{{Short description|Pakistani medical researcher, scholar, philanthropist and governor of Sindh Province}} {{Use Pakistani English|date=August 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = Hakim | name = Muhammad Said | honorific_suffix = NI, SI | image = HakimSaidImage.jpg | alt = | caption = | order = 20th | office = Governor of Sindh | term_start = 19 July 1993 | term_end = 23 January 1994 | president = Farooq Leghari | prime_minister = Benazir Bhutto | chancellor = | governor = | governor-general = | governor_general = | predecessor = Mahmoud Haroon | successor = Mahmoud Haroon | office2 = President of the Hamdard Foundation | term_start2 = 23 October 1969 | term_end2 = 17 October 1998 | alongside2 = Sadia Rashid | predecessor2 = ''Office created'' | successor2 = Sadia Rashid (daughter) | term_start3 = 14 August 1948 | term_end3 = 17 October 1998 | predecessor3 = ''Office created'' | successor3 = Ahsan Qadir Shafiq | office4 = Vice-Chancellor of Hamdard University | term_start4 = 14 August 1948 | term_end4 = 17 October 1998 | predecessor4 = ''Office created'' | successor4 = Nasim Ahmad Khan | chancellor4 = Mahmoud Haroon | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1920|01|09}}<ref name="The Express Tribune"/> | birth_place = New Delhi, British India | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1998|10|17|1920|01|09}}<ref name="The Express Tribune"/> | death_place = Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan | resting_place = Madinat-Al-Hikmah, Karachi | birth_name = Hakeem Muhammed Saeed | citizenship = British subject (1920–1948)<br>Pakistani (1948–1998) | party = Independent | other_party = <!--For additional political affiliations--> | spouse = {{marriage|Naimat Begum|1945|1981|end=died}} | relations = | children = Sadia Rashid (daughter) | alma_mater = University of Delhi<br>Ankara University | occupation = Philanthropist, scholar, physician | profession = Medical researcher | known_for = Founder of Hamdard Foundation | signature = | signature_alt = | website = {{URL|hakim-said.com.pk}} | awards = Nishan-e-Imtiaz Award<ref name=TheNation/> in (2002)<br />Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award in 1966<ref name=Dawn>[https://www.dawn.com/news/666668/newspaper/newspaper/column 'Tribute: Hakim Mohammad Said: Serving humanity'] Dawn (newspaper), Published 16 October 2011, Retrieved 24 August 2019</ref> | blank2 = | data2 = | relatives = Hakim Abdul Hameed (brother) | native_name = {{nq|حکیم محمد سعید}} | native_name_lang = ur }}
'''Hakeem Muhammad Saeed''' ({{langx|ur|{{nq|حکیم محمد سعید}}}}; 9 January 1920 – 17 October 1998)<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2022-10-07 |title=Hakim Muhammad Saeed's 24th death anniversary being observed today |url=https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/671836-Hakim-Muhammad-Saeed’s-24th-death-anniversary-being-observed-today |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Dunya News |language=en}}</ref> was a Pakistani medical researcher, author, scholar, and philanthropist. He served as governor of Sindh Province from 19 July 1993 until 23 January 1994. Saeed was one of Pakistan's most prominent medical researchers in the field of Eastern medicine.
