Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz

Islamic scholar
Abdul-‘Azīz ibn Bāz
Title Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
Born 21 November 1910
Riyadh (now in Saudi Arabia)
Died 13 May 1999 (aged 88)
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Resting place Al Adl cemetery, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Era Modern Era
Region Middle East
Denomination Sunni
Jurisprudence Hanbali
Creed Athari
Movement Salafi movement
Main interest(s) Sharia, Fiqh, Hadith
Awards

Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Baz (Arabic: عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز‎) (November 21, 1910 – May 13, 1999), was a Saudi Arabian Islamic scholar and a leading proponent of the Salafi form of Islam. He was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999. His "immense religious erudition and his reputation for intransigence" gave him such prestige among the pious population of Saudi Arabia, that his fatwas endorsing government policy greatly strengthened the Saudi Arabian government, and his death left the government without a comparable figure to "fill" his "shoes".[3]

Bin Baz issued a fatwa authorizing a wealth tax to support the Mujahideen during the anti-Soviet jihad.[4] His endorsement of In Defense of Muslim Lands, principally written by Abdullah Azzam, was a powerful influence in the successful call for jihad against the Soviet Union. It is said to be the first official call for jihad by a nation state against another nation state in modern times.[5]

Many of Ibn Baz's views and rulings are considered controversial (both inside and outside Saudi Arabia), including those relating to cosmology, women's rights, Saudi Arabia's support for the Oslo Accords, and the acceptability of stationing non-Islamic troops in the land of the Two Holy Mosques during and after the Gulf War. Osama bin Laden bitterly condemned Bin Baz and his rulings that supported Saudi Arabia's foreign policy and alliances with Western powers.

Youth

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 and 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,[1] especially with the man who would precede him as the country's top religious official, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh.[2] 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.[6][7]

Education

At that time, Saudi Arabia lacked a modern university system. Ibn Baz received a traditional education in Islamic literature with the following Islamic scholars:[8][9]

Career

He had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as:[10]

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.[11][12] He was the only Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia not to come from the Al ash-Sheikh family.[13]

Activities

Ibn Bāz had undertaken a number of charitable and other activities such as:[11]

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.[11]

Ibn Bāz was among the Muslim scholars who opposed regime change using violence.[15] He called for obedience to the people in power unless they ordered something that went against God.[16]

Works

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.[11] He also authored a criticism of the concept of nationhood.[1][2]

Personal life

Bin Baz wives and children lived in the Shumaysi neighborhood of Riyadh in "a little cluster of modern two-story buildings". Like all senior Saudi clerics, his home was a gift from a wealthy benefactor or a religious foundation for his distinguished religious work.[17]

Death

On Thursday morning, 13 May 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 Abdulaziz, and hundreds of thousands of people performed the funeral prayer at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.[18] He was buried in Al Adl cemetery, Mecca.[19]

King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Ibn Bāz's death.[20]

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 those regarded as too critical of the government, such as Safar al-Hawali and Salman al-Ouda.

When Ibn Bāz died in 1999, the loss of "his erudition and reputation for steadfastness" 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."[21] 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.

Controversies

His obituary in The Independent said "His views and fatwas (religious rulings) were controversial, condemned by militants, liberals and progressives alike".[22] He was also criticized by hardline Salafists and jihadists for supporting the decision to permit U.S. troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia in 1991.[23] His obituaries in both The Economist and The New York Times made reference to ibn Baz sometimes being mocked for his highly traditionalist beliefs.[24][25]

Cosmology

See also: Orbit of the sun, Geocentric model, Astronomy in Islam and Apostasy in Islam

In 1966, when Ibn Baz was vice-president of the Islamic University of Medina, he wrote an article denouncing Riyadh University for teaching the "falsehood" that the earth rotates and orbits the sun.[26]

Author Robert Lacey quotes a fatwa by bin Baz urging caution towards claims that the Americans had landed on the moon. "We must make careful checks whenever the kuffar [infidels] or faseqoon [immoral folk] tell us something: we cannot believe or disbelieve them until we get sufficient proof on which the Muslims can depend."[27] Lacey states that "after extensive research" of bin Baz's fatawa, he (Lacey) had only been able to find this one fatwa on the subject, and no statement in it that the earth was flat.[27] Lacey does however say that according to his source, Bin Baz gave an interview after publishing the article

"in which he mused on how we operate day to day on the basis that the ground beneath us is flat ... and it led him to the belief that he was not afraid to voice and for which he became notorious."[27]

