Abdulaziz ibn Abdullah Al Baz (; 21 November 1912 – 13 May 1999), known as Ibn Baz or Bin Baz,
According to French political scientist Gilles Kepel, Ibn Baz was a "figurehead" whose "immense religious erudition and his reputation for intransigence" gave him prestige among the population of Saudi Arabia. He "could reinforce the Saud family's policies through his influence with the masses of believers".
Ibn Baz issued a fatwa authorising a zakat to support the Mujahideen during the anti-Soviet jihad. His endorsement of In Defence of Muslim Lands, principally written by 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.
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."Ad-Da'wah Ilallah wa Akhlaaqud-Du'aat" (pp. 37–43) At that time, Saudi Arabia lacked a modern university system. Ibn Baz received a traditional education in Islamic literature with Islamic scholars. Main Page "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
In 1981 he was awarded the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam. Saudi Gazette, 14 May 1999 Saudi Gazette He was the only Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia not to come from the Al ash-Sheikh family.
Ibn Bāz wrote more than sixty works over the course of his career on subjects including the hadith, tafsir, Islamic inheritance jurisprudence, Tawheed, fiqh, salat, zakat, dawah, Hajj and Umrah.
He also authored a criticism of the concept of nationhood.
Ibn Bāz was a prolific speaker, both in public and privately at his mosque. He also used to invite people after Isha prayer to share a meal with him.
Ibn Bāz 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. حقوق ولاة الأمور على الأمة
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 Salafi ideals. Many criticised him for supporting the Saudi government when, after the 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.
King Fahd issued a decree appointing Abdul-Azeez ibn Abdullaah Aal ash-Shaikh as the new Grand Mufti after Ibn Bāz's death. "New Saudi Grand Mufti" , BBC News, May 16, 1999.
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. Ibn Baz wrote a letter to a magazine in 1966 responding to similar accusations:
Ibn Baz's second article written in 1966 also responded to similar accusations:
Ibn Baz is often said to have believed that the flat Earth. 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." 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." 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.
However, Malise Ruthven and others state that it is incorrect to report that Ibn Baz believed "the earth is flat" Professor Werner Ende, a German expert on Ibn Baz's fatwas, states he has never asserted this. Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî calls those that attribute the flat earth view to Ibn Baz "rumour mongers". He points out that Ibn Baz issued a fatwa declaring that the Earth is round, and, indeed, in 1966 Ibn Baz wrote "The quotation I cited in from the speech of the great scholar Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah be merciful to him) includes proof that the earth is round."
Lacey quotes a fatwa by Ibn Baz urging caution towards claims that the Apollo program. "We must make careful checks whenever the kafir unbelievers or faseqoon immoral tell us something: we cannot believe or disbelieve them until we get sufficient proof on which the Muslims can depend."
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 Medina. The situation was compounded and complicated by the fact that the Saudi Government found itself unprepared and incapable of dislodging the militants from the Mosque.Thomas Hegghammer and Stephane Lacroix. Rejectionist Islamism in Saudi Arabia: The Story of Juhayman al-Utaybi Revisited. International Journal of Middle East Studies, February 2007, pp 103-122, Cambridge University Press (p. 3 PDF). They asked for outside assistance from the French GIGN and Pakistani 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 (Scholars) issued a fatwa allowing deadly force to be used in retaking the mosque.Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), pp. 103–104 – softcover The senior scholars also insisted that before security forces attack them, the authorities must offer the option "to surrender and lay down their arms".
The Jamaican radical cleric Abdullah el-Faisal ex-communicated ( takfir) Ibn Baz, declaring him an apostate who died Repentance.
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:
Activism
Personal life
Death
Controversies
Cosmology
Grand Mosque takeover
Women's rights
Persian Gulf War
Criticism of Osama bin Laden
Works
Notes
Citations
Sources
External links
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