Sheikh Abd al Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbdullāh bin Bāz, 21 November 1912 – 13 May 1999) was a Saudi Arabian
Islamic
scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...
who served as the
Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia is the most senior and most influential Muslim religious and legal authority in Saudi Arabia. The holder of the position is appointed by the King. The Grand Mufti is the head of the Permanent Committee for Islamic ...
from 1993 until his death in 1999. According to French political scientist
Gilles Kepel
Gilles Kepel, (born June 30, 1955) is a French political scientist and Arabist, specialized in the contemporary Middle East and Muslims in the West. He is Professor at the Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL) and director of the Middle Ea ...
, ibn Baz was a "figurehead" whose "immense religious erudition and his reputation for intransigence" gave him prestige among the population of Saudi Arabia. He "could reinforce the Saud family's policies through his influence with the masses of believers". His death left the government without a comparable figure from amongst Salafi scholars to "fill his shoes". He was a leading proponent of the
Wahhabism
Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, and ...
school of thought.
Ibn Baz issued a fatwa authorising a
wealth tax
A wealth tax (also called a capital tax or equity tax) is a tax on an entity's holdings of assets. This includes the total value of personal assets, including cash, bank deposits, real estate, assets in insurance and pension plans, ownershi ...
to support the
Mujahideen during the
anti-Soviet jihad. His endorsement of ''In Defence of Muslim Lands'', principally written by
Abdullah Azzam
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam ( ar, عبد الله يوسف عزام, translit=‘Abdu’llāh Yūsuf ‘Azzām; ) was a Salafi jihadist, a Palestinian scholar, and theologian of Sunni Islam. During the Soviet–Afghan War of the 1980s, he advocated " d ...
, was a powerful influence in the successful call for jihad against the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. It is said to be the first official call for jihad by a
nation state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may i ...
against another nation state in modern times.
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-Muslim troops in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques (''Haramayn'') during and after the
Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
.
Osama bin Laden bitterly condemned Ibn Baz and his rulings that supported Saudi Arabia's
foreign policy and alliances with Western powers.
Early life
Ibn Baz was born in the city of
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...
during the month of
Dhu al-Hijjah, 1912 to a family with a reputation for their interest in
Islam. His father died when he was only three. By the time he was thirteen, he had begun working, selling clothing with his brother in a market. He also took lessons in the
Qur’an,
Hadith
Ḥadīth ( or ; ar, حديث, , , , , , , literally "talk" or "discourse") or Athar ( ar, أثر, , literally "remnant"/"effect") refers to what the majority of Muslims believe to be a record of the words, actions, and the silent approva ...
,
Fiqh
''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh.
The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ...
, and
Tafsir
Tafsir ( ar, تفسير, tafsīr ) refers to exegesis, usually of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' ( ar, مُفسّر; plural: ar, مفسّرون, mufassirūn). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, in ...
,
[ with the man who would precede him as the country's top religious official, ]Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh
Muḥammad ibn ʾIbrāhīm ibn ʿAbd al-Laṭīf ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn Abd al-Wahhāb Al Shaykh Al-Tamīmī (1890–1969), was a Saudi Arabian religious scholar who was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1953 to ...
.[
In 1927, when he was sixteen, he started losing his eyesight after a serious infection in his eyes. By the time he was twenty, he had totally lost his sight and had become blind. At that time, Saudi Arabia lacked a modern university system. Ibn Baz received a traditional education in ]Islamic literature
Islamic literature is literature written by Muslim people, influenced by an Islamic cultural perspective, or literature that portrays Islam. It can be written in any language and portray any country or region. It includes many literary forms incl ...
with Islamic scholars.
Career
He held a number of posts and responsibilities, such as:
* Judge of Al Kharj
Kharj ( ar, الخرج) is a governorate in central Saudi Arabia. It is one of the important governorates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is located in the southeast of the capital Riyadh, within an area of 19,790 km2 ~ 4,890,215.5 acres, and ...
district upon the recommendation of Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Lateef Al ash-Shaikh from 1938 to 1951.[
* In 1992 he was appointed Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars and was granted presidency of the administration for Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta.
* President and member of the Constituent Assembly of the ]Muslim World League
The Muslim World League (MWL; ar, رابطة العالم الاسلامي, Rabitat al-Alam al-Islami, ) is an International Islamic NGO based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate ...
