Biography
Khurshid Ahmad was born into a religiously firmed family on 23 March 1932 in Delhi (now part of Republic of India and state capital as well), former British Indian Empire. His family had a deep ultraconservative background with Islamic teachings and practices were strictly followed. After being home schooled and gaining traditional Islamic education, Ahmad entered in Anglo-Arabic higher secondary school in Delhi where he excelled with good marks and standings. In 1947, his family moved to newly established state, Pakistan, and settled in Lahore, Punjab Province. In 1949, Ahmad enrolled in Government College University (GCU) where he studied commerce and economics where he gained first position in his courses. It was his years at the GCU where he he developed serious interest and interaction between Capitalism and Islam, the twin passions of much of his life work. The same year, he became active Islamic activist and subsequently joined the Jamaat-e-Islami.
In 1949, Ahmad published his first English article on "Muslim Economist", where he commentated and proposed ideas on First Five-Year Plans for the national economy of Pakistan. In 1952, Ahmad earned BA with First Class Honours in Economics and Commerce, and graduated with top standing in his batch of graduating class of 1952 of the GCU. He entered in GCU's law college the same year and earned LLB with emphasis in Islamic law and jurisprudence. During this time, he became an active member of JeI and continued his passion for teaching Islamic studies in Lahore. As an aftermat of 1953 riots in Lahore and massive arrests of JeI activists, Ahmad moved to Karachi, Sindh and enrolled in Karachi University for his higher education. At Karachi University, Ahmad earned MSc with Hons in Economics where his master's thesis contained the work on fundamental concepts of Adam Smith's pioneering work on Capitalism.
In 1964, Ahmad earned MA with First Class Honours from Karachi University in Islamic Studies. In 1965, Ahmad went to United Kingdom where he enrolled at the University of Leicester for his doctoral studies and was conferred with doctorate in Economics. His doctoral works contains the fundamental work on Islamic economic jurisprudence principle which he successfully defended after submitting briefed and discussed thesis to the university. In 1970s, the Leiceter University awarded Ahmad with honorary doctorate in Education.
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