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 establishmen
t 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.
