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Muhammed Chabra received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Karachi University in 1956, and a Ph.D. at Minnesota University in 1961. He worked at the Institute of Development Economics and the Islamic Research Institute in Pakistan, then as a research assistant at Minnesota, and associate professor of economics at Wisconsin and Kentucky Universities, before becoming Consultant to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Organization for 34 years.

An accomplished scholar of Islamic economics, Chapra made seminal contributions to Islamic economics and finance over the past several decades. He published around 15 books and monographs and more than 90 articles and book reviews. One of his groundbreaking contributions is his book Towards a Just Monetary System (1985). Reviewing that book in the Bulletin of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, Professor Wilson of the University of Durham described it as “the most lucid presentation yet of the monetary theory of Islam.” Chapra’s books were translated into many languages and are taught in universities worldwide. He delivered numerous invited lectures and participated in hundreds of conferences worldwide.

Dr. Chapra is currently a Research Advisor at the Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah. He is a member of the Royal Economic Society (London), the American Economic Association, the Saudi Economic Association, and the Islamic Economic Association. He is also a member of the editorial boards of a number of prestigious international journals of economics.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Saleh Al-Ali received his Ph.D. from Oxford University in 1945, and was a research fellow at Harvard in the 1950s. For several decades, he was a Professor and a Professor Emeritus of Islamic History at the College of Arts and Sciences in Baghdad University, and an active participant in the cultural and intellectual life of his country. He was also Dean of the Institute for Higher Islamic Studies, member of Baghdad University Council and Acting President of the Center for Revival of Arab Scientific Heritage. He was also an honorary member, an associate member, and a corresponding member of the Arabic language academies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, the Islamic Academy in Aligarh (India), the Jordanian Royal Academy for Islamic Civilization Research, and the Spanish Islamic Institute in Madrid. He was the President of the Iraqi Academy from 1978 to 1996.

Professor Saleh Ahmed Al-Ali was an accomplished scholar of Islamic history. He authored, edited and translated more than 25 books in addition to 170 articles, research papers and review articles dealing with different aspects of Islamic history and thought. His authoritative texts: The Social and Economic Structure of Basra During the First Century AH and Plans of Basra Region encompass a detailed characterization of Islamic cities during the early post-Islamic era and are examples of Al-Ali’s distinction. Other major books by Al-Ali, all of which testify to his exceptional erudition, include: Baghdad Layout of the 5th Hejira Century; Architectural Features of Baghdad; and Baghdad, City of Peace. Professor Al-Ali also wrote on governance and affairs of the Islamic State and translated Rosenthal’s: A History of Muslim Historiography and other books in his field.

Professor Al-Ali received the Jalal Sadiq Prize in Cairo in 1945.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Miqdad Yalçin commenced his education in Turkey, continued it in Syria, and completed it in Al-Azhar University and Dar Al-Ulum College in Cairo. After receiving his doctorate degree and general and special diplomas in education from Egypt, he returned to Turkey to teach at the College of Theology in Ankara University. In 1980, he was employed by the Department of Education in the College of Social Studies at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh, where he became a professor of Islamic studies.

Professor Yalçin published numerous research articles, conference papers and nearly 60 books in Arabic and Turkish, dealing predominantly with Islamic education and related topics. His major works in education include: The Role of Islamic Education in Building the Individual, The Society and Civilization, Educational Psychology in Islam (jointly with Yusuf Al- Kadi), and Foundations of the Islamic Education Theory.

These texts illustrate Yalçin’s deep knowledge of fundamental principles of Islamic education and their impact on the Muslim’s personality and ideals, which are the foundations of an Islamic nation. His books also discuss Islamic education as it compares to modern educational concepts based on contemporary western thought.

Yalçin participated in editing an Encyclopedia of Islamic Education.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

After Mohammad Kotb had completed his general education, he obtained a degree in English Language at Fuad Al-Awwal University in 1940, and a Diploma from the High Institute for Education and Psychology in Cairo in 1941.

He worked for some time as an English language teacher, then joined the Egyptian National Library (Dar Al-Kutub Al-Misriyya) and was subsequently appointed translator in the Egyptian Ministry of Education. Thereafter, he was transferred to the Department of Culture in the Ministry of Higher Education as a supervisor of the 1000-book project, which was launched to produce books at affordable prices. In 1972, he moved to Saudi Arabia as a teacher in the Sharia College in Makkah.

Mr. Kotb was a prominent Islamic educator and thinker. He is also a prolific writer and orator. In addition to hundreds of articles and popular lectures, he authored close to 35 books dealing with a wide range of educational, social, psychological, historical, theological and contemporary issues concerning Muslims. His two-volume book, The Methodology of Islamic Education, is an insightful account of present-day concepts of education from an Islamic perspective.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Abdulaziz Al-Duri obtained his B.A. from London University in 1940, and his Ph.D. in Islamic History from the same university in 1942. Since then, he had been teaching Islamic history in Iraq and Jordan for more than half a century. During his tenure in Iraq, he became the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Baghdad University, President of the University and subsequently President of the Higher Council of Iraqi Universities. He was also the President of the Iraqi Association of Writers and Authors, and a visiting professor at the American University in Beirut and the School of African and Oriental Studies in London. He was a member of the Iraqi Academy of Science, the Royal Jordanian Academy for Islamic Civilization Research (Al Al-Bayt Foundation for Islamic Thought), and the Council of Custodians of the Library of Alexandria; he was also an honorary member of the Jordanian Arabic language Academy and a corresponding member of the Arab Language Academies in Cairo and Damascus.

Professor Al-Duri was a prominent Arab scholar of Islamic history, especially Islamic economic history. He authored and co-authored around 20 books and numerous scholarly articles dealing with various economical, cultural, and historical aspects of the Islamic civilization. His erudition, originality, and clarity of thought gained him wide recognition throughout the Arab and Islamic worlds. Some of his keynote books, such as his illustrious book: The Economic History of Iraq During the 7th Century A.H., were translated into English, German, Turkish and other languages.

Professor Al-Duri’s distinguished contributions to Islamic economic history were recognized by a number of prestigious awards and honors. He was awarded both the Order of Independence (First Class) and the Distinguished Order of Education in Jordan, as well as an Honorary Doctorate degree from Halle-Wittenberg University in Germany, and the Iraqi Academy of Science prize.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Mohammed Rashad completed his general education and took a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Fuad Al-Awal University. He pursued higher education in the U.K. and obtained his Ph.D. in the Islamic Doctrine at Cambridge University. He taught for many years at Ain Shams University in Cairo, then traveled to Saudi Arabia where he taught at King Saud University, then at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.

Professor Mohammad Rashad Salim, a graduate of Cambridge University, was an accomplished Muslim writer and thinker. He authored or edited a number of keynote books on Islamic doctrine, including his illustrious, 11-volume edition of Ibn Taimiyyah’s (1) Dar’a Ta’arudh Al-Aqil Wa Al-Naql (Avoiding Clashes of Thought and Tradition), which remains one of the most influential texts on the Islamic doctrine. Most of his other editions were also focused on the thought and works of Ibn Taimiyya e.g., his editions of: The Path of the Prophet’s Sunnah (2) (8 volumes), Al-Safadiyya (2 volumes) and Righteousness (2 volumes).

Professor Mohammed Rashad was a recipient of the Egyptian State Prize for Islamic Philosophy in 1972 and the Order of Sciences, Literature and Arts in the same year.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Farouk Desouki received his general education in local schools and obtained a bachelor’s degree from the College of Arts at Alexandria University in 1959. He obtained his master’s and Ph.D. degrees at Dar Al-Ulum College in Cairo University in 1978. He worked for several years in the Department of Islamic Studies at King Saud University in Riyadh, rising through academic ranks to full professorship.

Professor Desouki made significant contributions to the study of the Islamic Doctrine. He authored several articles and books in this field, including his widely known book Destiny in Islam. This is a comprehensive and thoroughly documented, 3-volume text that reflects the author’s articulation of the subject and his ability to communicate his ideas in a direct and easy-to-apprehend manner.

