}}
}}
Doctor ”’Salih Ibn Fawzan Ibn Abdullah Al-Fawzan”'{{Efn|1=”’Salih ibn Fawzan ibn Abd Allah al-Fawzan”’; {{langx|ar|صالح بن فوزان بن عبد الله الفوزان|translit=Ṣāliḥ bin Fawzān bin ʿAbd Allāh Al-Fawzān}}}} (born 28 September 1935) is a senior Islamic scholar from [[Saudi Arabia]] who is the fourth and current [[Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia]]. He was officially crowned by [[Salman of Saudi Arabia|King Salman]] on 22 October 2025.<ref name=”:1″>{{Cite web |date=2020-06-25 |title=صالح بن فوزان الفوزان – طريق الإسلام |url=https://ar.islamway.net/scholar/99/profile/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625081438/https://ar.islamway.net/scholar/99/profile/ |archive-date=25 June 2020 |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref><ref name=”:0″>{{Cite book|title=The Muslim 500: The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims, 2020|publisher=The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre|year=2019|isbn=9789957635442|pages=145}}</ref> He is regarded by a minority of Muslims, as being the most senior and knowledgable [[Ulama|scholar]] in Islam. He is an [[Atharism|Athari]] by school of theology, and an expert in the [[Hanbali school|Hanbali]] school of Islamic jurisprudence. However, he claims to have obtained the level of a [[Ijtihad|Mujtahid]], an individual who is qualified to exercise independant reasoning in the evaluation of Islamic law. While he also claims to follow the Quran and Sunnah according to the understanding of the [[Salaf|righteous predecessors]], the first three generations of Muslims, most traditional [[Ash%27arism|Ash’aris]] and [[Maturidism|Maturidis]] do not consider him to be so. He is known to be a proponent of an ideology called as [[Madkhalism|Madkhalism]] that promotes blind adherence to the rulers.
Doctor ”’Salih Ibn Fawzan Ibn Abdullah Al-Fawzan”'{{Efn|1=”’Salih ibn Fawzan ibn Abd Allah al-Fawzan”’; {{langx|ar|صالح بن فوزان بن عبد الله الفوزان|translit=Ṣāliḥ bin Fawzān bin ʿAbd Allāh Al-Fawzān}}}} (born 28 September 1935) is a senior Islamic scholar from [[Saudi Arabia]] who is the fourth and current [[Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia]]. He was officially crowned by [[Salman of Saudi Arabia|King Salman]] on 22 October 2025.<ref name=”:1″>{{Cite web |date=2020-06-25 |title=صالح بن فوزان الفوزان – طريق الإسلام |url=https://ar.islamway.net/scholar/99/profile/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200625081438/https://ar.islamway.net/scholar/99/profile/ |archive-date=25 June 2020 |access-date=2025-04-16}}</ref><ref name=”:0″>{{Cite book|title=The Muslim 500: The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims, 2020|publisher=The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre|year=2019|isbn=9789957635442|pages=145}}</ref> He is regarded by a minority of Muslims, as being the most senior and knowledgable [[Ulama|scholar]] in Islam. He is an [[Atharism|Athari]] by school of theology, and an expert in the [[Hanbali school|Hanbali]] school of Islamic jurisprudence. However, he claims to have obtained the level of a [[Ijtihad|Mujtahid]], an individual who is qualified to exercise independant reasoning in the evaluation of Islamic law. While he also claims to follow the Quran and Sunnah according to the understanding of the [[Salaf|righteous predecessors]], the first three generations of of .
