Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Sheikh, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, passed away on Tuesday, September 23, the Royal Court announced. He was 83 years old. Sheikh Abdulaziz, who also headed the Council of Senior Scholars, the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, and the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League, was one of the Kingdom’s most prominent religious leaders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the death of the Grand Mufti on X on Wednesday. "Deepest condolences on the sad demise of the Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, His Eminence Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al AlSheikh. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Kingdom and its people in this moment of grief," Modi said.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has also directed that funeral prayers in absentia be performed at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, and all mosques across the Kingdom.
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The Royal Court said the Kingdom and the wider Islamic world “have lost a distinguished scholar who made significant contributions to the service of Islam and Muslims.”
King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud have extended condolences to the late scholar’s family, the Saudi people, and Muslims around the world.