Saleh Al-Fawzan

Salih bin Fawzan bin Abdullah al-Fawzan is a Saudi scholar and jurist, born in the town of Al-Shamasiyah in Al-Qassim Province on 1 Rajab 1354 AH / 28 September 1935. ^{1 2}

He has been Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, head of the Council of Senior Scholars and General President of Scholarly Research and Ifta since 22 October 2025, the fourth holder of the Grand Mufti's office. He is a member of the Mecca fiqh council of the Muslim World League and of the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta, and is regarded as one of the senior scholars of the Salafi movement, as the sources describe him. ^{3 1}

He was born at Al-Shamasiyah to the Al-Wadain branch of the Al-Shammas clan of the Dawasir tribe. His father died in his early childhood and he was raised by his family; he learned the Qur'an and the basics of reading and writing from the town mosque's imam, Hamud ibn Sulayman al-Tilal, who later served as a judge in Dariyah in Al-Qassim. ^{1 3}

He enrolled at the government school in Al-Shamasiyah when it opened in 1369 AH / 1950, completed his primary schooling at Al-Faysaliyyah School in Buraydah in 1371 AH / 1952, then joined the Scientific Institute in Buraydah when it opened in 1373 AH / 1954 and graduated from it in 1377 AH / 1958. He moved to Riyadh and took his bachelor's degree from the College of Sharia at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in 1381 AH / 1962, then a master's degree in fiqh in the field of inheritance law, with a thesis titled "Al-Tahqiqat Al-Mardiyyah fi Al-Mabahith Al-Fardiyyah", and then a doctorate in fiqh with a dissertation titled "Ahkam Al-At'imah fi Al-Shari'ah Al-Islamiyyah" on 23 Rajab 1399 AH / 17 June 1979 — the first doctorate awarded by that university. ^{1 3}

He studied under a number of scholars, most famously Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, from whom he took the law of inheritance at the College of Sharia in Riyadh and whose lessons and gatherings he attended; when al-Fawzan moved to work at Dar al-Ifta, Ibn Baz was his supervisor, and he learned from him precision and caution in issuing fatwas and grounding answers in the evidence of the Qur'an and Sunna. His other teachers included Muhammad al-Amin al-Shinqiti, Abd al-Razzaq Afifi, Abd Allah ibn Humayd, Salih al-Ali al-Nasir, Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Subayyil and Salih ibn Ibrahim al-Bulayhi, as well as Azhar teachers seconded in hadith, exegesis and Arabic. ^{1 3}

After graduating he was appointed a teacher at the Scientific Institute in Riyadh, then transferred to teach at the College of Sharia, then in the postgraduate programme of the College of Usul al-Din, then at the Higher Institute of Judiciary, of which he was later appointed director, before returning to teaching; he has supervised many master's and doctoral theses. ¹

He is imam, khatib and teacher at the Prince Mutaib bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Mosque in the Al-Malaz district of Riyadh, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, a member of the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta, a member of the Islamic Fiqh Council in Mecca affiliated with the Muslim World League, and a member of the Supervisory Committee for Preachers during Hajj. He answers questioners on the radio programme «Nur 'ala al-Darb» ("Light on the Path") on the Qur'an radio channel, and contributes regularly to scholarly journals. ^{3 1}

On Wednesday 30 Rabi' al-Akhar 1447 AH / 22 October 2025, King Salman issued a royal decree appointing him Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, head of the Council of Senior Scholars and General President of Scholarly Research and Ifta, with the rank of minister, on the recommendation of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. He thereby became the country's fourth Grand Mufti, succeeding Abd al-Aziz Al al-Sheikh, who had died on 23 September 2025. ^{1 3}

This section should be read as a presentation of differing positions reported from the sources, not as the museum's verdict on them. The English article records a number of his statements and opinions that drew criticism, among them:

In 2003 he was quoted as saying that "slavery is a part of Islam" and that Muslims who deny this are ignorant and not scholars, comments that drew criticism for contradicting some contemporary interpretations of Islamic law. He has also described public demonstrations as haram, characterising them as practices of non-Muslims that can lead to division and violence. ³

In 2010 he called for a boycott of Adil al-Kalbani, who had stated that music was not haram; the campaign failed, as the mosque was overcrowded at al-Kalbani's next sermon. In 2011, opposing the Saudi Ministry of Justice's proposal to set a minimum age for girls' marriage, he reportedly issued a legal opinion authorising fathers to marry off their daughters "even if they are still in the cradle". ³

In 2014 he denied reports that he had issued a fatwa banning open buffets, clarifying on his website that he had only commented that food of unspecified quantity should not be sold without specification. In 2015 he was quoted warning against wasting time on games and frivolity, especially in Ramadan. In 2016 he reportedly issued a fatwa prohibiting the game Pokémon Go as a form of gambling, and he has been reported to consider photography generally prohibited except when necessary. In 2017 he was reported to have called Shia Muslims "brothers of Satan" and "infidels" who "lie about God, his prophet, and the consensus of Muslims", remarks cited as an example of sectarian rhetoric among some Saudi clerics. ³

His supporters argue that his statements reflect traditional jurisprudence and adherence to Salafi teachings, while his critics contend that his pronouncements promote intolerance and discourage reform, as the English article summarises the two positions. ³

His books include «Al-Tahqiqat Al-Mardiyyah fi Al-Mabahith Al-Fardiyyah» (his master's thesis), «Ahkam Al-At'imah fi Al-Shari'ah Al-Islamiyyah» (his doctoral dissertation), «Tashil al-Ilmam bi-Fiqh al-Ahadith min Bulugh al-Maram» (four volumes), «Sharh al-Aqida al-Wasitiyya», «I'anat al-Mustafid bi-Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid», «Al-Mulakhkhas fi Sharh Kitab al-Tawhid», «Kitab al-Tawhid» (two parts, set as a secondary-school text by the Ministry of Education), «Sharh Qa'ida Jalila fi'l-Tawassul wa'l-Wasila», «Al-Mulakhkhas al-Fiqhi», «Al-Irshad ila Sahih al-I'tiqad», «Aqidat al-Tawhid», «Min Usul Aqidat Ahl al-Sunna wa'l-Jama'a», «Al-Ta'liqat al-Mukhtasara 'ala Matn al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya», «Adwa' min Fatawa Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya fi'l-Aqida», «Majmu' Fatawa fi'l-Aqida wa'l-Fiqh» (transcribed from the «Nur 'ala al-Darb» programme), «Al-Bayan li-Akhta' Ba'd al-Kuttab» (three volumes), «Muhadarat fi'l-Aqida wa'l-Da'wa» and «Al-Khutab al-Minbariyya fi'l-Munasabat al-Asriyya». ¹

Wikidata records 473,000 subscribers for his YouTube channel on 26 October 2025 — a dated platform figure the museum records only with its date. His fatwas and lessons reach the public through the Qur'an radio channel, his official website and his Riyadh mosque. ^{2 3} The channel Wikidata records for him is the one run under his official website's name (@aforgsa22); it carried about 475,000 subscribers when its identity was resolved and checked on 25 October 2026. ⁴

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