Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad Al al-Shaykh

Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad Al al-Shaykh (d. 1426 AH / 2005 CE) was a Saudi religious scholar and administrator who served as the General President of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice and authored Iʿtimād Daʿwat al-Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ʿalā al-Kitāb wa-l-Sunnah Itimad Dawat al-Shaykh Mu…+1.

Lineage and Education

Abd al-Aziz was born into the Al al-Shaykh family, being the son of the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al al-Shaykh, tracing his lineage back through Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Latif, Abd al-Latif ibn Abd al-Rahman, and Hasan ibn Muhammad to Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mashahir Ulama Najd wa Gh…+1. He pursued his Islamic religious studies under the tutelage of his father, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, among other scholars Mashahir Ulama Najd wa Gh…. His brothers included Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Al al-Shaykh, who served as Minister of Justice and head of the religious research and fatwa administration, and Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al al-Shaykh Mashahir Ulama Najd wa Gh…+2.

Career and Scholarly Activity

In his administrative and educational career, Abd al-Aziz was appointed as the director and president of the Scientific Institutes and Colleges in Saudi Arabia, succeeding his paternal uncle, Abd al-Latif ibn Ibrahim Al al-Shaykh Mashahir Ulama Najd wa Gh…+1. Following the tenure of Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Hasan Al al-Shaykh, he was appointed as the General President of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice Majallat al-Buhuth al-Isl…+1.

In his scholarly writings, he authored the treatise Iʿtimād Daʿwat al-Shaykh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ʿalā al-Kitāb wa-l-Sunnah (The Reliance of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab's Call on the Book and the Sunnah), which addresses the doctrinal foundations of the reform movement in Najd and its adherence to the Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah Itimad Dawat al-Shaykh Mu…. He taught and transmitted scholarship within his scholarly circles, including instructing members of his family al-Mujam al-Jami fi Taraj….