, and moved to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

permanently. Khurshid Ahmad enrolled in the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

and graduated with an MSc with

Hons Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, o ...

in Economics after defending his

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

that contained the fundamental work of

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...

on the

invisible hand The invisible hand is a metaphor inspired by the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith that describes the incentives which free markets sometimes create for self-interested people to accidentally act in the public interest, even ...

and

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...

in 1958. In 1962, Khurshid Ahmad graduated with an MA with

honours Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...

from the University of Karachi and won a scholarship to pursue a doctoral degree in the United Kingdom in 1965. Ahmad enrolled at the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

and joined the Faculty of Economics for his doctoral studies. He successfully defended his

doctoral thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

for his PhD in Economics in 1967–68. His doctoral thesis was on

. In 1970, his services to promote literacy was recognized by

Leicester University The University of Leicester ( ) is a public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, University College, Leicester, gained university ...

, which honoured him with an honorary doctorate in Education. In 1970, he moved to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and joined the department of philosophy to teach

Contemporary philosophy Contemporary philosophy is the present period in the history of Western philosophy beginning at the early 20th century with the increasing professionalization of the discipline and the rise of analytic and continental philosophy. The phrase "con ...

at the

Death

Ahmad died in Leicester, England on 13 April 2025, at the age of 93. His funeral was performed the following day, on 14 April, at the Saffron Hill Cemetery in Leicester.

Books

Ahmad had authored and edited over 70 books in both English and Urdu, including:

Author

*''Islam and the West'', Islamic Publications Limited, 1957, 46 p. *''Essays on Pakistan Economy'', Maktaba-e-Faridi, 1958, 252 p. *''Tahrik-i Islami'' / تحریکِ اسلامی slamic Movement n.m., 1963, 440 p. *''Principles of Islamic Education'', Islamic Publications, 1968, 28 p. *''Socialism ya Islam'' / سوشلسم یا اسلام ocialism or Islam Maktab-i Chiragh-i Rah, 1969, 331 p. *''Family Life in Islam'', Islamic Foundation, 1974, 32 p. *'' Mawlana Mawdudi: An Introduction to His Life and Thought'', Islamic Foundation, 1979, 44 p. Co-written with Zafar Ishaq Ansari.

Translator

*Syed Abul ʻAla Mawdudi, ''Toward Understanding Islam'', Islamic Publications, 1960, 191 p. *Syed Abul ʻAla Mawdudi, ''First Principles of the Islamic State'', Islamic Publications, 1968, 72 p.

Editor

*''Islam: Its Meaning and Message'', Islamic Council of Europe, 1976, 279 p. *''Islamic Perspectives: Studies in Honour of Mawlana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi'', Islamic Foundation, 1979, 394 p. Co-edited alongside Zafar Ishaq Ansari. *''Elimination of

Riba ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

from the Economy'', Institute of Policy Studies, 1994, 425 p.

Awards and recognition

*In recognition of his scholarly contributions, Khurshid Ahmad was awarded Pakistan's highest civil award, the

Nishan-e-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...

on 23 March 2011. *He received the King Faisal Award for Service to Islam in 1990 (Co-laureate: Ali Al Tantawi)

References

External links

Official Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan
website

Biography of Professor Khurshid Ahmad {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad, Khurshid 1932 births 2025 deaths People from Delhi Muhajir people Scholars from Lahore Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan politicians Government College University, Lahore alumni Pakistani economists University of Karachi alumni Pakistani educators Pakistani scholars Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of Leicester Academics of the University of Leicester 20th-century Pakistani philosophers 20th-century Muslim scholars of Islam Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Islamic scholars in the United Kingdom