Abd al-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud
- Died
- 1218 AH
- Born in
- Diriyah
Abd al-Aziz bin Muhammad bin Saud (1132–1218 AH / 1720–1803 CE) was the second ruler of the First Saudi State and a student of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, best known for state-building and his theological epistle Risala Muhimma ().
Lineage and Early Life
Abd al-Aziz was the son of Muhammad bin Saud ibn Muhammad ibn Muqrin ibn Markhan ibn Ibrahim ibn Musa ibn Rabi'a ibn Mani' al-Muraydi (). He was born in Dir'iyyah in 1132 AH (1720 CE), though another report places his birth in 1133 AH (). His sons included Saud bin Abd al-Aziz, Abd al-Rahman, Abd Allah, Umar, and Hadhlool ().
His contact with Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab began early, while the scholar was still residing in al-Uyaynah; the young Abd al-Aziz sent a request asking him to write an exegesis of Surat al-Fatiha (). Following Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's relocation to Dir'iyyah in 1157 AH (or 1158 AH), Abd al-Aziz studied under him for many years, frequently attending his instructional circles in Quranic exegesis, hadith, and jurisprudence ().
Reign and Governance
Abd al-Aziz participated in military campaigns during his father's lifetime and assumed rule upon his father's death in 1179 AH (1765 CE) at roughly forty-six years of age (). Following the consolidation of central Najd and the submission of Riyadh, Ibn Abd al-Wahhab stepped back from executive administration to dedicate himself to teaching and worship, formally entrusting governance and the public treasury (bayt al-mal) to Abd al-Aziz ().
During his reign, state authority expanded across Najd, al-Washm, Sudayr, al-Kharj, al-Qasim, al-Ahsa, and toward Oman, the borders of the Hijaz, and southern Iraq (). In 1202 AH (1788 CE), with Ibn Abd al-Wahhab's counsel, Abd al-Aziz arranged the formal pledge of allegiance designating his son Saud as heir apparent and commander of the military campaigns ().
Standing and Correspondence
Biographers describe Abd al-Aziz as austere, strictly enforcing legal penalties against highway robbery and tribal raiding, and requiring his revenue collectors to take only lawful alms without oppressing the poor (). The historian Husayn ibn Ghannam characterized him as deeply observant, continually enjoining good and forbidding wrong, and compassionate toward his subjects ().
Abd al-Aziz composed public exhortations and theological letters to subjects and regional dignitaries. His notable epistolary work, Risala Muhimma ("An Important Epistle"), was addressed directly to scholars and judges across the two Holy Sanctuaries, Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and the wider Islamic world, setting out the foundational arguments regarding divine unity (tawhid) and polytheism (shirk) and responding to critics outside Najd ().
Assassination
In 1218 AH (1803 CE), Abd al-Aziz was assassinated in Dir'iyyah while prostrating during the afternoon (Asr) prayer in the mosque of al-Turayf (also referred to as the Grand Mosque of Dir'iyyah) by a man who had arrived from Iraq—described in reports as hailing from Karbala or al-Amadiyya (). Sources cite the date of his death as 10 Rajab 1218 AH, while another report records Monday, 22 Rajab, and a variant places it in the final ten days of Ramadan (). He was succeeded by his son Saud ().
Answer updated
List of Works
Risala Muhimma is an epistolary theological treatise outlining the theological foundations of the Salafi reform movement and clarifying the nature of monotheism (tawhid) and polytheism (shirk). Composed as an open letter to scholars and judges across the Islamic world, the work articulates key theological teachings directly to religious authorities outside Najd and refutes allegations and misconceptions regarding the movement's doctrine.