Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh passed away in Riyadh on Tuesday morning, the Royal Court announced in a statement. He was 82.

Funeral prayer for him will be held at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh after the Asr prayer on Tuesday.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has ordered that funeral prayers in absentia also be performed at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, and in all mosques across the Kingdom. The King and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman have offered their condolences to his family, the Saudi people, and the Islamic world.

“With the passing of Al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic world have lost a distinguished scholar who made significant contributions to the service of Islam and Muslims,” the Royal Court said in the statement.

Sheikh Al-Sheikh, who served as the head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, and the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League, was a world renowned Islamic scholar. In June 1999, King Fahd appointed Al-Sheikh as Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia as successor of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Baz.

Born on November 30, 1943 in Makkah, Al-Sheikh memorized the Holy Qur’an at an early age. He lost his sight at the age of 17. He joined the College of Shariah at Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University in Riyadh in 1961, where from he graduated in1965 after specializing in Arabic and Islamic Shariah.

In 1965, Al-Sheikh was appointed teacher at Imam al-Dawa Scholarly Institute in Riyadh. He taught there for eight years before transferring to the College of Shariah at Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University where he worked as an assistant professor and then as an associate professor. He also taught at the Higher Institute of Judiciary in Riyadh and became a member of several academic councils in Saudi universities.

Al-Sheikh became Imam and preacher at Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim Mosque in Dakhnah, Riyadh, then served as imam of Friday Prayer at Sheikh Abdullah bin Abdullatif Mosque before becoming the Imam of Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque.

In 1982, Al-Sheikh was appointed Imam and preacher at Namirah Mosque in Arafat. He continued to deliver Arafat sermon at Namirah Mosque for 33 years in a row until the year 2014.

Al-Sheikh was appointed to the Council of Senior Scholars in 1987. In 1991, he became a full-time senior member of the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta. In 1995, he was appointed Deputy Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia.

On May 14, 1999, upon the death of the Grand Mufti Abdulaziz Ibn Baz, he was appointed grand mufti, chairman of the Council of Senior Scholars, and chairman of the ‏General Presidency of Islamic Research and Ifta in the rank of a minister.