Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz, who delivered Hajj sermon for 34 years, dies at 82

Funeral prayers in absentia will be held in all mosques across Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti and head of the Council of Senior Scholars, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, has died in Riyadh at the age of 82.

The Saudi Royal Court confirmed his death in a statement on Tuesday morning.

Abdulaziz was appointed imam and preacher of the historic Namirah Mosque in Arafat in 1982. For 34 consecutive years, until 2014, he delivered the annual Hajj sermon at the Arafat plain.

In 1999, following the death of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Baz, Abdulaziz was appointed the Kingdom’s grand mufti.

“The Royal Court stated that with his passing, the kingdom and the Islamic world have lost a distinguished scholar who made significant contributions to the service of Islam and Muslims,” the statement read.

His funeral will be held after Asr prayers on Tuesday at Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.

In addition, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also ordered that funeral prayers in absentia also be performed at Makkah’s Grand Mosque, Madina’s Masjid-i-Nabvi and in all mosques across the kingdom.

The statement noted that King Salman and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also extended their condolences to the grand mufti’s family, the Saudi nation and the Muslim world.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the death, calling it a “great loss” for the Muslim world.