Al-Fawzan is also a member of Saudi Arabia’s [[Council of Senior Scholars (Saudi Arabia)|Council of Senior Scholars]] and the [[Fiqh]] council in [[Mecca]], affiliated with [[Muslim World League|the Muslim World League]], a member of the Supervisory Committee for Preachers during [[Hajj]], and a member of the [[Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta]] in the [[Saudi Arabia|Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]]. In addition to this, he is also an [[Imam]], [[Khatib]] and [[Ustad|Teacher]] at the Prince Mutaib bin Abdulaziz Al Saud [[Mosque]] in [[Riyadh]]. He participates in answering questions on the radio program ”Nūr ʿAlā Ad-Darb” and regularly contributes to scholarly journals in the form of research, studies, letters, and [[Fatwa|Fatwas]].<ref name=”fatwa-bio”>{{cite web |title=Scholars Biographies. Shaykh Dr. Saalih Ibn Fowzaan Ibn ‘Abdullaah Ibn Fowzaan |url=http://www.fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/ibnfowzaan.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702030627/http://fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/ibnfowzaan.htm |archive-date=2 July 2014 |access-date=27 May 2014 |publisher=Fatwa-online.com}}</ref><ref name=”CSU” /><ref name=”slavery”>{{cite web |title=Author of Saudi Curriculums Advocates Slavery |url=http://www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=132&sid=2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://swap.stanford.edu/20090418061718/http://www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=132&sid=2 |archive-date=April 18, 2009 |access-date=27 May 2014 |publisher=SIA News}}</ref>
Al-Fawzan is also a member of Saudi Arabia’s [[Council of Senior Scholars (Saudi Arabia)|Council of Senior Scholars]] and the [[Fiqh]] council in [[Mecca]], affiliated with [[Muslim World League|the Muslim World League]], a member of the Supervisory Committee for Preachers during [[Hajj]], and a member of the [[Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta]] in the [[Saudi Arabia|Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]]. In addition to this, he is also an [[Imam]], [[Khatib]] and [[Ustad|Teacher]] at the Prince Mutaib bin Abdulaziz Al Saud [[Mosque]] in [[Riyadh]]. He participates in answering questions on the radio program ”Nūr ʿAlā Ad-Darb” and regularly contributes to scholarly journals in the form of research, studies, letters, and [[Fatwa|Fatwas]].<ref name=”fatwa-bio”>{{cite web |title=Scholars Biographies. Shaykh Dr. Saalih Ibn Fowzaan Ibn ‘Abdullaah Ibn Fowzaan |url=http://www.fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/ibnfowzaan.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702030627/http://fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/ibnfowzaan.htm |archive-date=2 July 2014 |access-date=27 May 2014 |publisher=Fatwa-online.com}}</ref><ref name=”CSU” /><ref name=”slavery”>{{cite web |title=Author of Saudi Curriculums Advocates Slavery |url=http://www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=132&sid=2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://swap.stanford.edu/20090418061718/http://www.arabianews.org/english/article.cfm?qid=132&sid=2 |archive-date=April 18, 2009 |access-date=27 May 2014 |publisher=SIA News}}</ref>
Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia since 2025
|
Doctor Salih Ibn Fawzan Ibn Abdullah Al-Fawzan |
|
|---|---|
Al-Fawzan in 2019 |
|
| Assumed office 22 October 2025 |
|
| Preceded by | Abdulaziz Al Sheikh |
| Born | 28 September 1935 1 Rajab 1354 AH |
| Nationality | Saudi Arabian |
| Era | Khalaf |
| Region | Arabian Peninsula |
| Main interest(s) | Aqeedah |
| Alma mater | Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Hanbali |
| Creed | Athari |
| Movement | Salafi |
| Website | https://alfawzan.af.org.sa/ |
Doctor Salih Ibn Fawzan Ibn Abdullah Al-Fawzan[a] (born 28 September 1935) is a senior Islamic scholar from Saudi Arabia who is the fourth and current Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia. He was officially crowned by King Salman on 22 October 2025.[1][2] He is regarded by a minority of Muslims, as being the most senior and knowledgable scholar in Islam. He is an Athari by school of theology, and an expert in the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence. However, he claims to have obtained the level of a Mujtahid, an individual who is qualified to exercise independant reasoning in the evaluation of Islamic law. While he also claims to follow the Quran and Sunnah according to the understanding of the righteous predecessors, the first three generations of companions of Prophet Muhammad.