He established the Hamdard Foundation in 1948, prior to his settlement in West Pakistan. In the next few years, the herbal medical products of the Hamdard Foundation became household names in Pakistan. Hakeem Muhammad Saeed authored and compiled about 200 books on medicine, philosophy, science, health, religion, natural medicine, literature, social issues, as well as travelogues.<ref name=":0" /> In 1981, Saeed became one of the founding member of the World Cultural Council, a nonprofit international organization, based in Mexico.<ref>{{cite web|title =Hakim Said listed as a founder of World Cultural Council|publisher = World Cultural Council, Mexico website|url=https://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/about-us/members/|access-date =24 August 2019}}</ref>
On 17 October 1998, Hakeem Saeed was assassinated by a group of unknown assailants while he was on his way to attend a medical experiment at the Hamdard Laboratories in Karachi.<ref name=":0" /> His killing prompted Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif to impose direct federal rule over the Sindh province.<ref name="BBC" />
==Early life and career== Hakeem Muhammad Said was born in Delhi, British India in 1920 to an educated and religious Urdu-speaking Muhajir family.<ref name="The Express Tribune">{{cite web |last=Hasan |first=Saad |date=17 October 2011 |title=13th death anniversary: Hakim Mohammed Said, the man of morals and medicine |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/275506/13th-death-anniversary-hakim-saeed-the-man-of-morals-and-medicine/ |access-date=24 August 2019 |website=The Express Tribune |publisher=}}</ref> His ancestors came from Kashgar (now Kashi, Xinjiang, China) to the Indian subcontinent, in the reign of the Mughal emperor, Shah Alam. They first stayed at Peshawar for about eighteen years, then moved to Multan, before finally settling down in Delhi.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Zafar |first=Muhammad Humayun |date=30 June 2019 |title=والد کی شہادت کے بعد ایک روز کیلئے بھی ''ہمدرد'' بند نہیں ہوا |language=ur-PK |agency=Daily Jang |url=https://jang.com.pk/news/652687-hamdard-matab |access-date=28 July 2019}}</ref>
His forefathers and family had been associated with the herbal medicine business and had established the Hamdard Waqf Laboratories in India before 1947, which today has emerged as one of the largest manufacturers of Unani medicines in the world.<ref name="The Express Tribune" /> Saeed attended the local school where he learned Arabic, Persian, Urdu, English and studied the Quran.<ref name="The Express Tribune" /> At the age of 18, Hakeem went on to attend the University of Delhi in 1938. There, Saeed obtained a B.Pharmacy degree and a Bachelor of Science degree in medicinal chemistry in 1942.<ref name="The Express Tribune" />{{failed verification|date=January 2025}} After his undergraduate education, Saeed joined Hamdard Waqf Laboratories as a junior researcher and participated in herbal quality control while formulating medicines.<ref name="The Express Tribune" />{{failed verification|date=January 2025}} In 1945, Saeed attended the post-graduate course and obtained a master's degree in pharmacy from the same institution. Before 1947, Hakeem Saeed was also involved in the Pakistan Movement activities.<ref name=Dawn/>
After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, Saeed left his hometown with his wife and only daughter.<ref name="The Express Tribune" /> The family settled in Karachi, Sindh Province of West Pakistan.<ref name="The Express Tribune" /> He established Hamdard Laboratories and served as its first director until his death in 1998.<ref name="The Express Tribune" /> In 1952, Saeed travelled to Turkey where he attended the Ankara University and was awarded a PhD degree in pharmacy, then returned to Pakistan to devote his life to medicine research.<ref name="The Express Tribune" />
===Scholarship=== Following his settlement in Pakistan, Saeed began practicing medicine and continued to research in Eastern medicine. Having established the Hamdard Laboratories in 1948, Saeed was one of the driving forces in Pakistan for engaging in the research in medical biology and medicine. In 1953, after his doctorate degree, Saeed joined the Sindh University as an associate professor of pharmacy and taught courses in organic chemistry. In 1963, Saeed resigned from his position because of differences with the Federal government. In 1964, Saeed came into public limelight when he gave rogue criticism to Lieutenant-General Wajid Ali Khan Burki, then-Surgeon General of the Pakistan Army Medical Corps, who was a high-profile officer leading the then Ministry of Health under the government of Field Marshal Ayub Khan.<ref name=Dawn/> Saeed criticized the General, saying, "General [Wajid] Burki used to say that Eastern medicine and homeopathy were quackery".<ref name=Dawn/> Saeed began to write articles, organized conferences and lobbied hard for the Eastern medicine and Ayub Khan had to pass a law legalizing Eastern medicine, due to a fear of his government losing credibility among the people.<ref name=Dawn/>
In 1985, Hakeem Mohammed Saeed founded Hamdard University, where he served as its first Vice-Chancellor and as a professor.<ref name=Dawn/>
The crowning activity of his life is the establishment of ''Madinat-al-Hikmah'' campus in Karachi. It comprises Hamdard University with such institutes as Hamdard College of Medicine and Dentistry, Hamdard Al-Majeed College of Eastern Medicine, Hafiz Muhammad Ilyas Institute of Herbal Sciences, Hamdard Institute of Education & Social Sciences, Hamdard Institute of Management Sciences, Hamdard Institute of Information Technology, Hamdard School of Law, Faculty of Engineering Science & Technology, Hamdard Public School and Hamdard Village School. [http://www.planwel.edu/l9.htm Bait-al-Hikmah] (the Library) is also a constituent part of Madinat-al-Hikmah. This is one of the biggest and best-stocked libraries of Pakistan.
