Beacon of Light-Dr Muhammad Umer Chapra

Dr M.Umer Chapra a Renowned economist and author of many books was born in a Memon Family on  1st February 1933. He is one of the scholars who has got his higher education on a scholarship of All Pakistan Memon Educational and Welfare Society.


He was a brilliant student and always topped the list of successful candidates. He acquired merit scholarship from Karachi University in 1956 and received M. Corn. degree. Thereafter, he proceeded to USA for his Ph.D. He was admitted to the University of Minnesota where he was awarded Cowls fellowship. In 1957, he was appointed teaching assistant in the same University and after receiving Ph.D., he was appointed Assistant Professor in Wisconsin University. Coming back to Pakistan, he joined the Institute of Development of Economics as Sr. Economist and subsequently became Assistant Editor of Pakistan Development Review. He worked with the Central Institute of Islamic Research as Associate Professor and later as faculty member of Wisconsin University and Kuwait University.


In the year 1962 he got married to Khairunnisa Jamal Mundia, a highly educated lady. She obtained diploma course in Public Health from Beirut and joined Karachi Child Health Centre. She was one of the first Memon lady speakers who delivered speeches in USA and Saudi Arabia.They have four children namely Maryam, Anas, Sumayyah and Ayman

Dr. M. Umer Chapra is currently serving as Research Advisor at the Islamic Research & Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Before joining IRTI in 1999, he worked as Senior Economic Advisor at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) from where he retired after a long service of 35 years.

Dr. Chapra also taught in the United States at the Universities of Wisconsin and Kentucky and worked in Pakistan at the Institute of Development Economics and the Islamic Research Institute. He has made seminal contributions to Islamic Economics and Finance over more than three decades.He has authored 16 books and monographs and more than 100 papers and book reviews. Some of his books, monographs and papers have been translated into a number of languages, including Arabic, Bangla, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Malay, Persian, Polish, Spanish, Turkish and Urdu.

 Consequently, he has received a number of awards, including the Islamic Development Bank Award for Islamic Economics, and the King Faisal International Award for Islamic Studies, both in 1989.

In Fifty-two years of his professional life,he served 2 years in Pakistan, 6 years in the U.S.A. and 44 years in Saudi Arabia.He has worked in Institutes like University of Minnesota,University of Wisconsin, Platteville,Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Karachi ,the Central Institute of Islamic Research, Karachi,University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky.Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency,  Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah .

His most outstanding contributions have been the four books indicated below;

1. Towards a Just Monetary System (1985)

2. Islam and the Economic Challenge (1992)

3. The Future of Economics: An Islamic Perspective (2000)

4. Muslim Civilization: The Causes of Decline and the Need for Reform (2008).

Awards Received

a) Received gold medal from the University of Sind for standing first in the High School Examination in 1950 among 25,000 students.

b) Awarded a gold medal from the Memon Educational and Welfare Society for being one of the five most outstanding scholars of the Society.

c) Received an award for being recognized as one of the ten most outstanding students of the Government College of Commerce and Economics, Karachi, at the 40th anniversary of the College in February 1986.

d) Received the Islamic Development Bank award in 1989 in recognition of his contribution to Islamic Economics.

e) Received the King Faisal International Award in 1989 in recognition of his contribution to Islamic studies. 

f) Received a gold medal in 1995 from the Institute of Overseas Pakistanis for his meritorious services to Islam and Islamic Economics.

g) Shield from the Islamic Council of North America (ICNA) at its 2009 Annual Convention in Hartford, CA for his "commitment and profound contributions to Islamic economics and finance"