Who Is Saudi Arabia’s New Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan? Career, Mentors, Family & More

Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan bin Abdullah Al-Fawzan has been officially appointed as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Council of Senior Scholars by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The royal decree was issued following a proposal by Crown Prince on Wednesday according to the reports.

Sheikh Saleh will also serve as President of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta, reports mentioned. He succeeds the late Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Asheikh, who passed away on September 23, 2023.

Who is Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan?

Sheikh was born in 1935 in the village of Ash-Shimasiyyah in the Qassim region of central Saudi Arabia. However, he was orphaned at a young age after the death of his father, Fawzan bin Abdullah Al-Fawzan. He was raised by his extended family and began his early religious education under Sheikh Hammoud Bin Suleiman Al-Tilal, the local mosque imam. Here he learned the Quran and foundational literacy skills.

He started his formal education in 1950 at a public school in Ash-Shimasiyyah. He completed His primary education at Al-Faisaliyah School in Buraydah in 1952.

He was the enrolled in the Scholarly Institute in Buraydah in 1954, becoming one of its first students. Four years later, he graduated and moved to Riyadh to attend the College of Sharia.

Sheikh Al-Fawzan earned his bachelor’s degree in 1961 from At the College of Sharia. He then completed both a master’s and doctoral degree in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). During his master’s he worked on “Satisfactory Investigations Applying Hypothetical Approaches in the Science of Inheritance,” while his doctoral dissertation was on “Rulings Concerning Food in Islamic Sharia.”

Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan Career

After he finished studies, Sheikh Al-Fawzan started teaching at the Scholarly Institute in Riyadh and later at the College of Fundamentals of Religion. He also served as Director of the Higher Institute of Judiciary.

Since 1992, he has been a member of the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta, holding the rank of excellence. He also serves on the Council of Senior Scholars, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, and the Islamic Fiqh Council affiliated with the Muslim World League in Makkah.

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Sheikh Al-Fawzan is also serving as imam, preacher, and teacher at the Prince Mutaib Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Mosque in Riyadh’s Al-Malaz neighborhood. He regularly contributes to the radio program Nur ‘Ala al-Darb, answering to public questions and providing guidance on religious matters. He also supervises academic theses for higher-education students across Saudi universities.

Who Mentored Sheikh Saleh Al-Fawzan?

Sheikh Al-Fawzan studied under several prominent scholars, most notably Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Abdullah Bin Baz, the late Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, who mentored him in Islamic inheritance law and oversaw his work at Dar al-Ifta. Other influential teachers included Sheikh Mohammed al-Ameen ash-Shinqeeti, Sheikh Abdul Razzaq Afifi, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamid, Sheikh Saleh al-Ali al-Nasir, and scholars from Al-Azhar University, who instructed him in Arabic, Quranic exegesis, and Hadith studies.

Under Sheikh Bin Baz’s guidance, Al-Fawzan developed a methodical approach to issuing fatwas, emphasizing evidence from the Quran and Sunnah, consistency in rulings, and patience in public discourse. 

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