Alhaj Khursheed Ahmad or Khurshid Ahmad ( ur, ) (1 January 1956 – 30 August 2007) was a Naat Khawan from
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
. He started to recite Naats when he was only a few years old, and by the time of his death he had recited thousands of Naats. He used to proficiently recite Naats not only in
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...
and Sindhi. The melody of his voice and the unique way of reciting attracted numerous people towards him and soon he had become a famous Naat Khawan. Profile of Khursheed Ahmad on hamariweb.com website, Retrieved 4 December 2018
Early life
Khursheed Ahmad was born on January 1, 1956, in
Rahim Yar Khan
Rahim Yar Khan () is a city in Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 9th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is the capital of the Rahim Yar Khan District and Rahim Yar Khan Tehsil. The administration of the city is subdivided into ni ...
. His parents had migrated from Mandrella near
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...
,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...
, India. He acquired his basic schooling from Abbasi Primary School and passed
Matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
examination from the Colony High School. Then he did Diploma in
Commerce
Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...
from Government Commercial Institute.
In 1973, he shifted to Karachi and joined
Radio Pakistan
Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 Augus ...
as a typist. The same year he participated in a Naat competition in
Dow Medical College
Dow Medical College is a public medical school located in the city of Karachi, Sindh. It was founded in 1945 and named after British civil servant Sir Hugh Dow, Governor of Sindh.
In 2003, it became a constituent college of the newly forme ...
and won 'First Position' in that contest.
Career in Naat Khawani
Alhaj khursheed Ahmed learned intricacies of vocal training and Naat Khawani from Ustad Ishaq Nizami (Sitarplayer of seniya gharana). Mr. Mehdi Zaheer introduced him to
Radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
as a Naat Khawan and he started reciting Naats in 1968. In 1978,
Pakistan Television
Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore.
Background
Historical co ...
held a Naat competition for the first time and he secured First Position there, too. At first, the competition was held at Sindh province level and then at Pakistan level. He took first positions in both the competitions simultaneously. His most famous naat among the people and the one which accelerated his fame was "Zameen-o-Zaman Tumhare Liye". The Naat “Yeh Sab Tumhara Karam Hai Aaqa” was liked very much not only in Pakistan but also all over the world. After reciting this Naat, he became even more popular among the people of Pakistan. Then he went on to reciting Naats not only in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
but also almost in every country wherever
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
lived. , Profile and interview of Khursheed Ahmad on nooremadinah.net website, Retrieved 4 December 2018
Most popular Naats
* "Koi Saleeqa Hai Arzoo Ka, Na Bandagi Meri Bandagi Hai"
* "Zameen-o-Zaman Tumhare Liye"
* "Mehboob Ki Mehfil Ko Mehboob Sajatey Hain"
* "Meray Dil Mein Hai Yaad-e-Muhammad"
* "Jashn-i-Aamad-i-Rasool Allah hee Allah"
* "Yeh Sab Tumhara Karam Hai Aaqa, Ke Baat Ab Tak Bani Hui Hai"
Awards and recognition
* "Khursheed Ahmad had been reciting naats since 1968 and had won first prize in an All Pakistan competition organized by PTV in 1978.
* He was the first Pakistani Naat Khawan to recite Naats throughout the world –
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
,
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and other countries.
* He was honoured with the
Nigar Award
The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...
, a prominent Film Award of Pakistan, for his outstanding Naat reciting skills.
*
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
Award from the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the four provinces, two autonomous territorie ...
One major Pakistani English-language newspaper comments about his death, "Khursheed Ahmad had recently returned to the city after attending a mehfil-i-milad in
Faisalabad
Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...
. He started having blood pressure problems and was shifted to a hospital. After remaining under treatment for a week, during which time he was operated upon, he succumbed to a brain hemorrhage." His funeral prayer offered at the 'Rahmania Mosque' on Tariq Road after Friday prayer and he was laid to rest next to Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s shrine. His funeral was attended by many renowned Naat Khawans of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and media personalities. Qari Waheed Zafar Qasmi, Siddiq Ismail and Rashid Azam are a few to be named. He left behind a widow, two sons and two daughters. Khursheed Ahmad's son Hasan Khursheed and brother Shafiq Ahmad are also naat khawans.
Besides giving performances worldwide, Khursheed Ahmad had also recited naats in the National Assembly of Pakistan before the start of the assembly session.
See also
*
Hamd
Hamd ( ar, حمد, ḥamd, praise) is a word that exclusively praises God - whether written or spoken.
Thus, The word "Hamd" is always followed by the name of God (Allah) - a phrase known as the Tahmid - "al-ḥamdu li-llāh" (Arabic: ) (English ...