Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baz

Abdul 'Azeez ibn Abdullaah ibn Baaz was born in Najd. He was a Muslim scholar and a staunch enemy of Shia's and Mut'ah. He introduced the Misyar marriage

His Childhood and Youth

The sheikh’s father died when he was only three years of age, therefore, a big responsibility was on his mother to raise the sheikh. 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 Shariah [Islamic Law]; she also died when I was twenty six.” His mother played an important role in bringing him up and later in directing him toward memorizing the Quran, at the age of fourteen, and studying different Islamic books. When he was thirteen or so, he had to work with his older brother, Muhammad, selling Bshut, men’s gowns, on the market. Despite the fact that he helped a great deal in supporting his family, he had never forgotten to study Quran, Hadith, Fiqh (Jurisprudence), and Tafsir. In 1346 H, when the sheikh 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. Nonetheless, he dedicated his full time to studying Islamic books benefiting and learning from different sheikhs.

His Education

The sheikh managed to gain a great deal of Islamic knowledge through his constant reading of Islamic literature as well as his accompaniment to different scholars and sheiks whom he learned and benefited from a lot. Some of these sheikhs are: 1. Sheikh Muhammad Bin Ibraheem Bin Abdullateef AlAsheikh. Bin baz had stayed with this sheikh for almost ten years. He was later chosen by his sheikh to be the judge of Al-Kharj. 2. Sheikh Muhammad Bin Abdullateef Bin Hassan AlAsheikh. 3. Sheikh Sa’ad Bin Hamad Bin Ateeque, the judge of Riyadh city at that time. 4. Sheikh Hammed Bin Farris; Bin Baz benefited from this sheikh in the field of Arabic grammar. 5. Sheikh Sa’ad Wakhas AlBukhari, one of Makkah’s best scholars in Tajweed (mastery of reading the Holy Quran).

Job Titles

The sheikh had assumed a number of posts and responsibilities such as 1. the judge of Ai-Kharj; upon the recommendation of Sheikh Muhammad Bin Abdullateef AlAsheikh, sheikh Bin Baz was appointed as the judge of Al-Kharj from 1357 H to 1371 H. 2. In 1371 H and 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, he taught in the Faculty of Shariah [Islamic Law] from 1373 H to 1381 H. 3. In 1381 H he was then appointed Vice President, and later President, of the Islamic University in Madinah. 4. In 1395 H a royal decree named him Chairman of the [Government] Department of Scientific Research and Ifta [guidance] with the rank of Minister. 5. And in 1414 H he was appointed Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Head of the Council of Ulema (Senior Scholars). 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 the Kingdom and overseas, in addition to writing a great number of books in different fields and issuing a large body of fatwa [religious decrees]. In 1402 H he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.

His Achievements

The sheikh had set an example to the Muslim youth wherever they may be; his main concern besides studying Shariah was Dawah both inside and outside the country. Sheikh Bin Baz also had undertaken a number of charitable organizations and activities such as: 1. His endless support for Da’wah organizations and Islamic centers all over the world. 2. The establishment and supervision of schools for teaching the Holy Quran. 3. The foundation of an organization that facilitates marriage for Muslim youth. 4. The popular radio program, Nurun AlaDarb [light on the path], which hosting one of the sheikhs, discusses a lot of problems answering different questions by listeners as well as providing fatwa if needed. This program is considered one the most radio programs ever broadcast.

His Books and Writings

Sheikh Bin Baz managed to write a good number of books on different issues. The number of books written by sheikh Bin Baz exceeds sixty and it is hard to name them all in here; however, the subject matter that he mainly wrote on was Hadith, Tafsir, Fara'ed, Tawheed, Fiqh and also a great deal of books on Salat, Zakat, Dawah, Hajj and Umrah.His Lectures and Lessons

Sheikh Bin Baz life was full of lectures and sermons which he delivered in public or privately at his mosque. Like his books, his lectures and sermons were so many but they revolved majorly around the situation of the Muslim world and around issues that concerned the Islamic Ummah [nation]. In addition, the sheikhs time was devoted to the lessons he gave after Fajer prayer, giving fatwa during the day, meeting delegates from Muslim countries and sitting with the people after Maghrib prayer to solve their problems and offer help as much as he could. He also used to invite people after Isha prayer to have lunch with him.

His Death

On Thursday morning May 13, 1999 and at the age of ninety, sheikh Bin Baz died. The next day, following Friday prayer, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahad bin Abdulaziz, Crown prince Abdullah, Prince Sultan, sheikhs, scholars and hundreds of thousands of people performed funeral prayers at the Holy Mosque in Makkah for late sheikh Abulaziz Bin abdullah Bin Baz .