a madrasah nearby, Usmani's primary education began at home under his parents. He was later enrolled in Darul Uloom Karachi after Mufti Shafi founded the school in 1950. After completing his primary education, he began his formal religious training in the Dars-i Nizami curriculum in 1953. He passed the Fazil-i Arabi (Punjab Board) with distinction in 1958, and received his Alimiyyah degree with distinction from Darul Uloom Karachi in 1959. He then obtained his Takhassus (specialization) degree in fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and ifta (fatwa issuance) from Darul Uloom Karachi in 1961, earning the title of "Mufti". Usmani continued his education at the University of Karachi, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in economics and politics in 1964, then a Bachelor of Laws with second-class honours in 1967. In 1970 he obtained a Master of Arts with first-class honours in Arabic language and literature from the University of Punjab. Teachers Usmani received teaching licenses to teach hadith from Islamic scholars including Muhammad Shafi, Muhammad Idris Kandhlawi, Qari Muhammad Tayyib, Saleemullah Khan, Rashid Ahmed Ludhianvi, Sahban Mahmud, Zafar Ahmad Usmani, Muhammad Zakariya Kandhalvi, Hasan al-Mahshat Al-Makki Al-Maliki, 'Abdu-l-'Azeez Ibn Baz Al-Maliki, Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah, Abi Al-Faid Muhammad Yasin Al-Fadani Ash-Shafi'i, and others. Islamic Economics Usmani pioneered the concept of Islamic banking in Pakistan when he established the Meezan Bank. Usmani has authored books in Arabic, Urdu, and English on Islamic topics in addition to articles on Islamic banking and finance published in journals and magazines. According to The Muslim 500: "Usmani's chief influence comes from his position as a global authority on the issue of Islamic finance." Awards and honours 2022: The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre ranks Usmani 6th in the 2023 edition of The 500 Most Influential Muslims. 2022: Honorary doctorate degree awarded in Islamic Law and Jurisprudence by American International Theism University 2019: Sitara-i Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) in the field of public service, conferred by the President of Pakistan 2019: The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre ranks Usmani 1st in the 2020 edition of The 500 Most Influential Muslims. He has been included in the top 50 in every edition of the publication since its inception in 2009. 2017: The Global Islamic Finance Report ranks Usmani 2nd most influential person in the global Islamic financial services industry 2017: Lifetime Achievement Award, Islamic Finance Excellence Awards (IFEA), Center of Islamic Finance at COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore 2016: