Maher al-Muaiqly

Maher ibn Hamad ibn Muaiqel al-Muaiqly al-Balawi is an imam and preacher of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, born on 7 January 1969. ^{1 2} He is distinguished by his sweet voice and precise recitation of the Qur'an, and royal approval was issued for him to deliver the sermon and lead the prayer on the Day of Arafat at Namira Mosque in 1445 AH / 2024, making him the fifteenth Arafat preacher of the Saudi era. ³ He holds a doctorate from Umm al-Qura University in Mecca and works there as an assistant professor. ³

Al-Muaiqly memorised the Qur'an, studied at the Teachers College in Madinah and graduated as a mathematics teacher, moved to work in Mecca as a teacher, and then became a student guide at Prince Abdul Majeed School in Mecca. ^{3 1}

He took a master's degree in 1425 AH in the jurisprudence of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, entitled "Imam Ahmad's Jurisprudential Issues according to the Narration of Abd al-Malik al-Maimouni: Collection and Study", at the College of Shari'a at Umm al-Qura University, with distinction. He took his doctorate in Shafi'i jurisprudence with distinction and first-class honours in 1434 AH from Umm al-Qura University, an edition of Abu Ishaq al-Shirazi's "Tuhfat al-Nabih, Sharh al-Tanbih" on hudud and judicial rulings. ³ He works as an assistant professor in the Judicial Studies Department at the College of Judicial Studies and Regulations at Umm al-Qura University, and holds the post of vice dean for graduate studies and scientific research. ³

Al-Muaiqly led the prayers and sermons at al-Saadi Mosque in the al-Awali district of Mecca, and led the prayers at the Prophet ﷺ's Mosque during Ramadan in 1426 AH and 1427 AH. ³

He led the Tarawih and Tahajjud prayers at the Grand Mosque during Ramadan of 1428 AH and was appointed an official imam of the Grand Mosque in that year, a post he holds to date, and he was imam and preacher of the Eid al-Adha prayer at the Grand Mosque in 1446 AH / 2025. ^{3 1}

In 2024 he delivered the Hajj sermon and prayed with the pilgrims gathered at Mount Arafat, after royal approval for him to take on the sermon and prayer on the Day of Arafat at Namira Mosque for 1445 AH, according to the Arabic article. ^{1 3}

In 2006 Maher al-Muaiqly recorded the joint murattal mushaf for Saudi radio and television, jointly with Shaykh Muhammad al-Sayyid Daif; according to the Arabic article this was the first mushaf recorded for radio and television at the same time. ³ His recorded recitations circulate through the Qur'an audio broadcasters and platforms to which his article links. ³

His works include "Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal's Jurisprudential Issues according to the Narration of Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Hamid al-Maimouni, in the Quarter of Worship: Collection and Study" (the master's thesis), "Imam Ahmad's Jurisprudential Issues according to the Narration of al-Hasan ibn Thawab, in the Books of Purity and Prayer: Collection, Study and Comparison with the School", and the edition of al-Shirazi's "Tuhfat al-Nabih, Sharh al-Tanbih" (the doctoral thesis). ³

His public standing rests on his imamate of the Grand Mosque since 1428 AH — an imamate in which his recitation reaches the worshippers in the Haram and a wide audience through the broadcast of its prayers — on the Arafat sermon of 1445 AH / 2024 delivered before the assembled pilgrims at Arafat, and on the murattal mushaf he recorded for Saudi radio and television in 2006 and the wide circulation of his recorded recitation that followed. ^{3 1}

His official YouTube channel (@MaherAlMuaiqly) publishes the official recordings of his recitations and the complete mushaf in his voice; the museum verified on 25 October 2026 that the channel presents itself as 'the official channel of Sheikh Maher al-Muaiqly' and that its description gives his birth on 7 January 1969, his memorisation of the Qur'an and his training at the Teachers College. ⁴

• The defined sources cited above, registered in data/source/.
• Later translations and edits of this article need periodic review with clear update dates.