An eminent, charismatic and striking figure, Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said, was born in Delhi, India on 9th January 1920 in a noble family of hakims. His father, Hakim Hafiz Abdul Majeed, a renowned physician and herbalist, died in 1922 when Hakim Said was only 2 years old and his elder brother Hakim Abdul Hameed was 14. His wife Rabia Begum, a lady of strong determination, not only supported Hamdard, after the untimely death of his husband, but also made it stand on solid footings.
Hakim Said's ancestors came in the subcontinent from Kyrgyz, Xinjiang, China, in the reign of the Moghul emperor, Shah Alam. They first stayed at Peshawar for near about 80 years, then moved to Multan and finally settled down at Delhi, India. After partition of India in 1947, Hakim Said migrated to Pakistan with bare hands, at the age of 28, and reached Karachi on 9th January 1948 on his 29th birthday.
He could not live in India, being a staunch supporter of Pakistan movement and left his birthplace to take part in the reconstruction of his new homeland, the land of his dreams. He came to Karachi, leaving behind his dear elder brother, his beloved mother and more important the institution of Hamdard, in the making of which he had made significant contribution.
In the beginning he had to undergo many hardships and difficulties, suffered deprivation and disappointments for several months, but he did not lose heart and his courage was never lost. By the force of his willpower and determination he eventually succeeded in establishing the Hamdard in Karachi on 28th June 1948 without means and outer support.
By virtue of his personal talents, hard labor and untiring efforts, he also succeeded in making the Hamdard a big enterprise and an important industry of herbal medicines and products. When Hamdard became a profitable house of herbal medicines and products of considerable size he converted it from a personal property into an Islamic Trust (Waqf) according to Islamic principles and reserved its profits for the welfare and betterment of the nation.
Hakim Said was undoubtedly a visionary and a physician par excellence, who treated near bout 5,000,000 patients in his lifetime. Reading the pulse of the patients, he also read the pulse of the nation and diagnosed the main cause of its sickness ie illiteracy and lack of modern knowledge.
When he realized that his repeated requests for spreading of education and dissemination of knowledge in the country fell on deaf ears of the rulers and the education managers, he decided to walk alone and do something by his own for that purpose. He, alone and unaided, built a city of education, science and culture- Madinat al-Hikmah in Karachi on the border of the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan exactly on the place where great Muslim Commander, Muhammad bin Qasim camped his army when he was entering into Sindh to spread the message of Islam. He once said: "I built this city not for myself, but for the benefit of my nation".
Books play an important role in dissemination of knowledge. Keeping this in mind Hakim Said established the "Society for the Promotion and Improvement of Libraries (SPIL) and built one of the largest library of the region, Bait al-Hikmah at Madinat al-Hikmah. He also launched a movement for the promotion of libraries in the country and strongly stressed upon the need of Library Legislation in Pakistan. He was a prolific writer, as well as an avid reader, who wrote and edited 189 books in Urdu and English.
He was editor and co-editor of certain publications under Hamdard imprint. He launched many movements and spent huge amount on conferences and programs for the awakening of the people. He did his best, to bring his nation out of deep sleep of ignorance.
After Jamal-ud-Din Afghani and Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Hakim Said was the only Muslim scholar and reformer who greatly emphasized on dissemination of modern education and knowledge in Muslim societies. He preached for the unity of Muslim Ummah like Afghani and struggled for spreading of education like Sir Syed. All the three were victims of the obscurantist elements of their societies.
With overriding concern with education, he considered that social reforms and education must precede political development. He contended: "Knowledge is vital, but knowledge without understanding is nothing". His energies were largely devoted to furthering education and health in the country. He did not forget to promote education when he was governor of Sindh and even in his brief tenure of governorship he granted charters to four universities and took effective measures to stop cheating in examinations in order to raise standard of education in the province.
He set up Hamdard clinics all over the country, made hospitals and launched Hamdard Free Mobile Dispensaries to provide health facilities to the ailing people at their doorstep. He regularly attended the patients at his clinics at Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and also Dacca when it was the capital city of East Pakistan (Now Bangladesh).
This practice he did not shun even when he was the advisor to the president of Pakistan and governor of Sindh. His motive was to provide as much health facilities to his fellow countrymen as he could. He believed that only the healthy and educated citizens could develop their country and make economic progress.
He was strongly in favor of dissemination of knowledge of history, ancient and modern, for the improvement of his nation. "It is good to keep eyes on future to march forward, but it is also good to look back in the past to take lesson," he once said. He infused new spirit in dying institution of Pakistan Historical Society and gave it a new life by providing funds and a place to carry on its work.
Hakim Said's career as a practical public figure began in 1963 when he led a delegation of physicians and journalists to China on the behest of the then president of Pakistan, General Muhammad Ayub Khan and paved the way of Pak-China relationship on public level. Hakim Said's tour to China proved to be precursor of Pak-China strong friendship. He was not a politician and never tried to be one. He was a reformer pure and simple. His severe reaction and criticism against rulers and those people who were responsible for the worst condition of his country was due to his deep love for Pakistan.
Even from the brief sketch of Hakim Said's life, it can be observed, that he was a man of many dimensions, who had become a legend in his own lifetime. In his personality we could see the charm and values of Indo-Muslim culture and a state of mind of a true Pakistani. Unlike other hakims of Pakistan, he had a wide circle of acquaintances, including distinguished scholars, scientists, politicians, educationists, poets, writers, journalists, physicians and historians.
The crowning work of Hakim Said was his programs for the uplift of children - Future of Pakistan. He extensively spoke and wrote about children and translated his words into practical initiatives of importance for the mental development, well-being, health, education and also rights of children, guaranteed to them by Islam well before other international organizations did so.
He tried his best to get the governments of Pakistan understand that country's future hinges on its children, the builders of its future. He insisted that the agenda of the government for the development of society should put at its forefront the issues of childhood in order to provide the conditions necessary for their normal growth. With that in view he established schools, including Hamdard Village School for the education and vocational training of the children, living in surrounding villages of Madinat al-Hikmah.
He formed two forums; "Children Literary Forum" (Bazm-e-Naunehal Adab) and "Children's Assembly" (Hamdard Naunehal Assembly) for children's mental growth. Focusing on health, education and mental development of children, Hakim Said, also took great interest in youth affairs. He brought out a magazine, "Voice of Morality" (Awaz-e-Akhlaq) for youth to analyze and discuss their issues.
He wrote numerous articles on the problems of youth and gave their solutions. He urged the youth to adopt simplicity, integrity and strong moral character. Because simplicity with high thinking is the beauty of life and strong moral character is a power which consolidates the foundation of a person, enhances his / her status in the society and gives every success in life. He contended that taking a comprehensive care of the youth was a prerequisite to ensure the future of the country.
The establishment of Madinat al-Hikmah by Hakim Said, where a large Library; Hamdard University; other institutions of education and research, colleges and schools are working is really his eternal work. He tried to create among his countrymen a united brotherhood working hand in hand for the good of their great country - Pakistan. He gave them the watchword of "Love Pakistan - Build Pakistan".
He ignored threats of unknown persons and continued his official engagements, organizational programs and the work, very dear to him, attending the patients as usual without any fear. It seems that he was prepared to accept the death of martyrdom in the execution of his set purpose and for adherence to the cause of the nation.
He was killed while fasting when he was going to his clinic after morning prayers on 17th October 1998. Thus a leading voice for the promotion of education, science, culture and of course culture of science in Pakistan has been made silent.