Crown Prince honors Hadith research scholars

Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, distributed the Prince Naif International Prize for the Prophet's Sunnah and Contemporary Islamic Studies to the winners during a ceremony in Riyadh on Tuesday.
The winners were: Abdul Rahman bin Mualla Alluwaihek, a Saudi, for his research on intellectual security in the light of Sunnah; Muwaffek Salim Al-Jawadi and Abdussattar Jassim Al-Hayati, both Iraqis, for the second subject entitled "cultural values in Sunnah"; Raghib Al-Sarjani, an Egyptian, for Islamic studies under the heading "protection of the Islamic environment."
Upon arrival at the King Faisal Conference Hall, Prince Salman was greeted by Deputy Riyadh Gov. Prince Muhammad bin Saad and Prince Saud bin Naif, head of the crown prince’s court and supervisor of the prize.
Addressing the ceremony, Prince Saud bin Naif commended Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Salman for their support for the prize.
He said the late Prince Naif had exerted great efforts in the service of Islam and Muslims. He said the prize instituted by Prince Naif would contribute to promoting Islamic research and studies on Hadith.
In a statement on the occasion, Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal said the prize was instrumental in creating competition among scholars and researchers all over the world and conducting studies on contemporary issues.
“The prize is making steady progress to achieve its objectives,” he added.
Interior Minister Prince Muhammad bin Naif said the prize had played a big role in encouraging Islamic scholars to conduct more studies on the Hadith, which is the second main source of Shariah after the Holy Qur’an.
Saaed Al-Harithy, secretary-general of the prize, said the winners were selected from 322 research papers. “Since the beginning of the prize, we have received a total of 2,250 research papers. Among them 22 have won prizes.”
A total of 257,731 students took part in Hadith competitions held by the prize’s secretariat and 180 of them have won prizes. It has published 157 studies on the Sunnah and contemporary Islamic issues.
Addressing the ceremony, Tunisian Minister of Religious Affairs Nuruddin Al-Khadimi commended Prince Naif for instituting an international prize to promote research in the field of Hadith.
The winners also spoke highly the prize. Alluwaihek said the prize had encouraged Islamic research around the world to focus studies on Hadith.
Al-Jawadi and Al-Hayani noted the prize’s international reputation. They praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts in spreading the message of the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Al-Sarjani highlighted the importance of Hadith, saying it contains the solutions provided by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for various human problems. “The prize’s topics show the world that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had presented scientific and reasonable solutions for world problems, including environment pollution,” he said.
The ceremony was attended by a large number of royal family members and ministers including Prince Ahmed, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Prince Khaled bin Sultan, deputy defense minister; Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, education minister; Prince Mansour bin Miteb, minister of municipal and rural affairs; Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majed, governor of Madinah; and Prince Muhammad bin Salman, special adviser to the crown prince.
Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, emphasized the significance of the prize, saying it would contribute to the spreading of values promulgated by the Prophet (peace be upon him).
“The Sunnah (the life and sayings) of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is very clear. It has enlightened Muslims around the world. Muslims are in need of taking note of the Sunnah today more than ever before. It is more essential for them than anything else.
Those who wish to win the pleasure of Allah and attain success in this world and the hereafter should follow the Sunnah,” Al-Sudais said while citing a verse from the Holy Qur’an in support of his statement.