Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baz

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Abdul-Aziz Ibn Baz
عبد العزيز بن عبد الله بن باز
Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al ash-Sheikh
Personal
Born(1912-11-21)21 November 1912
Salafi[1]
Muslim leader
TeacherMuhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh[2]
Influenced by
Influenced
Awards
  • National Order of Merit of Mauritania[5]
  • King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam[6]

Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz (

Salafi school of thought.[7]

Ibn Baz issued a fatwa authorising a

Abdullah Azzam, was a powerful influence in the successful call for jihad against the Soviet Union. It is said to be the first official call for jihad by a nation state against another nation state in modern times.[9]

Many of ibn Baz's views and rulings are considered controversial (both inside and outside Saudi Arabia), including those relating to cosmology, women's rights, Saudi Arabia's support for the

Persian Gulf War. Osama bin Laden bitterly condemned Ibn Baz and his rulings that supported Saudi Arabia's foreign policy
and alliances with Western powers.

Early life

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Ibn Baz was born in the city of

Qur'an, hadith, fiqh, and tafsir,[5] with the man who would precede him as the country's top religious official, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh.[6]

In 1927, when he was sixteen, he started losing his eyesight after a serious infection in his eyes. By the time he was twenty, he had totally lost his sight and had become blind.[11][12] At that time, Saudi Arabia lacked a modern university system. Ibn Baz received a traditional education in Islamic literature with Islamic scholars.[13][14]

Career

He held a number of posts and responsibilities, such as:[15]

In 1981 he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.[16][17] He was the only Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia not to come from the Al ash-Sheikh family.[18]

Ibn Bāz wrote more than sixty works over the course of his career on subjects including the hadith, tafsir,

salat, zakat, dawah, Hajj and Umrah.[16]

He also authored a criticism of the concept of

nationhood.[19][5][6]

Activism

Ibn Bāz had undertaken a number of charitable and similar activities such as:[16]

  • His support for dawah organisations and Islamic centres in many parts of the world.
  • The popular radio program, Nurun Ala Darb ("light on the path"), in which he discussed current issues and answered questions from listeners as well as providing fatwa if needed.
  • Ibn Baz urged donations be given to the Taliban in Afghanistan, who in the late 1990s were seen by many Saudis as "pure, young Salafi warriors" fighting against destructive warlords.[20]

Ibn Bāz was a prolific speaker, both in public and privately at his

Isha prayer to share a meal with him.[16]

Ibn Bāz was among the Muslim scholars who opposed regime change using violence.[21] He called for obedience to the people in power unless they ordered something that went against God.[22]

During his career as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, he attempted to both legitimise the rule of the ruling family and to support calls for the reform of Islam in line with

Persian Gulf War, it muzzled or imprisoned those regarded as too critical of the government, such as Safar al-Hawali and Salman al-Ouda
. His influence on the Salafi movement was large, and most of the current prominent judges and religious scholars in Saudi Arabia are his former students.

Personal life

His wives and children lived in the Shumaysi neighbourhood of Riyadh in "a little cluster of modern two-story buildings". Like all senior Saudi clerics, his home was a gift from a wealthy benefactor or a religious foundation for his distinguished religious work.[23]

Death

On Thursday morning, 13 May 1999, Ibn Bāz died at the age of 86. He was buried in

Al Adl cemetery, Mecca.[24]

King Fahd issued a decree appointing

Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Ibn Bāz's death.[25]

Controversies

His obituary in The Independent said "His views and fatwas (religious rulings) were controversial, condemned by militants, liberals and progressives alike".[26] He was also criticised by hardline Salafi jihadists for supporting the decision to permit U.S. troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia in 1991.[27]

Cosmology

See also:
Astronomy in Islam, and Apostasy in Islam

In 1966, when Ibn Baz was vice-president of the

Prince Sultan bin Salman returned home after a week aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery to tell him that he had seen the Earth rotate.[28][36]

In addition, there was controversy concerning the nature of the takfir (the act of declaring other Muslims to be kafir or unbelievers) which it was claimed Ibn Baz had pronounced. According to Malise Ruthven, he threatened all who did not accept his "pre-Copernican" views with a fatwa, declaring them infidels.[37] Ibn Baz wrote a letter to a magazine in 1966 responding to similar accusations:

I only deemed it lawful to kill whoever claims that the sun is static (thābita la jāriya) and refuses to repent of this after clarification. This is because denying the circulation of the sun constitutes a denial of Allah (Glorified be He), His Great Book, and His Honourable Messenger. It is well established in the Din (religion of Islam) by way of decisive evidence and Ijma' (consensus) of scholars that whoever denies Allah, His Messenger or His Book is a Kafir (disbeliever), and their blood and wealth become violable. It is the duty of the responsible authority to ask them to repent of this; either they repent or be executed. Thanks to Allah that this issue is not debatable among scholars.[38][39]

