The King Faisal International Award
The King Faisal International Award
The King Faisal International Award
1. King Faisal International Prize is an annual award sponsored by King Faisal Foundation presented to
"dedicated men and women whose contributions make a positive difference". The foundation awards prizes in the
following categories: Service to Islam, Islamic studies, Arabic Language and Literature, Science, and Medicine.
2. The first King Faisal International Prize was awarded to Sayyid Abul A'ala Maududi in the year 1979 for his
service to Islam. In 1981, King Khalid received the same award. In 1984, King Fahd was the recipient of the
award. In 1986, this prize was co-awarded to Ahmed Deed at and French Holocaust denier Roger GAraud.
3. Each year, the selection committees designate subjects in Islamic Studies, Arabic Literature, and Medicine.
Selected topics in Islamic Studies category are aimed at highlighting areas of importance in Muslim societies.
Arabic Literature topics relate to specialized areas within the discipline. Topics in Medicine are supposed to
reflect current areas of international concern. The Science category covers a broad range of subcategories e.g.,
physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology.
4. Islamic institutions, universities and previous winners of the King Faisal International Prize can nominate a
person for the award. Nominations from ordinary individuals or political parties are not accepted. The nominee or
nominated institution(s) must be known for their leading practical or intellectual role in the service of Islam and
Muslims.
5. Nominated works must be published, benefit mankind and enrich human knowledge. Winners of the Prize for
category "Service to Islam" are chosen directly by the respective selection committee. For other Prize categories,
pre-selection by peer reviewers is carried out, which is followed by scrutiny of the works of worthy nominees by
selected referees of each discipline. Autonomous, international, specialist selection committees are then convened
at the headquarters of King Faisal Foundation in Riyadh each January to make their final decisions.
6. The prize in each of the five categories consists of: 1. A handwritten Diwani calligraphy certificate,
summarizing the laureate's work. 2. A commemorative 24 carat, 200-gram gold medal, uniquely cast for each
prize. 3. A cash endowment of SR 750,000 (US$ 200,000). Co-winners in any category share the monetary grant.
The Prizes are awarded during a ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the King of Saudi
Arabia.
7. The five countries with most award-winners as of 2012 were
Ibn Sina was born in AH 370/AD 980 near Bukhara in Central Asia, where his father governed a village in one of
the royal estates. At thirteen, Ibn Sina began a study of medicine that resulted in ‘distinguished physicians . . .
reading the science of medicine under him’. His medical expertise brought him to the attention of the Sultan of
Bukhara, Nuh ibn Mansur, whom he treated successfully; as a result he was given permission to use the sultan’s
library and its rare manuscripts, allowing him to continue his research into modes of knowledge.
When the sultan died, the heir to the throne, ‘Ali ibn Shams al-Dawla, asked Ibn Sina to continue al vizier, but the
philosopher was negotiating to join the forces of another son of the late king, Ala al-Dawla, and so went into
hiding.
During this time he composed his major philosophical research paper, Kitab al-shifa’ (Book of Healing), a
comprehensive account of learning that ranges from logic and mathematics to metaphysics and the afterlife.
