Obituary Notes from Dr Refai
Prof Khurshid Ahamed has passed away today (13/04/2025) in Leicester, UK. Marhoom Professor hails from a religious family from Delhi, India. After the partition of India in 1947, his family moved to Pakistan and settled in Lahore. He did his undergraduate studies in Islamic economics and passed his special degree with the first-class honours. During his university days, he was inspired by the revolutionary books and writing of Abul A’la Maududi and consequently, he joined the Jamath-Islame as a student worker in his university time. He also completed his MA in Islamic economics and his PHD in Islamic economic jurisprudence and he also worked in some universities in the UK and some other countries.
He has been one of the core members of Jamathe-Islami in Pakistan and he also has been one of the co- founders of Islamic foundation in Leicester/ UK. He has also been a senate member of Pakistan. He also served as a policy advisor during late Zia Haque’s premiership. He has been one of leading Islamic economists of modern times. He has also been one of leading academics in the modern Islamic world. He has immensely contributed to Islamic economics and socio-economic development in Muslim countries. He produced several academic books and articles in different Islamic topics related to Islamic economics and development studies. He has also served as Rector of Markfield Institute of Higher Education, Leicester, Uk. MIHE has been promoting Islamic studies, and it has also been publishing many Islamic books for many decades.
Marhoom prof Khurshid was awarded some prestigious awards: The king Faisal International award was given to him for his service to Islam. He was also awarded by Islamic development bank in 1998 for his contribution in Islamic economics. The University of Loughborough also conferred on him an honorary degree of (D.Litt.) in 2003. He has been actively engaging in Islamic Dawa works for many decades and contributing greatly Islamic awakening among Muslim youths in Indian subcontinent and beyond.
One of the brilliant Muslim economists of modern Islamic world, He has produced hundreds of academic articles and he was highly respected for his moderation in Islamic thought. He has produced thousands of students across the Indian-Subcontinent and beyond. He has been an academic consultant for many Islamic institutions and universities. He also worked very closely with IDB and many other Islamic financial intuitions. The Muslim world is losing its intellectuals one by one and yet, today, it rarely produces such high calibre Muslim intellectuals. It would be a daunting task to replace these Muslims with another cohort like them. May Allah accept all his deeds and forgive all his sin and grant him Jannath Al- Firdaus.