Al-Fawzan is also a member of Saudi Arabia’s Council of Senior Scholars and the Fiqh council in Mecca, affiliated with the Muslim World League, a member of the Supervisory Committee for Preachers during Hajj, and a member of the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition to this, he is also an Imam, Khatib and Teacher at the Prince Mutaib bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Mosque in Riyadh. He participates in answering questions on the radio program Nūr ʿAlā Ad-Darb and regularly contributes to scholarly journals in the form of research, studies, letters, and Fatwas.[3][4][5]
Biography
Early life
Al-Fawzan was born in the year 1354 AH (28 September 1935 CE) from the Al-Wadāʿīn branch of the Al-Shammās clan of the Ad-Dawāsir tribe, in the town of Ash-Shamasiyyah in the Al-Qassim Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, near the city of Buraydah.[1] His father died while he was still young, so he was raised within his family. He learned the Qur’ān, and studied the basics of reading and writing at the hands of the local masjid’s imām, Sheikh Ḥamūd ibn Sulaymān At-Tilāl, who later assumed the position of Qāḍī (judge) in the town of Dariyah in the Al-Qassim Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Education
Al-Fawzān enrolled in the public school when it opened in Ash-Shamasiyyah in 1369 AH (1950 CE). He completed his education at Al-Faysaliyyah School in Buraydah in 1371 AH (1952 CE), and was appointed as a primary school teacher. He then enrolled at the Maʿhad Al-ʿIlmī – (The Institute of Knowledge) in Buraydah when it opened in 1373 AH (1954 CE), and graduated from it in 1377 AH (1958 CE). He joined the Kullīyat Ash-Sharīʿah (The College of Sharīʿah) in Riyadh and graduated in 1381 AH (1962 CE).[3] After that, he obtained a Master’s degree in fiqh in the field of inheritance law, and his thesis was titled: “Al-Taḥqīqāt Al-Marḍiyyah fī Al-Mabāḥith Al-Farḍiyyah” (A Satisfactory investigation into the issues of obligatory Shares in Inheritance). Then he obtained a doctorate in fiqh, and his dissertation was titled: “Aḥkām Al-Aṭʿimah fī Al-Sharīʿah Al-Islāmiyyah” (The Rulings of Foods in the Islamic Sharīʿah), from the same college.[6]
Career
After the completion of his doctorate, he was appointed as a teacher at the Maʿhad Al-ʿIlmī (The Institute of Knowledge) at the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. He was then transferred to teach at Kullīyat Ash-Sharīʿah (The College of Sharīʿah), then transferred to teach in the postgraduate program at Kullīyat Uṣūl Ad-Dīn (the college of fundamentals of the religion), then at the Maʿhad Al-ʿĀlī lil-Qaḍāʾ (The Higher Institute of Judiciary). He was later appointed as director of the Maʿhad Al-ʿĀlī lil-Qaḍāʾ (The Higher Institute of Judiciary). He was later the head of Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court of Justice. He then returned to teaching after his period of headship came to an end.[3]
As of 2013, he was a appointed as a member of the Council of Senior Scholars,[4] the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s highest religious body, which directly advises the King of Saudi Arabia.[7] He is also currently a member of the Fiqh council in Makkah Al-Mukarramah, affiliated with the Muslim World League as well as a member of the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas,[8] a committee of the Council of Senior Scholars. The Council issues rulings (fatawa) in Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and prepares research papers.[9] He is a member of the Supervisory Committee for Preachers during Hajj. He is an imam, khatib and teacher at the Prince Mutaib bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Mosque in the capital city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. He is one of the major scholars on the Nūr ʿAlā ad-Darb radio program, which has been described as “one of the oldest and most famous programs broadcast on the Qur’ān radio channel, where a number of major scholars answer questions and give fatawa.” and regularly contributes to scholarly journals in the form of research, studies, letters, and fatwas. He also supervises many scientific theses at the master’s and doctoral levels, and many students of knowledge who attend his sessions and ongoing lessons have studied under him in these programmes.[2]
Grand Mufti
On 22 October 2025, King Salman of Saudi Arabia appointed him as Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia succeeding Abdulaziz Al Sheikh.[10]
Relationship with Ibn Baz
ibn Baz, the former Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was one of the scholars from whom al-Fawzan studied and by whom he was influenced by. Al-Fawzan studiedʿIlm al-Mawārīth (The Knowledge of Islamic Inheritance) under him at Kullīyat Ash-Sharīʿah (The College of Sharīʿah) in Riyadh, in addition to regularly attending his lessons, lectures, and all of his scholarly gatherings (halaqat). He would also listen to his radio programs on knowledge and fatwas.[11]
Since al-Fawzan began working at Dār Al-Iftāʾ (The Fatwa Office), Ibn Baz was his supervisor and head. From him, al-Fawzan benefited in many areas of Islamic knowledge – such as precision and caution in issuing fatwas, striving for accuracy and correctness, as well as patience and endurance in bearing the difficulties of scholarly work. He also learned to ground answers upon evidence from the Qur’ān and Sunnah, while upholding a deep sense of responsibility and fear of Allah – avoiding negligence, over-leniency, or falling short in what is conveyed to the people in matters of fatwa.[12]