While he was writing the section on logic, Ibn Sina was arrested and imprisoned, but he escaped to Isfahan,
disguised as a Sufi, and joined Ala al-Dawla. While in the service of the latter, he completed al-Shifa’ and
produced the Kitab al-najat (Book of Salvation), an abridgment of al-Shifa’. He also produced at least two major
works on logic: one, al-Mantiq, translated as The Propositional Logic of Ibn Sina, was a commentary on
Aristotle’s Prior Analytics and forms part of al-Shifa’; the other, al-Isharat wa-‘I-tanbihat (Remarks and
Admonitions), seems to be written in the ‘indicative mode’, where the reader must participate by working out the
He also produced a research paper on definitions and a summary of the theoretical sciences, together with a
number of psychological, religious and other works; the latter include works on astronomy, medicine, philology
and zoology, as well as poems and an allegorical work, Hayy ibn Yaqzan (The Living Son of the Vigilant). His
biographer also mentions numerous short works on logic and metaphysics, and a book on ‘Fair Judgment’ that
was lost when his prince’s fortunes suffered a turn. Ibn Sina’s philosophical and medical work and his political
4. We can infer from the passage that Ali Inn Shams Al-Dawla and Ala Al-Dawla were:
a. Brothers
b. Cousins
c. kings
d. not relatives
5. One of these was not covered in the Ibn Sina book called “Book of Healing”:
a. Medicine
b. Mathematics
c. Religion
d. Logic
1- Mei Lan is a male giant panda. He was born at Zoo Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia on September 6, 2006, after his
mother's, Lun Lun, record-setting 35-hour labor. Originally identified by zoo staffers as female, Mei Lan was
determined to be male by staff in China at the Chengdu Research Base of Panda Breeding. He is the first
offspring of Lun Lun and Yang Yang, who are also the parents of Xi Lan, Po, and two pairs of twins, namely Mei
Lun and Mei Huan, and Ya Lun and Xi Lun. Mei Lan was relocated to Chengdu, China on February 4, 2010.
2- The Chinese started teaching it languages, to help Mei Lan adapt more quickly to his new life, by recruiting a
language professor via the Internet. Now Mei Lan lives at a zoo in Atlanta, Georgia.
2- Mei Lan was born in the USA, but according to the contract, he belongs to ______
1. The word hijaamah (cupping) comes from the word hajm which means sucking. Hijaamah is the
profession of cupping, and the word mihjam is used to describe the vessel or cup in which the blood is
collected and the lancet used by the cupper to make a cut.)
2. Cupping was known since ancient times. It was known to the Chinese, the Babylonians and the
Pharaohs. Their ruins and carved images indicate that they used cupping to treat some diseases.
At first they used metal cups, from which they would remove the air by sucking it out after placing
the cup on the skin. Then they used glass cups from which they would remove the air by burning a
piece of cotton or wool inside the cup.
3. The earliest record of cupping is in the Ebbers Papyrus, one of the oldest medical textbooks in the
world, describes in 1550 B.C. Egyptians used cupping. Archaeologists have found evidence in
China of cupping dating back to 1000 B.C. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates (. 400 B.C.) used cupping
for internal disease and structural problems. This method in multiple forms spread into medicine
throughout Asian and European civilizations.
4. Broadly speaking there are two types of cupping: dry cupping and bleeding or wet cupping
(controlled bleeding) with wet cupping being more common. The British Cupping Society (BCS), an
organization promoting the practice, teaches both. As a general rule, wet cupping provides a more
"curative-treatment approach" to patient management whereas dry cupping appeals more to a
"therapeutic and relaxation approach". Preference varies with practitioners and cultures.
5. While the history of wet cupping may date back thousands of years, the first documented uses are
found in the teachings of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Muhammad al-Bukhari, the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of the Hijama (cupping) treatment. A
number of hadith support its recommendation and use by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). As a result, the practice of cupping therapy has survived in Muslim countries. Today, wet
cupping is a popular remedy practiced in many parts of the Muslim world.
6. With regard to the times when cupping is recommended as it was reported from Ibn ‘Abbas (may
Allah be pleased with them both) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The
best times to be treated with cupping are the seventeenth, nineteenth or twenty-first of the month.
3. The Ebers Papyrus is a medical book that described how _________used cupping.
A. Chinese
B. Egyptians
C. Not only Chinese but also Egyptians
D. Greece
1. Do you know that there are about 8000 species of ants? They are found worldwide but are especially common
in hot climates. They live in organized groups called colonies. It is because of this that ants, like their relatives,
2. When we think of intelligent members of the animal kingdom, the creatures that spring immediately to mind
are monkeys. But in fact the social lives of some members of the insect kingdom are sufficiently complex to
suggest more than a hint of intelligence. Among these, the world of the ant has come in for considerable scrutiny
lately, and the idea that ants demonstrate sparks of cognition has certainly not been rejected by those involved in
these investigations.
