Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh Is Dead

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh, has died at the age of 82.

The Saudi Royal Court confirmed his passing on Tuesday, September 23, through a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The announcement highlighted his decades of leadership at the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, as well as his role at the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League.

His funeral prayer will take place at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh after the Asr prayer. By royal instruction, absentee prayers will also be held at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, and in mosques across the Kingdom.

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In their condolence messages, King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed sympathy to Sheikh Abdulaziz’s family, the people of Saudi Arabia, and Muslims around the world. The Royal Court described him as a dedicated scholar who spent his life serving Islam and guiding the global Muslim community.

Who Was Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh?

Sheikh Abdulaziz was born in Makkah on November 30, 1943. He lost his father at the age of seven and memorised the Qur’an early in life. Despite losing his eyesight in his twenties, he pursued advanced Islamic studies and later served on scholarly councils in Saudi universities.

In 1999, he was appointed as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, becoming the Kingdom’s highest religious authority. For more than two decades, his rulings and guidance shaped religious practice and jurisprudence, leaving a profound legacy in Saudi Arabia and the wider Islamic world.