Ibn Baz's second article written in 1966 also responded to similar accusations:

I did not declare those who believe that the earth rotates to be infidels, nor those who believe that the sun moving around itself, but I do so for those who say that the sun is static and does not move (thābita la jāriya), which is in my last article. Whoever says so being an infidel is obvious from the Quran and the Sunnah, because God almighty says: 'And the sun runs on (tajri) to a term appointed for it' ... As for saying that the Sun is fixed in one position but still moving around itself, ..., I did not deal with this issue in my first article, nor have I declared as infidel anyone who says so.[34][40] Western writers subsequently have drawn parallels between their perception of Ibn Baz and the trial of Galileo by the Catholic Church in the 16th century.[41]

Ibn Baz is often said to have believed that the Earth was flat. Author Robert Lacey says that Ibn Baz gave an interview "in which he mused on how we operate day to day on the basis that the ground beneath us is flat ... and it led him to the belief that he was not afraid to voice and for which he became notorious."[36] Though satirized for his belief, "the sheikh was unrepentant. If Muslims chose to believe the world was round, that was their business, he said, and he would not quarrel with them religiously. But he was inclined to trust what he felt beneath his feet rather than the statements of scientists he did not know."[36] According to Lacey, Ibn Baz changed his mind about the earth's flatness after talking to Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud who had spent time in a space shuttle flight in 1985.[42]

However, Malise Ruthven and others state that it is incorrect to report that Ibn Baz believed "the earth is flat"

Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah be merciful to him) includes proof that the earth is round."[38]

Lacey quotes a fatwa by Ibn Baz urging caution towards claims that the Americans had landed on the Moon. "We must make careful checks whenever the kuffar [unbelievers] or faseqoon [immoral folk] tell us something: we cannot believe or disbelieve them until we get sufficient proof on which the Muslims can depend."[36]

Grand Mosque Seizure

Ibn Baz has been associated with some members of the 20 November–4 December 1979

Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, had identified Mohammed al-Qahtani and a number of the Ikhwan as troublemakers. They had them imprisoned months before—only to release them at the request of Sheikh Ibn Baz.[47]

Islam forbids any violence within the Grand Mosque. Ibn Baz found himself in a delicate situation, especially as he had previously taught al-Otaybi in

SSG
. Non-Muslims are not permitted within the Meccan city limits, let alone the Grand Mosque.

When asked for a fatwa by the Government to condemn the militants, the language of Ibn Baz and other senior ulama "was curiously restrained". The invaders of the Masjid al-Haram were not declared non-Muslims, despite their killings and violation of the sanctity of the Masjid, but only called "al-jamaah al-musallahah" (the armed group). Regardless, the ulema issued a fatwa allowing deadly force to be used in retaking the mosque.[49] The senior scholars also insisted that before security forces attack them, the authorities must offer the option "to surrender and lay down their arms".[50]

Women's rights

See also: Women's rights in Saudi Arabia and Women in Islam

Ibn Baz has been described as having inflexible attitudes towards women[51] and being a bulwark against the expansion of rights for women.[52] Commenting on the Sharia rule that the testimony in court of one woman was insufficient, Ibn Baz said: "The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) explained that their shortcoming in reasoning is found in the fact that their memory is weak and that their witness is in need of another woman to corroborate it."[52] He also issued a fatwa against women driving cars, which in the West may have been his most well known ruling.[53] He declared: "Depravity leads to the innocent and pure women being accused of indecencies. Allah has laid down one of the harshest punishments for such an act to protect society from the spreading of the causes of depravity. Women driving cars, however, is one of the causes that lead to that."[52]

Persian Gulf War

During the

Persian Gulf War Ibn Bāz issued a fatwa allowing the deployment of non-Muslim troops on Saudi Arabian 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 allowing non-Muslims to be employed on Saudi soil.[54] However, according to The New York Times, his fatwa overruled more radical clerics.[53][55] In response to criticism, Ibn Baz condemned those who "whisper secretly in their meetings and record their poison over cassettes distributed to the people".[53]

Another key issue was to allow the wearing of the cross by non-Muslim soldiers and the carrying of

Salafi jihadis have with the House of Saud until this day.[56]

The radical cleric Abdullah el-Faisal ex-communicated (takfir) Ibn Baz, declaring him an apostate who died unrepentant.[57]

Criticism of Osama bin Laden

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

According to his obituary in

Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, saying that a peace treaty with non-Muslims has historical precedent if it can avoid the loss of life.[59][60]

