Founder’s Profile

Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said (1920–1998) established Hamdard Pakistan in 1948. Within a few years, Hamdard’s herbal medicinal products became household names. The phenomenal business success of Hamdard is a legendary part of Pakistan’s business history.

The name Hamdard, however, acquired an even broader significance when Hakim Mohammed Said founded Hamdard University in 1991. Establishing a university that could revive the intellectual traditions of the educational institutions of the Golden Age of Muslim civilization had always been his most cherished dream. In fact, it was the central objective toward which all his endeavors were directed. The establishment of the university was the culmination of a lifetime of dedicated and continuous effort.

Apart from being a visionary educational leader, Hakim Mohammed Said was also one of the foremost practitioners of Eastern medicine. By the time of his martyrdom (Shahadat) in October 1998, he had treated millions of patients from all over the world, including Pakistan, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. During his fifty-year career as a distinguished practitioner of Greco-Arab medicine, he earned international recognition as a scholar and researcher. In acknowledgment of his outstanding services and scholarly achievements, he was posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan in 2002.

A prolific writer, he authored numerous books and articles and edited several research journals and periodicals on medicine, history, and Islam. He also established two highly respected national forums: Hamdard Shura (for leaders of public opinion) and Naunehal Assembly (for children). Throughout his life, he presented research papers at numerous conferences around the world and organized several international conferences to promote science in Pakistan in collaboration with national and international organizations, including UNESCO and WHO.

He held important positions and memberships in dozens of national and international organizations related to education and healthcare, fields in which his contributions continue to be widely recognized. A man of exceptional intellectual and organizational abilities, Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said will be remembered above all for establishing Hamdard University, which he nurtured into one of Pakistan’s leading institutions of higher education.