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Abd-al-Aziz ibn Abd-Allah ibn Baaz
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Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz , also known as Bin Baaz, was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999.
Baaz was born in the city of Riyadh during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1909 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 begun working, selling clothing with his brother in a market.
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Encyclopedia
Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz , also known as Bin Baaz, was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999.
Youth
Ibn Baaz was born in the city of Riyadh during the month of Dhu al-Hijjah, 1909 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 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.
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 accompaniment to different scholars whom he learned from. These include:
- 'Abdullaah bin Fayreej whom he studied the Qura'n with at an early age and memorized it and read it to him.
- Muhammad ibn Zayd, the chief judge in the Eastern region.
- Raashid ibn Saalih al-Khunayn.
- 'Abdul-Lateef ibn Muhammad ash-Shudayyid.
- 'Abdullaah bin 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Kimar
- 'Abdullaah bin Qu'ood.
- Saalih ibn Hussayn al-'Iraaqee.
- 'Abdul-Rahmaan al- Warraaq.
- The Mufti of his time, Muhammad ibn Ibraheem ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ash-Shaikh. Ibn Baaz studied under this scholar for ten years. He had studied all the branches of Sharee'ah from him during the years 1927 until 1938.
- Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Lateef ibn Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Hassan ibn ash-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhaab.
- Sa’ad ibn Hamad ibn Ateeq, the chief judge of Riyadh at the time.
- Hammad ibn Farris, under whom ibn Baaz studied the field of Arabic grammar.
- Sa’ad Waqqaas al-Bukhaaree, one of Mecca’s most renowned scholars in Tajweed.
- Saalih ibn 'Abdul-Azeez ibn 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Hasan ibn Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Wahhaab, one of the judges in the city of Riyadh.
Career
He had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as:
- 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 1961 to .
- 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.
Death
On Thursday morning, May 13, 1999, Ibn Baaz died at the age of 88 whilst prostrating in prayer. 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.
King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Bin Baaz's death.
Activities
Ibn Baaz had undertaken a number of charitable and other activities such as:
- 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 Baaz 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.
Ibn Baz 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. He condemned the terrorist bombings of Riyadh in the strongest terms.
Views
Gulf War
During the Gulf War Ibn Baaz 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.
In his career as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Bin Baaz 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-Ouda.
When 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
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 endorsing the Oslo peace accord between the PLO and Israeli government. 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. This criticism, coupled with bin Laden's making of Takfir of the rulers of Saudi Arabia, resulted in Ibn Baaz declaring bin Laden a Khariji.
Flat Earth
Between 1993 and 1995, various newspapers and magazines published accounts that ibn Baaz, whose duties included the presidency of the administration for scientific research, had said that the Earth is flat. Bin Baaz strongly denied that claim, describing the allegation as a "pure lie"; in addition, he had made statements and released multiple Fatwas affirming that the earth is round. Observers have alleged that continued accusations against ibn Baaz regarding the topic are attempts at character assassination.
Bibliography
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
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