Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Al al-Sheikh, has died at the age of 81, the Royal Court announced Tuesday in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The court described the late cleric as a “distinguished scholar who made significant contributions in the service of science, Islam and Muslims.”
Sheikh Abdulaziz served as the Kingdom’s top religious authority, holding the position of Grand Mufti as well as Chairman of the Council of Senior Scholars and the General Presidency of Islamic Research and Ifta. He was the third person to hold the title since the post was established, succeeding Sheikh Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Shaikh and Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz.
Funeral prayers for the cleric were scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh. King Salman directed that absentee funeral prayers also be held in Mecca, Madinah, and mosques across the Kingdom following Asr prayers.
Born in Makkah on November 30, 1943, Sheikh Abdulaziz memorized the Quran at an early age. He lost his father in childhood and later became blind in his twenties. Despite these challenges, he pursued Sharia studies, served as a preacher at major mosques including Imam Turki bin Abdullah in Riyadh and Nimrah Mosque in Arafat, and rose to prominence as a leading Islamic scholar.
Over the decades, he authored numerous works on Islamic doctrine, jurisprudence, and collections of fatwas, leaving behind a legacy of scholarship that shaped religious discourse in Saudi Arabia and the wider Muslim world.
