“It has been my endeavor to prepare Pakistani youth for the
challenges of tomorrow. I would like to see the youth studying
at our campuses to develop the qualities of devotion, love,
determination and services to mankind.”
Shaheed
Hakim Mohammed Said (1920-1998) established Hamdard Pakistan
in 1948. Within few years, the herbal medical products of Hamdard
became household names. The phenomenal business success of Hamdard
brands is a legendary part of the business history of Pakistan.
The name
Hamdard however acquired a still wider meaning, when Hakim Mohammed
Said founded Hamdard University in 1991. The establishment of
a university which could enliven the intellectual tradition
of the educational institutions of the golden era of Muslim
civilization had always been his most cherished dream. In fact
it was the central point towards which all his endeavors were
directed. The actual appearance of the university was just the
culmination of a long dedicated and continued effort spanning
his whole life.
However,
apart from being a great educational leader, Hakim Mohammed
Said was also one of the finest exponents of eastern medicine,
who had treated millions of patients from all over the world
including Pakistan, Europe, Africa and the Middle East by the
time of his martyrdom (Shahadat) in October 1998. In the fifty
years of his active career as a practitioner of Greco-Arab medicine
par excellence, Hakim Mohammed Said also achieved international
renown as a scholar and researcher in medicine in recognition
of his meritorious services and scholarly achievements when
he was awarded Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Posthumous) by the Government
of Pakistan in 2002.
As a prolific
writer, he had to his credit a large number of books and articles.
He edited many research journals and periodicals on medicine,
history and Islam. Hakim Mohammed Said also created two very
widely attended national forums: Hamdard Shura (for leaders
of public opinion) and Naunehal Assembly (for children). He
attended and read papers at numerous conferences all over the
world and organized a number of international conferences for
promotion of science in Pakistan in collaboration with national
and international organizations including UNESCO and WHO. He
also held important offices and memberships of dozens of national
and international organizations related to education and health
care, the fields to which his contributions are universally
acknowledged.
A man of
Herculean intellectual and organizational capabilities, Shaheed
Hakim Mohammed Said will be remembered most for creating Hamdard
University, which he stewarded to appear as one of the top institutions
of higher education and learning in Pakistan.