Ibn Baz deemed it mandatory to destroy media that promoted Bin Laden's views, and declared that it was forbidden for anyone to co-operate with him. He wrote:

...It is obligatory to destroy and annihilate these publications that have emanated from al-Faqeeh, or from al-Mas'aree, or from others of the callers of falsehood (bin Laden and those like him), and not to be lenient towards them. And it is obligatory to advise them, to guide them towards the truth, and to warn them against this falsehood. It is not permissible for anyone to co-operate with them in this evil. And it is obligatory upon them to be sincere and to come back to guidance and to leave alone and abandon this falsehood. So my advice to al-Mas'aree, al-Faqeeh and Bin Laden and all those who traverse their ways is to leave alone this disastrous path, and to fear Allah and to beware of His vengeance and His Anger, and to return to guidance and to repent to Allah for whatever has preceded from them. And Allah, Glorified, has promised His repentant servants that He will accept their repentance and be good to them. So Allah the Glorified said: "Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves. Do not despair of the Mercy of Allah; verily, Allah forgives all sins.' Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." [39:53].[61]

Antisemitism

When asked whether it is permissible to curse the Jews, Ibn Baz responded,[62] "Yes. Curse them. May Allah curse the Jews and may Allah curse the Christians, and may Allah curse the disbelievers the same as the Prophet (PBUH) cursed them."

Works

  • The Correct Islamic Aqeedah and what opposes it
  • Important Lessons for Every Muslim
  • Hajj, Umrah and Ziyarah
  • The Prophet's Manner of Performing
  • Essential Lessons For Every Muslim
  • Words of Advice Regarding Da'wah
  • Knowledge
  • Treaties on Zakat & Fasting
  • The Rule on Those Who Seek Help In Other Than Allah