.[
In 1981 he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.][''Saudi Gazette'', 14 May 1999] He was the only Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia not to come from the Al ash-Sheikh family.
Ibn Bāz wrote more than sixty works over the course of his career on subjects including the Hadith, Tafsir, Islamic inheritance jurisprudence
Islamic Inheritance jurisprudence is a field of Islamic jurisprudence ( ar, فقه) that deals with inheritance, a topic that is prominently dealt with in the Qur'an. It is often called ''Mīrāth'', and its branch of Islamic law is technically ...
, Tawheed, Fiqh, Salat, Zakat, Dawah
Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات).
Etymology
The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
, Hajj and Umrah
The ʿUmrah ( ar, عُمْرَة, lit=to visit a populated place) is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca (the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia) that can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to t ...
.[
He also authored a criticism of the concept of ]nationhood
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
.[
]
Activism
Ibn Bāz had undertaken a number of charitable and similar activities such as:[
* His support for ]Dawah
Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات).
Etymology
The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
organisations and Islamic centres in many parts of the world.
* The popular radio program, Nurun Ala Darb ("light on the path"), in which he discussed current issues and answered questions from listeners as well as providing fatwa if needed.
* Ibn Baz urged donations be given to the Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
in Afghanistan, who in the late 1990s were seen by many Saudis as "pure, young Salafi warriors" fighting against destructive warlords.
Ibn Bāz was a prolific speaker, both in public and privately at his mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
. He also used to invite people after Isha Isha may refer to:
* Isha (Fantasy), the fictional deity from ''Warhammer Fantasy''
* Isha Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
* Isha prayer, the night-time daily prayer obligatory in Islam
* Isha Upanishad, t ...
prayer to share a meal with him.[
Ibn Bāz was among the Muslim scholars who opposed regime change using violence. He called for obedience to the people in power unless they ordered something that went against God.
]
Personal life
His wives and children lived in the Shumaysi neighbourhood of Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...
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.
Death
On Thursday morning, 13 May 1999, Ibn Bāz died at the age of 86. He was buried in Al Adl cemetery
The Al-Adl cemetery ( ar, مقبرة العدل, Maqbarat al-‘Adl, lit=Cemetery of Divine Justice) is one of the earliest and largest and of six resting places in Mecca. It is also the second substantial cemetery in the city.
History and locat ...
, Mecca.
King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Ibn Bāz's death.
During his career as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, he attempted to both legitimise the rule of the ruling family and to support calls for the reform of Islam in line with Salafi ideals. Many criticised him for supporting the Saudi government when, after the Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
, it muzzled or imprisoned those regarded as too critical of the government, such as Safar al-Hawali and Salman al-Ouda
Salman bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Ouda ( ar, سلمان بن فهد بن عبد الله العودة) or Salman al-Ouda ( ar, سلمان العودة), ''Salman al-Oadah'', ''Salman al-Audah'', or ''Salman al-Awdah'' ( ar, سلمان بن فه ...
. His influence on the Salafi movement was large, and most of the current prominent judges and religious scholars in Saudi Arabia are his former students.
Controversies
His obituary in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' said "His views and fatwas (religious rulings) were controversial, condemned by militants, liberals and progressives alike". He was also criticised by hardline Salafi jihadists
The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a Islah, reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three g ...
for supporting the decision to permit U.S. troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia in 1991.
Cosmology
In 1966, when Ibn Baz was vice-president of the Islamic University of Medina
The Islamic University of Madinah ( ar, الجامعة الإسلامية بالمدينة المنورة) was founded by the government of Saudi Arabia by a royal decree in 1961 in the Islamic holy city of Medina. Many have associated the univer ...
, he wrote an article denouncing Riyadh University
King Saud University (KSU, ar, جامعة الملك سعود) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulaziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in the ...
for teaching the "falsehood" that the earth rotates and orbits the sun. In his article, Ibn Baz claimed that the sun orbited the earth, 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".[ As a result of the publication of his first article, Ibn Baz was ridiculed by Egyptian journalists as an example of Saudi primitiveness,] 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.[ 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,] and repeated his belief that the sun orbited the earth. 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.[
In addition, there was controversy concerning the nature of the ]takfir
''Takfir'' or ''takfīr'' ( ar, تكفير, takfīr) is an Arabic and Islamic term which denotes excommunication from Islam of one Muslim by another, i.e. accusing another Muslim to be an apostate. The word is found neither in the Quran nor in the ...
(the act of declaring other Muslims to be kafir
Kafir ( ar, كافر '; plural ', ' or '; feminine '; feminine plural ' or ') is an Arabic and Islamic term which, in the Islamic tradition, refers to a person who disbelieves in God as per Islam, or denies his authority, or reject ...
or unbelievers) which it was claimed Ibn Baz had pronounced. According to Malise Ruthven
Malise Walter Maitland Knox Hore-Ruthven (born 14 May 1942) is an Anglo-Irish academic and writer.
Born in Dublin in 1942, he earned an M.A. in English literature at the University of Cambridge, before working as a scriptwriter with the BBC Ar ...
, he threatened all who did not accept his "pre- Copernican" views with a fatwa, declaring them infidels. 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 Honourable 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.
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. Western writers subsequently have drawn parallels between their perception of Ibn Baz and the trial of Galileo
The Galileo affair ( it, il processo a Galileo Galilei) began around 1610 and culminated with the trial and condemnation of Galileo Galilei by the Roman Catholic Inquisition in 1633. Galileo was prosecuted for his support of heliocentrism, the ...
by the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in the 16th century.
Ibn Baz is often said to have believed that the Earth was flat. Author Robert Lacey
Robert Lacey (born 3 January 1944) is a British historian and biographer. He is the author of a number of best-selling biographies, including those of Henry Ford, Eileen Ford, Queen Elizabeth II and other British royal family, royals, as well a ...
says that Ibn Baz gave an interview "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." 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." According to Lacey, Ibn 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.
However, Malise Ruthven and others state that it is incorrect to report that Ibn Baz believed "the earth is flat" Professor Werner Ende, a German expert on Ibn Baz's fatwas, states he has never asserted this. Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî calls those that attribute the flat earth view to Ibn Baz "rumour mongers". He points out that Ibn Baz issued a fatwa declaring that the Earth is round, and, indeed, in 1966 Ibn Baz wrote "The quotation I cited n his original articlefrom the speech of the great scholar Ibn Al-Qayyim
Shams al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ayyūb al-Zurʿī l-Dimashqī l-Ḥanbalī (29 January 1292–15 September 1350 CE / 691 AH–751 AH), commonly known as Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya ("The son of the principal of he school ...
(may Allah be merciful to him) includes proof that the earth is round."
Lacey quotes a fatwa by Ibn Baz urging caution towards claims that the Americans had landed on the moon. "We must make careful checks whenever the ''kuffar
Kafir ( ar, كافر '; plural ', ' or '; feminine '; feminine plural ' or ') is an Arabic and Islamic term which, in the Islamic tradition, refers to a person who disbelieves in God as per Islam, or denies his authority, or rejects ...
'' nbelieversor ''faseqoon'' mmoral folktell us something: we cannot believe or disbelieve them until we get sufficient proof on which the Muslims can depend."
Grand Mosque Seizure
Ibn 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, led by Juhayman al-Otaybi, were known as Al-Ikhwan (named after the Ikhwan
The Ikhwan ( ar, الإخوان, al-ʾIkhwān, The Brethren), commonly known as Ikhwan min ta'a Allah ( ar, إخوان من أطاع الله), was a traditionalist religious militia made up of traditionally nomadic tribesmen which formed a signif ...
army that which Juhayman's father served in or the hostel, Beit al-Ikhwan, in which Juhayman lived in). Al-Ikhwan were former students of Ibn Baz and other high ulema under the ''Al-Jama’a Al-Salafiya Al-Muhtasiba'' (literally, the Salafi Group that Commands Right and Forbids Wrong"), before breaking off from the group due to their extremism and militantism. Juhayman declared his brother-in-law, Mohammed al-Qahtani, to be the Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad w ...
. The Mabahith
The Saudi Mabahith ( ar, المباحث العامة, , General Investigation Directorate), also spelled ''Mabaheth'', is the secret police agency of the Presidency of State Security in Saudi Arabia, and deals with domestic security and counter- ...
(secret police) of the Minister of Interior, Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, نايف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, ''Nāyif ibn ‘Abd al ‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd''; 1934 – 16 June 2012) was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and deputy prime minister from October 2011 and the min ...