3. Ants communicate with each other using pheromones, sounds, and touch. The use of pheromones as chemical
signals is more developed in ants. Like other insects, ants perceive smells with their long, thin, and mobile
antennae. The paired antennae provide information about the direction and intensity of scents.
4. All ants share common characteristics. The body of an ant is divided into three parts : a large head, a thorax and
an oval abdomen. The thorax is separate from the abdomen by a slender waist. An ant uses its three pairs of
jointed legs to move about. Ants are usually yellow, brown, red or black in color.
5. Ants hatch from eggs as legless larvae. The queen is the only female in the colony which can lay eggs. The
other females are worker ants which build the nest, collect food and tend to the larvae. The large females, known
as soldier ants, defend the colony. The function of the male ant is to mate with the queen. Only the queen and
male ants have wings which are used during the mating ritual. Soon after mating, the male ant dies. The fertilized
queen pulls off her wings and leaves to establish a new colony.
6. Ant colonies live in nests consisting of numerous chambers connected by tunnels. Some ants colonize tree
trunks or live in mounds built of sticks and leaves. Some others secrete silk to sew together nests of leaves. They
a. kinds
b. relatives
c. ants
d. wasps
c. how ants perceive smells with their long, thin, and mobile antennae
a. 8
b. 10
c. 6
d. 4 5.
Read the following passage, and then choose the best answer to each of the questions that follow .
1- The livestock sector is one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural economy, particularly in the
developing world. The global demand for meat, including beef, pork, chicken, and lamb, has tripled in the past 50
years – due primarily to a growing global population. This increased demand for meat is paralleled by rising
temperatures and sea levels, i.e., global warming.
2- While on the surface these might seem like two separate phenomena, a closer look reveals the undeniable link
between meat production and climate change. The relationship between the livestock industry – the rearing of
animals to produce dairy and meat products – and climate change is becoming more apparent with population
growth and globalization influencing a global shift towards the so-called Western Diet, which is basically pounds
and pounds of meat (usually red meat) paired with high amounts of saturated fat and sugar.
3- A new study adds to the evidence that eating red meat on a regular basis may shorten your lifespan. Past
research has tied red meat to increased risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. The studies
have also pointed to an elevated risk of mortality from red meat intake.
4- Factory farms are the largest user of land resources globally with 80% of total agricultural land used to grow
the crops that feed animals. On a global scale, a meat-based diet requires almost three times more land than a
plant-based diet. As populations continue to grow and meat demand increases, more and more deforestation is
likely to occur, too, to make room for pasture lands for beef cattle. Forests are crucial to maintaining biodiversity
in wildlife and also are important carbon sink lands, absorbing carbon dioxide from the environment.
5- Cutting down trees releases all the absorbed CO2 – putting it back into the atmosphere – and irrevocably
damages wildlife habitats – contributing to an increase in endangered species by rupturing whole ecosystems
paired with biodiversity loss. Meat Production uses a lot of water; approximately 10% of water flow worldwide is
used for rearing livestock. This is a considerable amount when we consider the threat of water scarcity as
populations increase and climate-change-induced droughts become more frequent.
6- While the consequences of climate change are immense and often difficult to digest, being more informed
about the impact of your individual choices can make all the difference. Knowing the meat and dairy industry’s
negative environmental impact might give you the motivation you need to reduce your animal product
consumption and welcome more greens and grains into your diet. However, the grain prices keep rising due to
livestock farming which makes it even harder for the poor to afford them. This cycle gets vicious with the passing
of time: the increased prices of grains increase the prices of the livestock feeding and thus products, as well. To
break this cycle, it is advisable for people to cut down on eating red meat to help reduce not only grains prices,
global warming but also water consumption.
1: What does paragraph 2 say about livestock farming regarding the environment?
2: What do paragraphs 2 and 3 say about eating too much red meat?
C. It is healthy.
D. It is unhealthy.
A. It releases CO2.
C. It increases the price of grains so the poor can no longer afford it.