Allah’s Apostle (S.A.W) said, “I was ordered to migrate to a town which will swallow...
BITS ‘N’ PIECES
Narrated by Abu Huraira (R.A)
Allah’s Apostle (S.A.W) said, “I was ordered to migrate to a town which will swallow (conquer) other towns and is called Yathrib and that is Medina, and it turns out (bad) persons as a furnace removes the impurities of iron.
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 30, Number 95
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
The Nobel Prize originated from the will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist, engineer and inventor best known for inventing dynamite. Born in 1833, Nobel amassed a vast fortune during his lifetime through his many inventions and industrial enterprises. However, towards the end of his life, he grew concerned about how he would be remembered, especially after a French newspaper mistakenly published his obituary, calling him the “merchant of death” due to his invention of explosives. This deeply affected him and led to a remarkable decision that would shape his legacy.
In his will, signed in 1895, just a year before his death, Nobel dedicated the bulk of his wealth to establishing a series of prizes for those who had conferred ‘the greatest benefit to humanity’. He specified that the prizes should be awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. Nobel bequeathed 94 percent of his total assets to establish the five Nobel Prizes. The executors of the will, Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist, formed the Nobel Foundation to take care of the fortune and to organise the awarding of prizes. Nobel’s instructions named a Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Peace Prize, the members of which were appointed shortly after the will was approved in April 1897.
The Nobel Foundation was established in 1900 to manage Alfred Nobel’s funds and ensure that his will was faithfully executed. The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, five years after his death. The Nobel Prizes are awarded annually on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death, at ceremonies held in Stockholm, Sweden, for all prizes except the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, Norway. In 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, often referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, further expanding the legacy of Nobel’s vision.
Each recipient, known as a laureate, receives a green gold medal plated with 24 karat gold, a diploma, and a monetary award. No more than three individuals may share a prize, although the Nobel Peace Prize can be awarded to organisations of more than three people. Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously, but if a person is awarded a prize and dies before receiving it, the prize is presented. The two Pakistani Nobel Laureates are Dr Abdus Salam (Physics), who shared the prize with Sheldon Glashow and Steven Weinberg (USA), and Malala Yousafzai (Peace).
Alfred Nobel’s legacy lives on through the achievements of those who win the prizes that bear his name.
