Abd al-Rahman al-Sudais
- Died
- -
- Born in
- Riyadh
Abd al-Rahman al-Sudais (b. 1382 AH / 1962 CE) is a Saudi jurist, Quran reciter, and preacher who serves as the imam and khatib of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
Lineage and early life
He is Abu Abd al-Aziz Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Muhammad ibn Abd Allah al-Sudais, tracing his lineage to the tribe of Anazah. He was born in Riyadh in 1382 AH, while his family originally comes from the governorate of al-Bukayriyyah in the Al-Qassim Province.
He memorized the Quran at the age of twelve after his father enrolled him in the Quran Memorization Society in Riyadh, which was overseen by Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah Al Faryan and the reciter Muhammad Abd al-Majid Dhakir, concluding his memorization under Muhammad Ali Hassan.
Education and teachers
Al-Sudais attended the al-Muthanna ibn Harithah Elementary School and then completed his secondary studies at the Riyadh Scientific Institute in 1399 AH, studying under scholars such as Abd Allah al-Munif and Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Tuwayjiri. He then entered the Faculty of Sharia in Riyadh at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University, graduating in 1403 AH. Among his teachers during his university studies were Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah Al al-Shaykh, Salih al-Ali al-Nasir, Salih ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Atram, Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman Ibn Jibreen, Abd al-Aziz al-Dawud, Fahd al-Humayn, Salih ibn Ghanim al-Sadlan, and Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Darwish.
In 1408 AH, he earned a master's degree with distinction from the Department of Legal Theory (Usul al-Fiqh) at the Faculty of Sharia at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University for his thesis examining legal issues where Ibn Qudama differed from Abu Hamid al-Ghazali; the research was initially supervised by Abd al-Razzaq Afifi and completed under Abd al-Rahman al-Darwish. In 1416 AH, he obtained his doctorate with distinction from the Faculty of Sharia at Umm al-Qura University for his critical edition and study of Abu al-Wafa Ibn Aqil's al-Wadih fi Usul al-Fiqh (The Clear Book on Legal Theory), under the supervision of Ahmad Fahmi Abu Sunnah.
Career and public roles
In Sha'ban 1404 AH, a royal directive appointed al-Sudais as an imam and preacher at the Grand Mosque in Mecca; he led his first prayer there on 22 Sha'ban 1404 AH during the afternoon prayer, and delivered his first Friday sermon on 15 Ramadan of the same year. Following the completion of his postgraduate degrees, he worked as a lecturer in judicial studies and was subsequently appointed assistant professor at the Faculty of Sharia at Umm al-Qura University.
In 1416 AH, he was directed to conduct regular teaching circles inside the Grand Mosque after the sunset prayer, delivering lessons across theology, Islamic jurisprudence, Quranic exegesis, and hadith, alongside delivering legal verdicts during the pilgrimage season. He has also undertaken international preaching journeys, attended global conferences, participated in opening mosques and Islamic centers abroad, and held memberships in various scholarly and charitable organizations.
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List of Works
This work is a collection of transcribed religious lessons, lectures, and public exhortations. It encompasses Islamic guidance, legal duties, and educational directives addressed to students, educators, and the broader Muslim community, maintaining the oral register of the original speeches and supporting its instruction with textual proofs from the Quran, prophetic traditions, and early scholars.