Though satirized for his belief,

"the sheikh was unrepentant. If Muslims chose to believe the world was round, that was their business, he said, and he would not quarrel with them religiously. But he was inclined to trust what he felt beneath his feet rather than the statements of scientists he did not know."[27]

According to Lacey, bin Baz changed his mind about the earth's flatness after talking to Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud who had spent time in a space shuttle flight in 1985. [27]

However, Malise Ruthven and others state that it is incorrect to report that Ibn Baz believed "the earth is flat"[28] Professor Werner Ende, a German expert on ibn Baz's fatwas, states he has never asserted this.[29] Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî calls those that attribute the flat earth view to ibn Baz "rumor mongers". He points out that ibn Baz issued a fatwa declaring that the Earth is round,[30][31] and, indeed, in 1966 ibn Baz wrote "The quotation I cited [in his original article] from the speech of the great scholar Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah be merciful to him) includes proof that the earth is round."[32]

In his 1966 article, ibn Baz did claim that the sun orbited the earth,[33][34][35] and that "the earth is fixed and stable, spread out by God for mankind and made a bed and cradle for them, fixed down by mountains lest it shake".[35] As a result of the publication of his first article, ibn Baz was ridiculed by Egyptian journalists as an example of Saudi primitiveness,[29] and King Faisal was reportedly so angered by the first article that he ordered the destruction of every unsold copy of the two papers that had published it.[26][35] In 1982 Ibn Baz published a book, Al-adilla al-naqliyya wa al-ḥissiyya ʿala imkān al-ṣuʾūd ila al-kawākib wa ʾala jarayān al-shams wa al-qamar wa sukūn al-arḍ ("Treatise on the textual and rational proofs of the rotation of the sun and the motionlessness of the earth and the possibility of ascension to other planets"). In it, he republished the 1966 article, together with a second article on the same subject written later in 1966,[36] and repeated his belief that the sun orbited the earth.[28] In 1985, he changed his mind concerning the rotation of the earth (and, according to Lacey, ceased to assert its flatness), when Prince Sultan bin Salman returned home after a week aboard the space shuttle Discovery to tell him that he had seen the earth rotate.[26][27]

In addition, there was controversy concerning the nature of the takfir (the act of declaring other Muslims to be kafir or unbelievers) which it was claimed Ibn Baz had pronounced. According to Malise Ruthven, he threatened all who did not accept his "pre-Copernican" views with a fatwa, declaring them infidels.[37] Ibn Baz wrote a letter to a magazine in 1966 responding to similar accusations:

"I only deemed it lawful to kill whoever claims that the sun is static (thābita la jāriya) and refuses to repent of this after clarification. This is because denying the circulation of the sun constitutes a denial of Allah (Glorified be He), His Great Book, and His Honorable Messenger. It is well established in the Din (religion of Islam) by way of decisive evidence and Ijma` (consensus) of scholars that whoever denies Allah, His Messenger or His Book is a Kafir (disbeliever) and their blood and wealth become violable. It is the duty of the responsible authority to ask them to repent of this; either they repent or be executed. Thanks to Allah that this issue is not debatable among scholars."[32]

Ibn Baz's second article written in 1966 also responded to similar accusations:

"I did not declare those who believe that the earth rotates to be infidels, nor those who believe that the sun moving around itself, but I do so for those who say that the sun is static and does not move (thābita la jāriya), which is in my last article. Whoever says so being an infidel is obvious from the Quran and the Sunnah, because God almighty says: 'And the sun runs on (tajri) to a term appointed for it' ... As for saying that the Sun is fixed in one position but still moving around itself, ..., I did not deal with this issue in my first article, nor have I declared as infidel anyone who says so."[36][38]

Western writers subsequently have drawn parallels between their perception of ibn Baz and the trial of Galileo by the Catholic Church in the 16th century.[39]

Grand Mosque Seizure

Bin Baz has been associated with some members of the 20 November–4 December 1979 takeover of the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) in Mecca. The two-week-long armed takeover left over 250 dead, including hostages taken by the militants. According to interviews taken by author Robert Lacey, the militants (known as Beit Al-Ikhwan) led by Juhayman al-Otaybi, were students of bin Baz and other high ulema. The Mabahith (secret police) of the minister of interior Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

"had identified Mohammed al-Qahtani and a number of the Ikhwan as troublemakers. They had got them all safely locked up months before -- only to release them at the request of Sheikh Bin Baz." [40]