, had identified Mohammed al-Qahtani and a number of the Ikhwan as troublemakers. They had them imprisoned months before—only to release them at the request of Sheikh Ibn Baz.
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
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
. The situation was compounded and complicated by the fact that the Saudi Government found itself unprepared and incapable of dislodging the militants from the Mosque. They asked for outside assistance from the non-Islamic French GIGN
The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection ( ...
and non-Arab Pakistani SSG. 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 Ibn 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.[Wright, ''Looming Tower'', (2006), pp. 103–104 – softcover] The senior scholars also insisted that before security forces attack them, the authorities must offer the option "to surrender and lay down their arms".
Women's rights
Ibn Baz has been described as having harsh and inflexible attitudes towards women and being a bulwark against the expansion of rights for women.[ 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."] He also issued a fatwa against women driving cars, which in the West may have been his most well known ruling. 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."[
]
Persian Gulf War
During the Persian Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
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. However, according to ''The New York Times'', his fatwa overruled more radical clerics.[ In response to criticism, Ibn Baz condemned those who "whisper secretly in their meetings and record their poison over cassettes distributed to the people".][
Another key issue was to allow the wearing of the cross by non-Muslim soldiers and the carrying of ]New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
s 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 until this day.
The radical cleric Abdullah el-Faisal
Abdullah el-Faisal (born Trevor William Forrest, also known as Abdullah al-Faisal, Sheikh Faisal, Sheik Faisal, and Imam Al-Jamaikee, born 10 September 1963) is a Jamaican Muslim cleric who preached in the United Kingdom until he was convicted ...
ex-communicated (''takfir
''Takfir'' or ''takfīr'' ( ar, تكفير, takfīr) is an Arabic and Islamic term which denotes excommunication from Islam of one Muslim by another, i.e. accusing another Muslim to be an apostate. The word is found neither in the Quran nor in the ...
'') Ibn Baz, declaring him an apostate who died unrepentant.
Criticism of Osama bin Laden
According to his obituary in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'', Ibn Baz held ultra-conservative views and strongly maintained the puritan and non-compromising traditions of Wahabism.[ However, his political 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 practises".][ 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
The Oslo I Accord or Oslo I, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or short Declaration of Principles (DOP), was an attempt in 1993 to set up a framework that would lead to the resolution of th ...
between the PLO and Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i government. Ibn Baz defended his decision to endorse the Oslo Accords by citing the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah ( ar, صُلح ٱلْحُدَيْبِيَّة, Ṣulḥ Al-Ḥudaybiyyah) was an event that took place during the time of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was a pivotal treaty between Muhammad, representing the state of ...
, saying that a peace treaty with non-Muslims has historical precedent if it can avoid the loss of life.
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 Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until his death in 2011. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, his group is designated a ...
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 Laden and all those who traverse their ways is to leave alone this disastrous path, and to fear Allah and to beware of His vengeance and His Anger, and to return to guidance and to repent to Allah for whatever has preceded from them. And Allah, 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 Allah; verily, Allah forgives all sins.' Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." 9:53[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
The As-Salafi Mosque, also known as "The Salafi Mosque" or "Wright Street", is a Salafi mosque founded in 2002 and located in the Small Heath area of Birmingham, metres from the intersection of Muntz and Wright Streets and just behind Coventr ...
.
See also
* Islam in Saudi Arabia
Sunni Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia. The connection between Islam and modern-day Saudi Arabia is uniquely strong. The kingdom is called the "home of Islam"; the kingdom is also the birthplace of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, with al ...
* Salafi
* Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen
* Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani
Muhammad b. al-Haj Nuh b. Nijati b. Adam al-Ishqudri al-Albani al-Arnauti ( ar, مُحَمَّد نَاصِر ٱلدِّيْن ٱلْأَلْبَانِي الأرنؤوط), better known simply as Al-Albani (August 16, 1914 – October 2, 1999), ...
References
Citations
Sources
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External links
Fatwas of Ibn Baz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baz, Abd al-Aziz
1910 births
1999 deaths
People from Riyadh
Saudi Arabian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam
Saudi Arabian imams
Sharia judges
Blind academics
Saudi Arabian Salafis
20th-century imams
Abdulaziz
Critics of Shia Islam
Atharis
Salafi Quietists
Critics of Arab nationalism
Grand Muftis of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabian Wahhabists
Islamic University of Madinah faculty
Critics of atheism