Saeed wrote, edited or compiled over 200 books and journals in Urdu and English on Islam, education, Pakistan, science, medicine, and health. Besides writing travelogues of countries he visited, he also wrote books especially for youth and children. He also edited some journals such as ''Hamdard Islamicus'', ''Hamdard Medicus'', Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society "Historicus", ''Hamdard-e-Sehat'', and ''Hamdard Naunehal''. For several years he was also the editor of ''Payami'', the Urdu edition of UNESCO'S journal ''Courier''. Saeed participated in various international conferences on medicine, science, education and culture and travelled widely to many countries of the world. While in Pakistan, he organized numerous international and national conferences on topics of prime importance.<ref>Hakim MOhammed Said– Shakhsiyat aur Fun by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, ''Fikr-o-Nazar'', Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, Vol. 36, No. 1, 1999, pp. 5–14</ref> Saeed created two widely attended national forums: ''Hamdard Shura'' (for leaders of public opinion) and ''Naunehal Assembly'' (for children). He held offices and memberships in dozens of national and international organizations related to education and healthcare. He launched two journals, ''Hamdard Medicus'' and ''Hamdard Islamicus''. ''Hamdard-e-Sehat'', which was already being published under his editorship since 1940, also appeared from Karachi in 1948. He launched a magazine for young readers, ''Hamdard Naunehal'' and established a separate division, Naunehal Adab, for producing quality books for children.
Saeed was an exponent of Eastern medicine who had treated patients from all over the world including Pakistan, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East by the time of his death in October 1998. He helped get alternative medicine recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO). After a fifty-year career as a practitioner of Greco-Arab medicine, he was posthumously awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan in 2002.<ref>Hakim Muhammad Saeed– Hayat wa Khidmat by Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman, ''Aina-e-Tib 2000'', Ajmal Khan Tibbia College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India, pp. 18 – 27</ref>
===Books written=== ====Islamic-related==== #''Religion, Islamic Studies, Islamic Law, Education and Literature'' (in English) #''Nuristan'' (Radio speeches on Quran-e-Hakim & our lives) (Published in 1987) #''The Employer And the Employee: Islamic Concept'' (Published in 1972) #''Islamic Concept of State'' (Published in 1983) #''Essays on Islam'' (Four Volumes) (Published between 1992 and 1998) #''Voice of Morality'' (Published in 1985) #''Man, The World, Peace'' #''Main Currents of Contemporary Thought In Pakistan'' (2 Volumes), History & Biography (in English) (Published in 1973) #''Al-Biruni: His Time, Life And Works'', Co-author: Dr. Ansar Zahid Khan (Published in 1981) #''Personalities Noble'' (Published in 1983) #''Road To Pakistan'', Co-authors: Dr. Moin-ul-Haq, Prof. Sharif-ul-Mujahid, Dr. Ansar Zahid Khan (Published in 1990)
====Medicine & History of Medicine==== #''Al-Biruni's Book on Pharmacist And Material to Medica'' (Published in 1973) #''Diseases of Liver: Greco-Arab Concepts'' (Published in 1982) #''Cardiovascular Diseases: Greco-Arab Concepts'' (Published in 1983) #''Hamdard Pharmacopoeia of Eastern Medicine'' (Published in 1969) #''Oral Health'' (Published in 1994) #''Medicine In China'' (Published in 1965) #''Pharmacy and Medicine Thru The Ages'' (Published in 1969) #''Traditional Greco-Arab And Modern Western Medicine: Conflict and Symbiosis'' (Published in 1975) #''Pakistan Encyclopedia Planta Medica (2 Volumes)'', Co-authors: Dr. Viqar Uddin Ahmed & Dr. Atta-Ur-Rahman (Published in 1986) #''Medicinal Herbal'' (2 volumes) (Published in 1996) #''Background of Unani, Arabic & Islamic Medicine & Pharmacy'' (Published in 1997) #''Ethics For Medics'' (Published in 1997)
====Children's Literature==== #''Love and Peace'' (Published in 1990) #''Dostan'' (4 parts) Published in 1991 #''Let Us Talk Health'' (Published in 1989) #''Peace Primer'', Co-author F.A. Anvery (Published in 1991) #''The Best of Goodness'' (Published in 1991) #''The Greatest Man'' (Published in 1991) #''A Primer of Health for Children of the World'' (Published in 1993) #''A World without Polio'' – Children's thematic Poster Competition (Published in 1996)
