THE saying “Company of the great makes one great” comes vividly to life in the personality of Professor Khurshid Ahmad.
His ancestral roots traced back to Jalandhar and Delhi, with family ties extending to Turkey—reflecting the cosmopolitan spirit Iqbal alluded to in his verse, “The pain of the whole world lies within our heart.
” Prof. Khurshid’s father, Nazir Ahmad Qureshi, a wealthy businessman from Delhi, was deeply involved in political movements like the Khilafat and Pakistan Movements.
Despite his business stature, his true passion was nation-building and Islamic revival.
He ensured his children, especially Khurshid, were raised in intellectually stimulating environments, often attending gatherings of leaders like Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Hakim Ajmal Khan, and others.
Nazir Qureshi played a vital role in the expansion of newspapers like The Comrade and Hamdard.
He later developed a close association with Maulana Maududi, founder of Jamaat-e-Islami, and became a key advisor in his think-tank project Dar-ul-Islam in Pathankot.
Born on March 23, 1932, Khurshid Ahmad grew up under this intellectual influence.
After partition, the family moved from Lahore to Karachi.
There, under the guidance of his elder brother, Vice Admiral Zamir Ahmad, Khurshid joined the Islamic student organization Islami Jamiat Talaba and soon became a prominent leader.
At a time when the leftist Democratic Students Federation (DSF) dominated Karachi’s student politics, Khurshid launched the magazine Students’ Voice, which gained a readership of 15,000—remarkable for its time.
Among its supporters was a fellow student, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who would later become Pakistan’s leading nuclear scientist.
Determined to serve Islam and society through education and journalism, Khurshid joined Karachi University’s Economics Department.
Alongside, he edited journals like Voice of Islam and later Charagh-e-Rah, transforming them into influential publications focused on Islamic thought, ideology, and socio-political issues.
In 1962, Maulana Maududi launched the Islamic Research Academy to develop Islamic literature in contemporary language.
Prof. Khurshid was appointed Secretary-General.
The academy produced pioneering academic work under their leadership.
In 1968, he left for the UK to pursue a PhD and founded The Islamic Foundation in Leicester.
This became an international institution, with branches in Kenya and Nigeria.
While his PhD remained incomplete due to his activism, he was later awarded honorary doctorates by Loughborough University and the University of Malaysia for his contributions to Islamic economics and literature.
Through The Islamic Foundation and Impact, an English-language journal, Prof.Khurshid became a key link between Islamic movements worldwide, including Jamaat-e-Islami (Pakistan), Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen (Egypt), and movements in Turkey.
He worked extensively for interfaith dialogue, establishing Muslim-Christian forums and visiting the Vatican multiple times.
In 1974, he was elected Vice President of the Standing Conference on Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Europe.
Prof. Khurshid’s core academic focus was Islamic economics.
He helped establish a research center at King Abdulaziz University that gained international acclaim.
He served on prestigious institutions such as Jordan’s Royal Academy for Islamic Civilization and Nigeria’s Islamic Center, and was rector of Markfield Institute of Higher Education in the UK.
In 1977, during General Zia-ul-Haq’s martial law, Prof.Khurshid Ahmad joined the federal cabinet as Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission—not as a party nominee but in his personal capacity.
Still, he honored Jamaat-e-Islami’s discipline and resigned when the party withdrew from the government.
His idea led to the founding of the International Islamic University in Islamabad.
He was later elected senator three times—from Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—making him one of the few to represent three provinces.
He played a crucial role in efforts to reconcile warring Afghan factions post-Soviet withdrawal and was deeply engaged with the Kashmir issue.
He proposed inclusive political dialogue involving all stakeholders, including pro-India parties in Kashmir, through editorials in Tarjuman-ul-Qur’an.
When Maulana Maududi stepped down in 1972, Khurshid Ahmad was among the three names recommended for Jamaat-e-Islami’s new leadership, reflecting his stature in the party.
His scholarship, humility, and work ethic earned him widespread respect.
He later established the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) in Pakistan, which rapidly became a leading think tank, valued for its research and policy input.
His personal involvement with IPS staff and generous contributions—especially his vast personal library, which he donated—made it one of the richest libraries in Islamic research.
Prof.Khurshid Ahmad was not only a thinker but a doer.
Whether carrying his guest’s books himself or writing notes in every book he read, he embodied humility, diligence, and devotion.
His legacy is reflected in the institutions he built, the ideas he championed, and the lives he inspired.
—This writer is former advisor to the President of Pakistan, author & mass media theorist. (farooq.adilbhuta@gmail,com)
