King Faisal Prize

The King Faisal Prize, formerly the King Faisal International Prize, is an annual award sponsored by the King Faisal Foundation in Riyadh and presented to "dedicated men and women whose contributions make a positive difference", in five categories: Service to Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic Language and Literature, Science and Medicine. ¹

The first prize was awarded in 1979 to the Pakistani scholar Abul A'la Maududi for service to Islam, and the same year Fuat Sezgin received the Islamic Studies prize for his studies of the influence of Muslim scholars on European civilisation. ¹ Medicine was added in 1982 and Science in 1984; the Service to Islam prize went to King Khalid in 1981 and King Fahd in 1984, and in 1986 it was shared by Ahmed Deedat and Roger Garaudy. ¹

Each year the selection committees set topics for Islamic Studies, Arabic Literature and Medicine, while Science rotates through physics, mathematics, chemistry and biology. ¹ Islamic institutions, universities and previous winners may nominate; nominations from individuals or political parties are not accepted. Winners for Service to Islam are chosen directly by the selection committee, the other categories pass through peer review, and international specialist committees meet at the foundation's headquarters in Riyadh each January for the final decisions. ¹ The prize consists of a certificate in Diwani calligraphy, a 24-carat gold medal of 200 grams and SAR 750,000, shared when there are several winners, presented at a ceremony in Riyadh under the auspices of the King of Saudi Arabia. ¹

Service to Islam laureates include Mahathir Mohamad in 1997 as Prime Minister of Malaysia, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2010, Zakir Naik in 2015 and King Salman in 2017; Islamic Studies laureates include Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani in 1999 for the authentication of hadith, Yusuf al-Qaradawi in 1994 and Halil İnalcık in 2011. ¹ In Science, Ahmed Zewail received the physics prize in 1989 jointly with Theodor Hänsch, and Omar Yaghi the chemistry prize in 2015 with Michael Grätzel. ¹ The 2026 Service to Islam prize, announced on 15 April 2026, was shared by Sheikh Abdullatif Alfozan of Saudi Arabia and Professor Mohamed Mohamed Aboumousa of Egypt. ¹

The article records that the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Germany are the countries with most laureates through 2026, and that Sydney Brenner was considered the first Jewish laureate, in 1992. ¹

The prize continues annually, and the King Faisal Foundation publishes its laureates on its website. ¹

Service to Islam: Abul A'la Maududi (1979), Abu al-Hasan 'Ali al-Hasani al-Nadwi (1980), Mohammad Natsir (1980), Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1981), Ibn Baz, Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah (1982), Hassanein Muhammad Makhlouf (1983), Tunku Abdul Rahman (1983), Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1984), Ahmed Deedat (1986), Roger Garaudy (1986), Abubakar Gumi (1987), Ahmad Domocao Alonto (1988), Muhammad al-Ghazali (1989), Ali al-Tantawi (1990), Khurshid Ahmad (1990), Abdullah Omar Nasseef (1991), Alija Izetbegović (1993), Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin (1994), Jad al-Haqq ibn Ali Jad al-Haqq (1995), Abd al-Rahman al-Sumayt (1996), Mahathir Mohamad (1997), Abdou Diouf (1998), Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi (2002), Abd al-Rahman Siwar al-Dhahab (2004), Mintimer Shaimiev (2007), Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (2008), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2010), Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2011), Ahmed Lemu (2014), Zakir Naik (2015), Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (2017), Ali Hassan Mwinyi (2022), Hamid Choi (2023), Mohammad al-Sammak (2024). ¹

Islamic Studies: Fuat Sezgin (1979), Muhammad Mustafa al-Azami (1980), Mustafa al-Zarqa (1984), Yusuf al-Qaradawi (1994), Sayyid Sabiq (1994), Akram Diya' al-Umari (1996), Al-Albani, Muhammad Nasir al-Din (1999); Arabic Language and Literature: Mahmud Muhammad Shakir (1984), Yahya Haqqi (1990), Aisha Abd al-Rahman (Bint al-Shati) (1994). ^{1 2}

Science: Ahmed Zewail (1989). ¹

• English Wikipedia article on the King Faisal Prize, revision of 31 October 2026. ¹
• The prize's official laureate pages, one per laureate (category, year, birth, the stated reason and later updates), read on 7 November 2026. ²