Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh passed away on Tuesday at the age of 81, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) confirmed. The Kingdom’s top religious authority had been ill for some time.

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and also served as the head of the Council of Senior Scholars, the highest religious body in the country.

Life devoted to religious service

Born in 1943, Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh became one of the most respected clerics in the Islamic world. Over the decades, he played a central role in shaping religious thought and guidance across Saudi Arabia.

He also holds the distinction of delivering the most Hajj sermons in history, addressing millions of pilgrims who travelled to the holy sites of Makkah and Medina.

Funeral prayers in Riyadh, across Kingdom

According to SPA, the funeral prayer for the late Grand Mufti will be held at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh after the Asr prayer.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz has further directed that absentee funeral prayers be performed for Sheikh Abdulaziz at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Masjid-e-Nabwi in Medina, and in all mosques across the Kingdom following the Asr prayer.

Legacy of leadership

Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh’s decades of service as Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti and his leadership of the Council of Senior Scholars made him a central figure in the Kingdom’s religious and social landscape. His sermons, rulings, and guidance were followed not just in Saudi Arabia but across the Muslim world.

His passing marks the end of an era for Saudi Arabia’s religious leadership.