==Personal life== In 1945, he married his cousin Naimat Begum in Delhi. They had one daughter, Sadia Rashid.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ahmed|first1=Idrees|title=حکیم محمد سعید کی سچی کہانی|url=http://mazameen.com/?p=34981|website=Mazameen.com|publisher=Mazameen|access-date=28 July 2019|date=1 October 2018}}</ref> He was the younger brother of the Hakim Abdul Hameed.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 October 2017 |title=Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said: A distinguished personality |work=Business Recorder |url=https://fp.brecorder.com/2017/10/20171017226946/ |access-date=22 November 2021}}</ref>
==Death and investigation== Saeed was murdered on 17 October 1998 in Aram Bagh area of Karachi. His murderers were caught by DIG Farooq Amin Qureshi, CCPO Karachi at that time. Qureshi was highly appreciated and is one of the most renowned police officers of Pakistan to this day. Several persons were arrested and subsequently sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |date=1999-06-04 |title=World: South Asia Nine MQM members sentenced to death |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/361178.stm |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=BBC News |publisher=}}</ref>
In 2001, an anti-terrorism appellate bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted all nine people accused of murdering Saeed. The verdict was challenged by the then provincial government. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) workers, Mohammed Amirullah, Mohammed Shakir alias Shakir Langra and Abu Imran Pasha, were among those acquitted by the court.
On 26 April 2014, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict of Sindh High Court (SHC) regarding acquittal of MQM workers in the Hakeem Saeed murder case.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2014-04-26 |title=SC upholds acquittal of MQM activists in Hakeem Said murder |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1102463 |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=Dawn |language=en}}</ref>
==Legacy, awards and recognition== * Kuwait Prize for Tibb-i-Islami (Eastern medicine) in 1983<ref name=Dawn/> * Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award by the President of Pakistan in 1966<ref name=Dawn/> * Nishan-e-Imtiaz Award by the President of Pakistan in 2002<ref name="TheNation">{{Cite web |date=2015-10-17 |title=Death anniversary of Hakim Saeed observed |url=https://nation.com.pk/17-Oct-2015/death-anniversary-of-hakim-saeed-observed |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=The Nation |language=en}}</ref> * Many prominent personalities of Lahore gathered at the Hamdard Center on his death anniversary in 2011, to pay tributes to him. Hakeem Saeed was portrayed as someone who had a multi-dimensional personality, a patriot of the highest order, and who is a role model for the youth as he set worthwhile examples of hard work, honesty and love for humanity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-11-03 |title=Hakim Saeeds services praised |url=https://nation.com.pk/03-Nov-2011/Hakim-Saeeds-services-praised |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=The Nation |language=en}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Pakistan Movement}} {{Founding members of the World Cultural Council}} {{Governors of Sindh|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Said, Hakim}} Category:1920 births Category:1998 deaths Category:Governors of Sindh Category:Founding members of the World Cultural Council Category:Herbalists Category:Muhajir people Category:Pakistani philanthropists Category:Pakistani homeopaths Category:Pakistani medical researchers Category:Pakistani medical writers Category:Pakistani pharmacists Category:Pakistani pharmacologists Category:Pakistani travel writers Category:Founders of academic institutions Category:Pakistani book and manuscript collectors Category:Vice-chancellors of Hamdard University Category:Bibliophiles Category:Writers from Karachi Category:Businesspeople from Karachi Category:Academic staff of Hamdard University Category:Pakistan Movement activists Category:People murdered in Karachi Category:Founders of Pakistani schools and colleges Category:Diarists Category:Pakistani memoirists Category:Pakistani people of Uyghur descent Category:Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Category:Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Category:Urdu-language children's writers Category:20th-century diarists Category:Scientists from Delhi Category:Politicians from Karachi Category:Indian emigrants to Pakistan Category:20th-century philanthropists Category:20th-century science writers