See also

References

Notes

Citations

  1. ^ a b Kepel (2004), p. 186.
  2. ^ "إجازة الشيخ محمد شفيع للشيخ عبدالعزيز في الحديث وثنائه عليه". binbaz.org.sa (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-11-21.
  3. ^ "اغتيال قائد جيش الإسلام زهران علوش بغارة يعتقد أنها روسية". أنا برس. 2015-12-25. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02.
  4. ^ "الشيخ المجاهد "زهران علوش".. سيرة قائد طلب الشهادة فنالها". هيئة الشام الإسلامية. January 28, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017.
  5. ^
    ISBN 0905118286
  6. ^
    ISBN 2903188076
  7. ^ Samiah Baroni. Saudi Arabia And Expansionist Wahhabism.
  8. ISBN 978-1-4379-2838-9
    .
  9. ^ Ibn Baaz's fatwa in support of the war against the soviets Archived 20 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Ibn Baz Fatwas, Volume 27, Book on Da'wah. An interview by the Pakistani magazine: Takbir.
  10. ^ Khalid Al Mubarak (25 May 1999). "Abdul Aziz Ibn Baz". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Main Page". Archived from the original on 28 August 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
  12. ^ "Ad-Da'wah Ilallah wa Akhlaaqud-Du'aat" (pp. 37–43)
  13. ^ Main Page Archived 28 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ "Words of Advice Regarding Da'wah" by 'Abdul 'Azeez ibn 'Abdullaah ibn Baaz (translated by Bint Feroz Deen and Bint Abd al-Ghafoor), Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution, Birmingham: 1998, pp. 9–10
  15. ^ "Words of Advice Regarding Da'wah" by 'Abdul 'Azeez ibn 'Abdullaah ibn Baaz (translated by Bint Feroz Deen and Bint 'Abd al-Ghafoor), Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution, Birmingham: 1998, Pages 10–11
  16. ^ a b c d Saudi Gazette, 14 May 1999
  17. ^ Saudi Gazette Archived 28 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ISBN 978-1-60980-173-1
    .
  19. ^ "Evils of Nationalism: Shaykh Abdul Azeez Bin Baaz". AbdurRahman.Org. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  20. ^ Lacey (2009), pp. 198: the Afghan jihad was being fought over again, with pure, young Salafi warriors. Abdul Aziz bin Baz .... a particular enthusiast. The man who had sponsored and protected Juhayman now urged the holy cause of the Afghan students with the ulema, and more potently still with the senior princes to whom he had private access. It is not known -- it will never be known -- which of the family of Abdul Aziz privately parted with money at the venerable shiekh's request, but what was pocket money to them could easily have bought a fleet of pickup trucks for the Taliban.
  21. ^ "العنف يضر بالدعوة". June 4, 2004. Archived from the original on 2004-06-04.
  22. ^ حقوق ولاة الأمور على الأمة Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Lacey (2009), p. 131.
  24. ^ "Al Adl: One of Makkah's oldest cemeteries". Saudi Gazette. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  25. ^ "New Saudi Grand Mufti" Archived 12 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News, May 16, 1999.
  26. ^ a b c "Obituary: Sheikh 'Abdul 'Aziz bin Baz". The Independent. 14 May 1999. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  27. ISBN 978-0-203-89505-4
    .
  28. ^
    ISBN 978-0-470-18257-4
    .
  29. ^ "Sheikh Bin Baz". The Economist. 20 May 1999. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  30. ^ Ende, Werner (1982). "Religion, Politik und Literatur in Saudi-Arabien. Der geistige Hintergrund der religiösen und kulturpolitischen Situation (III)". Orient: Deutsche Zeitschrift für Politik und Wirtschaft des Orients'. 23 (3): 382ff.
  31. ISBN 978-0030437311
    .
  32. ^
    ISBN 978-0791422656
    .
  33. ^
    ISBN 978-1439129418
    .
  34. ^ a b Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz (1982). Al-adilla al-naqliyya wa al-ḥissiyya ʿala imkān al-ṣuʾūd ila al-kawākib wa ʾala jarayān al-shams wa al-qamar wa sukūn al-arḍ (2nd ed.). Riyadh: Maktabat al-riyāḍ al-ḥadītha. pp. 36, 45.
  35. ^ a b Ruthven (2004), p. 148.
  36. ^ a b c d Lacey (2009), pp. 89–90, 352.
  37. ^ Ruthven (2004), p. 149.
  38. ^ a b Ibn Baz (15 April 1966). "Refuting and criticizing what has been published in "Al-Musawwir" magazine". "Al-Musawwir" magazine (Part No. 3; Page No. 157). The General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  39. ^ "موقع الشيخ عبدالعزيز بن باز - تكذيب ونقد لبعض ما نشرته مجلة (المصور)". Archived from the original on 2015-09-27. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  40. ^ For another response from the 1970s see
  41. ISBN 978-0268010867
    .
  42. ^ Lacey (2009), pp. 88–89, 352.
  43. ^ Sheikh 'Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî, former professor at al-Imâm University in Riyadh. "Sheikh Ibn Baz on the roundness of the Earth". Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  44. ^ "الأرض كروية أم سطحية ؟ |". Archived from the original on 2013-06-25. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  45. ^ Lacey (2009), p. 13.
  46. ^ Lacey (2009), p. 11.
  47. ^ Lacey (2009), p. 31.
  48. ^ Thomas Hegghammer and Stephane Lacroix. Rejectionist Islamism in Saudi Arabia: The Story of Juhayman al-Utaybi Revisited. Archived 2015-04-10 at the Wayback Machine International Journal of Middle East Studies, February 2007, pp 103-122, Cambridge University Press (p. 3 PDF).
  49. ^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), pp. 103–104 – softcover
  50. ^ Lacey (2009), pp. 30: "Their language was curiously restrained. The sheikhs had a rich vocabulary of condemnation that they regularly deployed against those who incurred their wrath, from kuffar ... to al-faseqoon (those who are immoral and who do not follow God). But the worst they could conjure up for Juhayman and his followers was al-jamaah al-musallahah (the armed group). They also insisted that the young men must be given another chance to repent. ... Before attacking them, said the ulema, the authorities must offer the option 'to surrender and lay down their arms.'
  51. ISBN 978-1-58322-610-0
    .
  52. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7425-4362-1
    .
  53. ^ a b c "Sheik Abdelaziz bin Baz, Senior Saudi Cleric and Royal Ally". The New York Times. 14 May 1999. Archived from the original on 4 July 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  54. ^ Kepel (2004), p. 184.
  55. ^ See also Salafi Fatwa Of Takfeer On Their Own Imams Ibn Baaz, Albani & Co. Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine By: Maulana Muhammad A. K. Azad [ Abu Arif Al Alawi ], 14 NOVEMBER 2012, contains full text of Salafi fatwa - Ibn Baaz Is Kafir, by Judith Miller, The New York Times, 20 January 1991 as well.
  56. ^ Satanic Fatwa of bin Baz and Some Remarks Archived 2016-01-12 at the Wayback Machine. millatibraheem.wordpress.com
  57. ^ "Satanic Fatwa of bin Baz and Some Remarks". 9 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2015-04-26.
  58. ^ Messages to the World, The Statements of Osama Bin Laden, Edited and Introduced by Bruce Lawrence, Translated by James Howarth, Verso, 2005
  59. ^ al-Muslimoon Magazine, 21st Rajab 1415 AH
  60. ^ at-Tawheed Magazine, vol. 23, Issue #10
  61. Salafi Publications
    .
  62. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4wKRc9JeCY

Sources

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz.
Religious titles
Preceded by Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia
1992–1999 		Succeeded by
Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh
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