| Islamic scholar Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Bāz |
|
|---|---|
| Title | Shaykh |
| Born | November 21, 1910 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
| Died | May 13, 1999 (aged 88) Saudi Arabia |
| Ethnicity | Arab |
| Region | Middle East |
| Maddhab | Hanbali |
| School tradition | Sunni |
| Main interests | Sharia, Fiqh, Hadith |
| Influences |
Muhammad asalafi Ibn Abd al Wahhab |
| Influenced | Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani |
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (Arabic: عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز) (November 21, 1910 – May 13, 1999), was a Saudi Arabian Islamic scholar, considered as one of the renowned Sunni Muslim scholars of the twentieth century. He was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999.
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Ibn Baz was born in the city of Riyadh during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1910 to a family with a reputation for their interest in Islam. His father died when he was only three, placing a big responsibility on his mother to raise him. When asked about his childhood, the sheikh said: “my father died when I was three years old, and I only had my mother who took care of me and educated me encouraging me to learn more about Shari'ah; she also died when I was twenty six.” By the time he was thirteen he had begun working, selling clothing with his brother in a market. Despite the fact that he helped a great deal in supporting his family, he still found time to study the Qur’an, Hadith, Fiqh, and Tafsir. In 1927, when he was sixteen, he started losing his eyesight after being afflicted with a serious infection in his eyes. By the time he was forty, he had totally lost his sight and had become blind.[1]
At that time, Saudi Arabia lacked a modern, sophisticated university system. However, Ibn Baaz managed to learn a great deal through his constant reading of Islamic literature as well as his association with different scholars from whom he learned. These include:[2][3]
He had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as:[4]
Over the years, he held a large number of positions as president or member of various Islamic councils and committees, and chaired a number of conferences both within Saudi Arabia and overseas, in addition to writing a great number of books in different fields and issuing a large body of fatwa. In 1981 he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.[5][6] He was the only Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia not to come from the Al ash-Sheikh family.[7]
Ibn Bāz had undertaken a number of charitable and other activities such as:[5]
Ibn Bāz was considered by many to be prolific speaker both in public and privately at his mosque. Like his books, his lectures and sermons were numerous and revolved frequently around the situation of the Muslim world. In addition, much of his time was devoted to the lessons he gave after Fajr prayer, teaching during the day, meeting delegates from Muslim countries and sitting with people after Maghrib prayer to provide counseling and advice on personal matters. He also used to invite people after Isha prayer to share a meal with him.[5]
Ibn Bāz was among the Muslim scholars who opposed regime change using violence.[8] He called for obedience to the people in power unless they ordered something that went against God.[9]
The number of books written by Ibn Bāz exceeds sixty and the subject matter covered many topics such as Hadith, Tafsir, Fara'ed, Tawheed, Fiqh and also a great deal of books on Salat, Zakat, Dawah, Hajj and Umrah.[5]
On Thursday morning, May 13, 1999, Ibn Bāz died at the age of 88. The next day, following Friday prayer, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, and hundreds of thousands of people performed the funeral prayer at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.[10]
King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Ibn Bāz's death.[11]
In his career as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, he attempted to both legitimize the rule of the ruling family and to support calls for the reform of Islam in line with Salafi ideals. Many criticized him for supporting the Saudi government when, after the Gulf War, it muzzled or imprisoned some Qutbi scholars regarded as too critical of the government, such as Safar al-Hawali and Salman al-Oudah.
When Ibn Bāz died in 1999. The loss of "his erudition and reputation for intransigence" was so great the Saudi government was said to have "found itself staring into a vacuum" unable to find a figure able to "fill ibn Bāz's shoes."[12] His influence on the Salafi movement was large, and most of the prominent judges and religious scholars of Saudi Arabia today are former students of his.
Ibn Baz held ultra-conservative views and strongly maintained the puritan and non-compromising traditions of following the Salaf.[13] However, his views were, according to The Independent, not draconian enough for Osama bin Laden who condemned ibn Baz for "his weakness and flexibility and the ease of influencing him with the various means which the interior ministry practices".[13] Ibn Bāz was the subject of Osama bin Laden's first public pronouncement intended for the general Muslim public. This open letter condescendingly criticized him for endorsing the Oslo peace accord between the PLO and Israeli government.[14] Ibn Baz defended his decision to endorse the Oslo Accords by citing the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, saying that a peace treaty with non-Muslims has historical precedent if it can avoid the loss of life.[15][16]
| Religious titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Muhammad ibn Ibraheem |
Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia 1992–1999 |
Succeeded by Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh |