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Ibn Baaz

Era	Modern era
Region	Saudi Arabian scholar
School	Sunni

Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz (Template:ArB ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn Bāz) was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999.

Biography

His Childhood and Youth

Shaikh ibn Baaz was born in the city of Riyadh during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1330AH 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 Sharia; she also died when I was twenty six.” By the time he was thirteen he had began 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 1346AH, 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.

Education

At that time, Saudia Arabia lacked the complex university system of today. However, Shaikh ibn Baaz managed to learn a great deal through his constant reading of Islamic literature as well as his accompaniment to different scholars whom he learned from. These include:

1. Shaikh Muhammad ibn Ibraheem ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh. Ibn Baaz studied under this scholar for ten years.
2. Shaikh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ibn Hassan ash-Shaikh.
3. Shaikh Sa’ad ibn Hamad ibn Ateeq, the judge of Riyadh at the time.
4. Shaikh Hammad ibn Farris, under whom ibn Baaz studied the field of Arabic grammar.
5. Shaikh Sa’ad Wakhas al-Bukhari, one of Mecca’s most renowned scholars in Tajweed.

Death

On Thursday morning May 13, 1999 and at the age of ninety, Shaikh ibn Baaz died. The next day, following Friday prayer, Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Sultan, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and hundreds of thousands of people performed funeral prayers at the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.

Career

Shaikh ibn Baaz first developed notoriety and a reputation for integrity in the 1940s when he served time in prison as punishment for contradicting government policy with a fatwa declaring the employment of non-Muslims in the Persian Gulf forbidden by Islam. Ironically, roughly fifty years later, in a seeming reversal, he issued another fatwa allowing the deployment of non-Muslim troops on Saudi Arabian soil to defend the Kingdom from the Iraqi army.

Flat earth alegations

Shaikh ibn Baaz is best known in the West from a report claiming he issued a fatwa declaring: "The earth is flat. Whoever claims it is round is an atheist deserving of punishment." He described this flat earth-report as "a pure lie". Several Muslim leaders argued that, in fact, he maintained not that the Earth is flat but that it is a stationary globe that the sun and moon revolve around, using Quranic literalism as evidence. (Discussion of the issues can be found in Flat Earth theories).

Gulf War

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 Salafi scholars regarded as too critical of the government.

When Shaikh ibn Baaz 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 bin Baaz's shoes." 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

Shaikh ibn Baaz was the subject of Osama bin Laden's first public pronouncement intended for the general Muslim public. This open letter condescendingly criticized him for being a subordinate to the Saudi government. This resulted in Shaikh ibn Baaz declaring bin Laden a Khariji.

Job Titles

The Shaikh had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as :

The judge of Kharj upon the recommendation of Shaikh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh from 1357AH to 1371AH.
In 1371AH after spending fourteen years in 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 1373AH to 1381AH.
In 1381AH he was then appointed Vice President, and later President, of the Islamic University of Madinah.
In 1395AH a royal decree named him Chairman of the Department of Scientific Research and Ifta with the rank of Minister.
In 1414AH he was appointed Grand Mufti of the Saudi Arabia and Head of the Council of Ulema.

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 1402AH he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.

Achievements

Shaikh ibn Baaz had undertaken a number of charitable and other activities such as:

His endless support for Dawah organizations and Islamic centers all over 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.

Lectures and Lessons

Shaikh ibn Baaz was a 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.

Works

The number of books written by ibn Baaz exceeds sixty and the subject matter covered many topics such as Hadith, Tafsir, Fara'ed’ed, Tawheed, Fiqh and also a great deal of books on Salat, Zakat, Dawah, Hajj and Umrah.

External links

Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds, 2004, p.184
Youssef M. Ibrahim, "Muslim Edicts Take on New Force," The New York Times, February 12, 1995, Sunday, p. 14
Shakiel Humayun (25 June 2004). "Polemic Rebuttals: Who Says the Earth is Flat ? Refuting Lies Against Ibn Baaz". thetruereligion.org. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds, 2004, p.186
Messages to the World, The Statements of Osama Bin Laden, Edited and Introduced by Bruce Lawrence, Translated by James Howarth, Verso, 2005
http://www.troid.org/articles/manhaj/innovation/thefitnahoftakfeer/binlaadin.pdf

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