Islam forbids any violence within the Grand Mosque. Ibn Baz found himself in a delicate situation, especially as he had previously taught al-Otaybi in Medina. The situation was compounded and complicated by the fact the Saudi government found itself unprepared and incapable of dislodging the militants from the Mosque.[41] They asked for outside assistance from the non-Islamic French GIGN. Non-Muslims are not permitted within the Meccan city limits, let alone the Grand Mosque. When asked for a fatwa by the government to condemn the militants, the language of bin Baz and other senior ulama "was curiously restrained." The invaders of the Masjid al-Haram were not declared non-Muslims, despite their killings and violation of the sanctity of the Masjid, but only called "al-jamaah al-musallahah" (the armed group). Regardless, the ulema issued a fatwa allowing deadly force to be used in retaking the mosque.[42] The senior scholars also insisted that before security forces attack them, the authorities must offer the option 'to surrender and lay down their arms.'[43] Bin Baz, through a loophole, issued another fatwa allowing the French Special Operations Forces to do a last minute, if only temporary, conversion to Islam, to be able to enter the city and the Grand Mosque to shed the blood of militants Bin Baz refused to condemn as non-Muslim.[44]

Women's rights

Ibn Baz has been described as having harsh and inflexible attitudes towards women[45] and being a bulwark against the expansion of rights for women.[46] Commenting on the Sharia rule that the testimony in court of one woman was insufficient, Ibn Baz said: "The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) explained that their shortcoming in reasoning is found in the fact that their memory is weak and that their witness is in need of another woman to corroborate it."[46] He also issued a fatwa against women driving cars, which in the West may have been his most well known ruling.[25] He declared: "Depravity leads to the innocent and pure women being accused of indecencies. Allah has laid down one of the harshest punishments for such an act to protect society from the spreading of the causes of depravity. Women driving cars, however, is one of the causes that lead to that."[46]

Gulf War

During the Gulf War Ibn Bāz issued a fatwa allowing the deployment of non-Muslim troops on Saudi Arabian soil to defend the kingdom from the Iraqi army. Some noted that this was in contrast to his opinion in the 1940s, when he contradicted the government policy of allowing non-Muslims to be employed on Saudi soil.[47] However, according to The New York Times, his fatwa overruled more radical clerics.[25][48] In response to criticism, ibn Baz condemned those who "whisper secretly in their meetings and record their poison over cassettes distributed to the people."[25]

Another key issue was to allow the wearing of the cross by non-Muslim soldiers and the carrying of New Testaments into battle against other Muslims from the holiest land in Islam. This ruling shook Saudi society like an earthquake, and remains at the heart of many violent disputes Salafi jihadis have with the House of Saud til this day.[49]

The radical cleric Abdullah el-Faisal declared Bin Baz takfir (a Muslim traitor) who died unrepentant.[50]

Osama bin Laden

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

According to his obituary in The Independent, Ibn Baz held ultra-conservative views and strongly maintained the puritan and non-compromising traditions of Wahabism.[22] However, his views were not strict 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".[22] 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.[51] 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.[52][53]

Ibn Baz deemed it mandatory to destroy media that promoted Bin Laden's views, and declared that it was forbidden for anyone to co-operate with him. He wrote:

"...It is obligatory to destroy and annihilate these publications that have emanated from al-Faqeeh, or from al-Mas'aree, or from others of the callers of falsehood (bin Laadin and those like him), and not to be lenient towards them. And it is obligatory to advise them, to guide them towards the truth, and to warn them against this falsehood. It is not permissible for anyone to co-operate with them in this evil. And it is obligatory upon them to be sincere and to come back to guidance and to leave alone and abandon this falsehood. So my advice to al-Mas'aree, al-Faqeeh and Bin Laadin and all those who traverse their ways is to leave alone this disastrous path, and to fear Allaah and to beware of His vengeance and His Anger, and to return to guidance and to repent to Allaah for whatever has preceded from them. And Allaah, Glorified, has promised His repentant servants that He will accept their repentance and be good to them. So Allah the Glorified said: "Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves. Do not despair of the Mercy of Allaah; verily, Allaah forgives all sins.' Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [39:53].[54]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Who's Who in Saudi Arabia 1978-1979, pg. 53. Part of the Who's Who series. Edited by M. Samir Sarhan. Jeddah and London: Tihama and Europa Publications. ISBN 0905118286
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Who's Who in the Arab World 1990-1991, pg. 123. Part of the Who's Who series. Edited by Gabriel M. Bustros. Beirut: Publitec Publications, 10th ed. ISBN 2903188076
  3. ↑ Kepel, Gilles (2006). The War for Muslim Minds : Islam and the West. Belknap Press. p. 186. Bin Baz had become the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the decade. Along with Sheikh Muhammad bin Uthaymin (who died two years later, in January 2001), he had become a figurehead for institutional Wahhabism." His death in May of 1999 gave a boost to more radical Sahwa Islamic dissidents and hurt the government in Saudi despite his being a figurehead for institutional Wahhabiism because: "... thanks to his immense religious erudition and his reputation for intransigence, bin Baz enjoyed great prestige among the population and could reinforce the Saud family's policies through his influence with the masses of believers. At his death, the dynasty found itself staring into a vacuum, for within the Wahhabite clergy there was no great figure who could fill bin Baz's shoes. The mufti who followed him, Abd al-Aziz Al Sheikh (from Abdul Wahhab's lineage) did not enjoy comparable authority.
  4. ↑ Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations, Christopher Blanchard, Congressional Research Service, 2010, p. 27.
  5. ↑ Ibn Baaz's fatwa in support of the war against the soviets. Ibn Baz Fatwas, Volume 27, Book on Da`wah. An interview by the Pakistani magazine: Takbir.
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ "Ad-Da'wah Ilallah wa Akhlaaqud-Du'aat" (pp. 37–43)
  8. ↑ Main Page
  9. ↑ "Words of Advice Regarding Da'wah" by 'Abdul 'Azeez ibn 'Abdullaah ibn Baaz (translated by Bint Feroz Deen and Bint Abd al-Ghafoor), Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution, Birmingham: 1998, Page 9–10
  10. ↑ "Words of Advice Regarding Da'wah" by 'Abdul 'Azeez ibn 'Abdullaah ibn Baaz (translated by Bint Feroz Deen and Bint 'Abd al-Ghafoor), Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution, Birmingham: 1998, Pages 10–11
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Saudi Gazette 14 May 1999
  12. ↑ Saudi Gazette
  13. ↑ AbuKhalil, Asʻad (2004). The battle for Saudia Arabia: royalty, fundamentalism, and global power. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-58322-610-0.
  14. ↑ Lacey, Robert (2009). Inside the Kingdom : Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia. Viking. p. 198. the Afghan jihad was being fought over again, with pure, young Salafi warriors. Abdul Aziz bin Baz .... a particular enthusiast. The man who had sponsored and protected Juhayman now urged the holy cause of the Afghan students with the ulema, and more potently still with the senior princes to whom he had private access. It is not known -- it will never be known -- which of the family of Abdul Aziz privately parted with money at the venerable shiekh's request, but what was pocket money to them could easily have bought a fleet of pickup trucks for the Taliban.
  15. ↑ العنف يضر بالدعوة
  16. ↑ حقوق ولاة الأمور على الأمة
  17. ↑ Lacey, Robert (2009). Inside the Kingdom : Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia. Viking. p. 131.
  18. ↑ Main Page
  19. ↑ "Al Adl: One of Makkah’s oldest cemeteries". Saudi Gazette. 18 June 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  20. ↑ "New Saudi Grand Mufti", BBC News, May 16, 1999.
  21. ↑ Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds, 2004, p.186
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "Obituary: Sheikh 'Abdul 'Aziz bin Baz". The Independent. 14 May 1999. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  23. ↑ Brachman, Jarret (2008). Global jihadism: theory and practice. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-415-45241-0. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  24. ↑ "Sheikh Bin Baz". The Economist. 20 May 1999. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 "Sheik Abdelaziz bin Baz, Senior Saudi Cleric and Royal Ally". The New York Times. 14 May 1999. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Watson, Mark (2008). Prophets and princes: Saudi Arabia from Muhammad to the present. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-470-18257-4.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 Lacey, Robert (2009). Inside the Kingdom. pp. 88–89, 352. ISBN 978-0099539056.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Ruthven, Malise (2004). A fury for God: the Islamist attack on America. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-86207-573-3.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Miller, Judith (2011). God has Ninety-Nine Names. pp. 114, 493. ISBN 978-1439129418.