Three of Disouki’s other books, namely: Man and Satan, Man’s Inheritance of the Land, and Foundations of the Islamic Society are further examples of his insightfulness and deep knowledge of the fundamental principles of Islam.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Mustafa Hilmi obtained his bachelor’s degree in 1960 and a Ph.D. degree in 1971 from the Department of Philosophy and Social Studies at Alexandria University. After graduation, he was recruited by the Department of Islamic Philosophy at Dar Al-Ulum College in Cairo University, where he was a professor of Islamic Philosophy and Theology for several decades. He was also seconded for some years to teach at the Department of Islamic Studies in the College of Education at King Saud University in Riyadh.

Throughout his career, Professor Hilmi has been rigorously examining important aspects of the Islamic doctrine and thought, such as the Islamic system of governance, Sufism, and different perspectives of fundamentalism and so-called radicalism in Islam. His work, which was published in about 15 books and editions, and several articles and seminar papers, is characterized by its depth, clarity and thorough documentation. Some of his best-known books are Fundamentalism between Islamic Faith and Western Thought, Ibn Taimiyyah and Sufism, Sufism and Islamic Fundamentalism in Modern Times, the Principles of Fundamentalism in Islamic Thought, The Concept of Ethics between Philosophers and Islamic Scholars, and The Caliphate in Islam. One of his best editions (jointly with Professor Abdel Moniem) is: Ghiyath Al-Umam Fi Iltiyath Al-Zulam by Dhia Ul-Din Al-Juwayni, a renowned scholar of the Sunni Asharite school theological thought in the 5th Hijra Century (11th Century G.).

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

Mustafa Al-Zarka’a received a formal education, alongside private tutelage in Islamic Sharia and Fiqh under prominent Syrian religious scholars, including his father. He obtained two high school certificates, one in mathematics and philosophy, and the other in Arts, and attained first place in both, countrywide. Thereafter, he received a bachelor’s of Law and a bachelor’s of Arts degrees at Damascus University, with distinction in both, and a Diploma in Islamic Sharia from Fuad Al-Awal University in Egypt.

As a youth, Al-Zarka’a taught in his father’s place at local mosques and schools, then practiced law for 10 years in Aleppo, before joining Damascus University where he taught civil law at the College of Law, Sharia law at the College of Sharia and Arabic language at the College of Arts for over 20 years. He also held several other important positions including: a member of the Syrian parliament, a Minister of Justice and Endowment in Syria, a Chairman of the Fiqh Encyclopedia project in the College of Sharia in Damascus, an advisor to the Fiqh Encyclopedia in Kuwait, a professor at Sharia College in Amman and the Institute of Arabic studies in Cairo, and a member of the Islamic Fiqh Academy of the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Makkah. He also assisted in developing family laws in Syria and Sharia curricula in many Arab universities.

Shaikh Al-Zarka’a was one of the foremost scholars of Islamic jurisprudence and comparative law in the Islamic world. He authored 12 seminal books as well as numerous articles dealing with both general and specific issues of Islamic jurisprudence, such as Laws of Endowments, Insurance Contracts, Trading, and Bartering etc. He also published a series of comparative studies of Islamic versus civil laws. His ground-breaking book Madakhil Ila Nazariy’yat Al-Iltizam Fi Al-Fiqh Al-Islami (Introduction to the Theory of Liability in Islamic Law) is one of the most important references on this subject in modern times.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.

After memorizing the Holy Qur’an and completing primary school education, Mohammad Odaimah joined Al-Azhar Institute in Tanta, graduating in 1930, then attended Al-Azhar College of Arabic Language in Cairo, graduating in 1934, and continued his higher studies obtaining a Certificate of Specialization (equivalent to M.A.) in 1940, and the High Aalimiyya Certificate (equivalent to Ph.D.) in 1943 from Al-Azhar.

In 1947, Professor Odaimah was seconded to teach in Makkah and then transferred to Jaghbub Oasis in Libya until 1969. In 1972, he was appointed a Professor of Quranic Studies at Imam Mohammed Bin Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he remained for the rest of his life. It was during his time in Makkah that he started working on his groundbreaking text Linguistic Style of the Quran. This mammoth book, consisting 11-volumes each comprising at least 600 pages, took 35 years to complete. It is a highly authoritative work and one of the greatest books ever written on the linguistic treasures and grammatical structure of the Holy Quran. It has benefited countless numbers of students and scholars in this field.

Professor Odaimah was awarded the First Class Medal of Arts and Sciences by the Arab Republic of Egypt.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.