Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz passes away

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh has passed away, the Saudi News Agency reported on Tuesday. 

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman offered their condolences to his family, the Saudi people, and the Islamic world.

According to Saudi media, the funeral prayer of Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh will be held after Asr prayer at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.

“With the passing of Al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic world have lost a distinguished scholar who made significant contributions to the service of Islam and Muslims,” the Royal Court stated.

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh was appointed as Saudi Grand Mufti by King Fahd in 1999 as the successor of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Baz.

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh was also the president of the Council of Senior Scholars and had also performed the duties of delivering the Hajj sermons.

Furthermore, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has ordered that his funeral prayers in absentia also be performed at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah, and in all mosques across the Kingdom.