Israr Ahmad was born on April 26, 1932 in Hisar (a district of East Punjab, now a part of Haryana) in India, the second son of a government servant. He graduated from lahor in 1954 and later received his Master's degree in Islamic Studies from the University of Karachi in 1965. He came under the influence of 'Abul Ala Maududi' as a young student, worked briefly for Muslim Student's Federation in the Independence Movement and, following the creation of Pakistan in 1947, for the Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba and then for the Jamaat-e-Islami. Ahmad resigned from the Jama`at in April 1957 because of its involvement in the electoral politics, which he believed was irreconcilable with the revolutionary methodology adopted by the Jama'at in the pre-1947 period.
While still a student and an activist of the Islami Jami`yat-e-Talaba, Ahmad became a Mudarris (or teacher) of the Qur'an. Even after resigning from Jama`at, he continued to give Quranic lectures in different cities of Pakistan, and especially after 1965 spent a great deal of time studying the Quran.He also worked with the tablighi jamaat but then left the organization due to some methodological differences.
In 1967 Ahmad wrote “Islamic Renaissance: The Real Task Ahead”, a tract explaining his basic belief. This was that a rebirth of Islam would be possible only by revitalizing iman (faith) among the Muslims – particularly educated Muslims – and the propagation of the Qur'anic teachings in contemporary idiom and at the highest level of scholarship is necessary to revitalize iman. This undertaking would remove the existing dichotomy between modern physical and social sciences on the one hand, and Islamic revealed knowledge on the other.
In 1971 Ahmad gave up his medical practice to devote himself full time to the Islamic revival. In 1972 he established or helped establish the Markazi Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Qur'an Lahore, Tanzeem-e-Islami was founded in 1975, and Tahreek-e-Khilafat Pakistan was launched in 1991.
Ahmad first appeared on Pakistan Television in 1978 in a program called Al-Kitab; this was followed by other programs, known as Alif Lam Meem, Rasool-e-Kamil, Umm-ul-Kitab and the most popular of all religious programs in the history of Pakistan Television, the Al-Huda, which made him a household name throughout the country. His television lectures generally focused on the revitalization of the Islamic faith through studies of the Quran. Ahmad also criticized modern democracy and the electoral system and argued that the head of an Islamic state can reject the majority decisions of an elected assembly. Although he did not like to receive it personally, Ahmad was awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 1981. He has to his credit over 60 Urdu books on topics related to Islam and Pakistan, 9 of which have been translated into English and other languages. in 21st century Ahmad came on peace TV and taught Islam to people so they could understand Islam.
Dr Israr Ahmed died of a cardiac arrest at his home in Lahore on the morning of 14 April 2010 between 3:00 and 3:30 a.m. According to his son, his health deteriorated at around 1:30 a.m. with pain in the back. He was a long time heart patient.
His funeral (Namaz-e-Janazah) was held after the Asr (afternoon) prayers at Central Model-town Park (near Barkat Market) in the city of Lahore. It is reported that around twenty thousand people attended his funeral
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