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Ibn Baz

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Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Bāz
TitleGrand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
Personal
EraModern Era
JurisprudenceHanbali, Salafi
Main interest(s)Sharia
Senior posting
Influenced by
Influenced

Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (Template:Lang-ar), also known as Ibn Bāz, was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999.

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 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 twenty, he had totally lost his sight and become blind. [1]

Education

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]

  • 'Abdullāh bin Fayrij whom he studied the Qur'an with at an early age.
  • Muhammad ibn Zayd, the chief judge in the Eastern region.
  • Rāshid ibn Sālih al-Khunayn.
  • 'Abdul-Latif ibn Muhammad ash-Shudayyid.
  • 'Abdullāh bin 'Abdur-Rahmān ibn Kimar
  • 'Abdullāh bin Qu'ood.
  • Sālih ibn Hussayn al-'Irāqi.
  • 'Abdul-Rahmān al- Warrāq.
  • The Mufti of his time, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn 'Abd al-Latif ash-Shaikh. Ibn Bāz studied under this scholar for ten years. He had studied all the branches of Shari'ah from him during the years 1927 until 1938.
  • Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Latif ibn Abdur-Rahmān ibn Hassan ibn ash-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhāb.
  • Sa’ad ibn Hamad ibn Atiq, the chief judge of Riyadh at the time.
  • Hammad ibn Farris, under whom ibn Bāz studied the field of Arabic grammar.
  • Sa’ad Waqqās al-Bukhāri, one of Makkah’s most renowned scholars in Tajweed.
  • Sālih ibn 'Abdul-Aziz ibn 'Abdur-Rahmān ibn Hasan ibn Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Wahhāb, one of the judges in the city of Riyadh.

Career

He had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as:[4]

  • The judge of Al Kharj district upon the recommendation of Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh from 1938 to 1951.
  • Held a teaching position in Riyadh at the Ma'had al-'Ilmee in 1951
  • In 1951 after spending fourteen years in al-Kharj as a judge, he was transferred to Riyadh where he became a teacher in the Riyadh Institute of Science and taught in the Faculty of Sharia from 1951 to 1961.
  • In 1961 he was appointed Vice President, and later President, of the Islamic University of Madinah.
  • In 1970 he became the Chancellor of the University upon the death of Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem Aal ash-Shaykh and he remained chancellor until 1975.
  • In 1975 a royal decree named him Chairman of the Department of Scientific Research and Ifta with the rank of Minister.
  • In 1992 he was appointed Grand Mufti of the Saudi Arabia and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars and was granted presidency of the administration for scientific research and legal rulings.
  • President of the Permanent Committee for Research and Fatawa.
  • President and member of the Constituent Assembly of the World Muslim League.
  • President of the Higher World League Council.
  • President of the Islaamic Fiqh Assembly based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
  • Member of the Higher Council of the Islamic University of Medina.
  • Member of the Higher Committee for Islaamic Da'wah in Saudi Arabia.

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]

Death

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.[7]

King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Ibn Bāz's death.[8]

Activities

Ibn Bāz had undertaken a number of charitable and other activities such as: [5]

  • His endless support for Dawah organizations and Islamic centers in many parts of the world.
  • The establishment and supervision of schools for teaching the Qur'an.
  • The foundation of an organization that facilitates marriage for Muslim youth.
  • The popular radio program, Nurun AlaDarb ("light on the path"), in which he discussed many current issues and answered questions from listeners as well as providing fatwa if needed.

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.[9] He called for obedience to the people in power unless they ordered something that went against God.[10] He condemned the terrorist bombings of Riyadh in the strongest terms.[11]

Criticisms

Gulf War

During the Gulf War Ibn Bāz issued fatwa allowing the deployment of non-Muslim troops on Saudi Arabia 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 Islamically allowing non-Muslims to be employed on Saudi soil.[12]

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."[13] 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.

Osama bin Laden

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

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] This criticism, coupled with bin Laden's making of Takfir of the rulers of Saudi Arabia, resulted in Ibn Bāz declaring bin Laden a Khariji.

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.[5]

References

  1. ^ Main Page
  2. ^ Main Page
  3. ^ "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
  4. ^ "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 10-11
  5. ^ a b c d Saudi Gazette 14 May 1999
  6. ^ Saudi Gazette
  7. ^ Main Page
  8. ^ "New Saudi Grand Mufti", BBC News, May 16, 1999.
  9. ^ العنف يضر بالدعوة
  10. ^ حقوق ولاة الأمور على الأمة
  11. ^ حادث التفجير في الرياض
  12. ^ Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds, 2004, p.184
  13. ^ Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds, 2004, p.186
  14. ^ Messages to the World, The Statements of Osama Bin Laden, Edited and Introduced by Bruce Lawrence, Translated by James Howarth, Verso, 2005
  15. ^ al-Muslimoon Magazine, 21st Rajab 1415 AH
  16. ^ at-Tawheed Magazine, vol. 23, Issue #10
Religious titles
Preceded by Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
1992–1999 		Succeeded by

Template:Persondata

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