MENUHakim Muhammad Said
Hakim Muhammad Said was a renowned philanthropist, educationist and entrepreneur. He also devoted much of his life to learning, research and writing, authoring and compiling about 200 books on health, medicine, education, religion, history, children etc. and writing papers for international journals and forums.
He was born in India in 1920. His father was the founder of Hamdard Dawakhana in India. Hakim Muhammad Said did his Bachelors in Eastern Medicine and started practising Hikmat and tibb-e-unani in India. After partition he migrated to Pakistan, leaving behind his loved ones, his property and a growing practice.
In 1948 he established Hamdard Dawakhana in Karachi, which later became one of the greatest manufacturers of herbal medicine in Pakistan. He held Matab (his clinic) at Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar and occasionally saw patients in Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta and Sukkur.
In 1964 Hakim Said established Hamdard Foundation Pakistan to move ahead with his philanthropic vision and journey. The aims and scope of the foundation include:
- research and promotion of Eastern / Alternative Medicine
- establishment of educational institutions
- establishment of hospitals, dispensaries and clinics for providing free or low-cost treatment
- other social welfare and philanthropic causes
The above projects are financed through proceeds from Hamdard Laboratories (Waqf) Pakistan.
In 1961, Hakim Said initiated “Sham-e-Hamdard”, a discussion forum on national issues. Monthly lectures were organized through this forum in major cities of Pakistan to discuss contemporary issues and challenges. In addition other forums were set up including Hamdard Shoora, Bazm-e-Naunehal and Naunehal Assembely.
In 1983 he initiated a momentous project, the development of Madinat-al-Hikmah - city of education, science and culture, on the outskirts of Karachi. He defined the goals of the project as:
- To create a city of culture and learning in Pakistan in accordance with the universal teachings where the most faithful (mard-e-momin) and the noblest men would create and nourish civilization and culture reflecting universal peace and the highest virtues of nobility and truth.
- To establish, develop and administer such seats of education and training which are based on the strong and cogent pillars of the oneness of Allah, prophethood of the last prophet (PBUH) the Day of Judgment and humanity so as to enlighten the world with universal knowledge and wisdom.
- To derive and deduce light from all sources of human culture, civilization and world history and create institutions similar to Bait-al-Hikmah, Baghdad and the like. We expect, that Madinat-al-Hikmah be given the status of an educational nucleus, where not only scholars from the world of Islam but experts from the entire world should follow their academic pursuits. Although this city is located on the soil of Pakistan, our endeavor should be to make it an international city of knowledge and wisdom.
Madinat-ul-Hikmat includes:
- Hamdard University
- Hamdard Medical Complex
- Hamdard College of Eastern Medicine
- Bait al-Hikmah Research Institute
- Bait al-Hikmah Library, one of the largest libraries in Pakistan with over 400,000 books
- Hamdard Institute of Management Sciences
- Hamdard Institute of Education and Social Sciences
- Hamdard School of Law (HSL)
- Hamdard Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (HIPS),
- Herbal Garden
- Dr. Hafiz Mohammad Ilyas Institute of Pharmacology and Herbal Sciences
- Hamdard college of science and Commerce
- Hamdard Public School
- Science Museum
- Sports Stadium
In appreciation of his services for Pakistan he was awarded the highest civil award, Nishan-e-Imtiaz. He also received international recognition and was awarded the Islamic Medicine prize in Kuwait in 1982 and Avicenna Award at Moscow in 1989.
On October 17, 1998, Hakim Muhammad Said was assassinated outside his clinic in Karachi.
For more information visit Hakim Muhammad Said web site.
