Munawar Hasan was born in Delhi, British India on 5 August 1941. During the partition of India, he migrated with his family and settled in Karachi. He obtained a Master's degree in sociology in 1963 and in Islamic Studies in 1966 from the University of Karachi. Hasan became president of the National Students Federation in 1959. His life changed when he befriended activists of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Pakistan and studied the writings of Abul Ala Maududi and Naeem Siddiqui. He joined Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba in 1960 and became president of its University of Karachi unit, Karachi City Unit, and a member of its Central Executive Council. He became its national president in 1964 and served in that capacity for three consecutive terms. During his tenure the Jamiat organised several campaigns mobilising public opinion regarding education issues. He joined the Islamic Research Academy and later Islamic Jerusalem Studies, at Karachi as a research assistant in 1963. He became its secretary general in 1969. Under his supervision, the academy published 70 scholarly books. He also served as managing editor of The Criterion and The Universal Message, Karachi. Hasan became a member of Jama'at-e-Islami Pakistan in 1967. He served the Karachi unit as Assistant Secretary, Secretary, Deputy Ameer and Ameer of the city. He was then elected to the Central Shura and the Executive Council of the Jama'at. He represented the group at several platforms, including United Democratic Front and the Pakistan National Alliance formed by many Pakistani political parties. He ran for the NA-191 Karachi-IX seat of the National Assembly of Pakistan in 1977 and secured the highest vote tally in Pakistan. He was Assistant Secretary General of Jama'at-e-Islami Pakistan in 1992–93 and became Secretary General in 1993. He was elected Emir or head of the party in 2009. He was known for his simple living style and was cited as an example, "For decades he lived in a two-room portion in the house of Jamaat leader Naimatullah Khan in Karachi, content with the stipend from his party." Munawar Hasan had always been more of an ideologue rather than a pragmatic leader trying to form political alliances with other parties in Pakistan.
After Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan’s loss in the Pakistani general election, 2013, Hasan accepted responsibility and offered to resign from his position, but the Executive Council refused this. In March 2014, Hasan became the first head in the history of JI to be voted out of office when Siraj-ul-Haq Khan was elected head by the members with voting rights. At least one analyst, Nasir Jamal, attributed the change in leadership to JI Arakeen's desire for a younger and more pragmatic leader.