  30. ↑ Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî, former professor at al-Imâm University in Riyadh. "Sheikh Ibn Baz on the roundness of the Earth". Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  31. ↑ http://www.binbaz.org.sa/mat/18030
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Ibn Baz (15 April 1966). "Refuting and criticizing what has been published in "Al-Musawwir" magazine". "Al-Musawwir" magazine (Part No. 3; Page No. 157). The General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Retrieved 22 January 20112. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  33. ↑ Ende, Werner (1982). "Religion, Politik und Literatur in Saudi-Arabien. Der geistige Hintergrund der religiösen und kulturpolitischen Situation (III)". Orient: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Politik und Wirtschaft des Orients' 23 (3): 382ff.
  34. ↑ Holden, David (1982). The House of Saud. p. 262. ISBN 978-0030437311.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 Sayeed, Khalid B. (1994). Western Dominance and Political Islam: Challenge and Response. p. 82. ISBN 978-0791422656.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (1982). Al-adilla al-naqliyya wa al-ḥissiyya ʿala imkān al-ṣuʾūd ila al-kawākib wa ʾala jarayān al-shams wa al-qamar wa sukūn al-arḍ (2nd ed.). Riyadh: Maktabat al-riyāḍ al-ḥadītha. pp. 36, 45. Arabic: ولم أكفّر من قال بدوران الأرض، ولا من قال إن الشمس تجري حول نفسها، وإنما صرحت بتكفير من قال إن الشمس ثابتة لا جارية هذا هو في المقال السابق ، وكفر من قال هذا القول ظاهر من كتاب الله ، ومن سنة رسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم لأن الله سبحانه يقول:(والشمس تجري ...) ... أما القول بأن الشمس تجري حول نفسها وهي ثابتة في محل واحد ... ، فلم أتعرضه في المقال بالكلية لا بنفي ولا إثبات ، ولم أتعرض لكفر قائلة ، p.36‎ Arabic: أما المسألة الثانية وهي القول بثبوت الشمس، وجريها حول نفسها ، فلم أتعرض لها في المقال السابق بنفي أو إثبات، ولم أكفّر من قال ذلك ، p.45‎
  37. ↑ Ruthven, Malise (2004). A fury for God: the Islamist attack on America. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-86207-573-3.
  38. ↑ For another response from the 1970s see
  39. ↑ Rouner, Leroy S. (1988). Human Right’s and the World’s Religions. p. 106. ISBN 978-0268010867.
  40. ↑ Lacey, Robert (2009). Inside the Kingdom : Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia. Viking. p. 31.
  41. ↑ Thomas Hegghammer and Stephane Lacroix. Rejectionist Islamism in Saudi Arabia: The Story of Juhayman al-Utaybi Revisited. International Journal of Middle East Studies, February 2007, pp 103-122, Cambridge University Press (p. 3 PDF).
  42. ↑ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), pp. 103–104 – softcover
  43. ↑ Lacey, Robert (2009). Inside the Kingdom : Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia. Viking. p. 30. "Their language was curiously restrained. The sheikhs had a rich vocabulary of condemnation that they regularly deployed against those who incurred their wrath, from kuffar ... to al-faseqoon (those who are immoral and who do not follow God). But the worst they could conjure up for Juhayman and his followers was al-jamaah al-musallahah (the armed group). They also insisted that the young men must be given another chance to repent. ... Before attacking them, said the ulema, the authorities must offer the option 'to surrender and lay down their arms.'
  44. ↑ http://spire.sciencespo.fr/hdl:/2441/eu4vqp9ompqllr09hiu8l8chg/resources/hegghammer-lacroix-rejectionist-islamism-in-saudi-arabia.pdf
  45. ↑ AbuKhalil, Asʻad (2004). The battle for Saudia Arabia: royalty, fundamentalism, and global power. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-58322-610-0.
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 Marshall, Paul A. (2005). Radical Islam's rules: the worldwide spread of extreme Shari'a law. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7425-4362-1.
  47. ↑ Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds, 2004, p.184
  48. ↑ See also Salafi Fatwa Of Takfeer On Their Own Imams Ibn Baaz, Albani & Co. By: Maulana Muhammad A. K. Azad [ Abu Arif Al Alawi ], 14 NOVEMBER 2012, contains full text of Salafi fatwa - Ibn Baaz Is Kafir, by Judith Miller, The New York Times, 20 January 1991 as well.
  49. ↑ Satanic Fatwa of bin Baz and Some Remarks. millatibraheem.wordpress.com
  50. ↑ https://millatibraheem.wordpress.com/2008/10/09/satanic-fatwa-of-bin-baz-and-some-remarks/
  51. ↑ Messages to the World, The Statements of Osama Bin Laden, Edited and Introduced by Bruce Lawrence, Translated by James Howarth, Verso, 2005
  52. ↑ al-Muslimoon Magazine, 21st Rajab 1415 AH
  53. ↑ at-Tawheed Magazine, vol. 23, Issue #10
  54. ↑ Majmoo'ul-Fataawaa wa Maqaalaatul-Mutanawwiyah, Volume 9, as quoted in Clarification of the Truth in Light of Terrorism, Hijackings & Suicide Bombings of Salafi Publications.

External links

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Religious titles
Preceded by
Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh		 Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
1992–1999 		Succeeded by
Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh