al-Lajnah al-Daimah lil-Buhuth al-Ilmiyyah wal-Ifta
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al-Lajnah al-Daimah lil-Buhuth al-Ilmiyyah wal-Ifta (the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta; established 1391 AH / 1971 CE) is the standing research and fatwa-issuing body of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, operating as a specialized branch of the Council of Senior Scholars.
Establishment and Mandate
The institutional origins of the committee date back to 1374 AH (1954 CE), when the General Presidency was established under the name Dar al-Ifta wal-Ishraf ala al-Shu'un al-Diniyyah under Grand Mufti Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al al-Shaykh. Following his death in 1389 AH (1969 CE), the institution was reorganized into the General Presidency of Administrations for Scholarly Research, Ifta, Da'wah, and Guidance.
On 8 Rajab 1391 AH (29 August 1971 CE), Royal Decree No. A/137 established the Council of Senior Scholars, and Article 4 of the decree mandated the creation of a full-time standing subcommittee chosen from among council members by royal decree. Royal Decree No. A/138 appointed the initial scholars to the council and the committee. Under its foundational mandate, the committee's duties comprise two primary functions: preparing thorough scholarly research papers for presentation and deliberation during the biannual sessions of the Council of Senior Scholars, and issuing legal rulings (fatwas) in response to queries submitted by individual inquirers concerning creed (aqidah), acts of worship (ibadat), and personal transactions.
Composition and Leadership
The committee is staffed by senior jurists serving under royal appointment. In its original formation, the general president served as its head, with Abd al-Razzaq Afifi as deputy chairman, and Abd Allah ibn Ghudayyan and Abd Allah ibn Sulayman ibn Mani' as members.
Over subsequent decades, leadership was held by Grand Mufti Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn باز (Ibn Baz) and later Grand Mufti Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah Al al-Shaykh. Other notable scholars who served as members of the committee across various periods include Abd Allah ibn Qu'ud, Salih al-Fawzan, and Bakr Abu Zayd.
Scholarly Function and Compilations
In its research capacity, the committee investigates complex contemporary and classical jurisprudence questions referred to it by the council or the head of the presidency, compiling cited treatises to guide the Council of Senior Scholars' resolutions on matters such as corneal transplantation, commercial pricing controls, and contractual penalty clauses. Many of these studies were later published in the multivolume series Abhath Hay'at Kibar al-Ulama.
The committee's religious edicts were compiled systematically by Ahmad ibn Abd al-Razzaq al-Duwaysh into Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daimah (First Compilation), a 26-volume reference work printed in 1425 AH (2004 CE), structured across creed, Quranic exegesis, and jurisprudence organized according to the chapter order of Mukhtasar al-Muqni. This was followed by an 11-volume second collection, Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daimah - al-Majmuah al-Thaniyah, which compiled subsequent verdicts issued by the committee.
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List of Works
Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Daimah - al-Majmuah al-Thaniyah (Fatwas of the Permanent Committee – Second Collection) is a multi-volume compilation of legal rulings issued by Saudi Arabia's Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta. It serves as the official continuation of the committee's original 26-volume first collection, gathering newly issued legal verdicts organized systematically according to theological topics and standard chapters of Islamic jurisprudence.
Fatawa al-Lajnah al-Da'imah - al-Majmu'ah al-Ula (Fatwas of the Permanent Committee – First Compilation) is a 26-volume compendium of legal rulings issued by the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta in Saudi Arabia. It gathers official religious edicts delivered in response to public inquiries, organized thematically across creed, Quranic exegesis, traditional jurisprudence, and contemporary matters.