Salih al-Fawzan Height, Age, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Salih al-Fawzan

• Salih al-Fawzan lost his father in childhood.

• As a child, he memorised the Qur’an and learned to read and write under the guidance of Sheikh Hamoud ibn Sulayman At-Tilal, the imam of his local mosque. Sheikh At-Tilal later became a judge in the nearby town of Dariyah.

• In 1950 (1369 AH), Salih began his formal education at the newly established public school in Ash-Shamasiyyah.

• Salih later attended Al-Faysaliyyah School in Buraydah. After graduating in 1952 (1371 AH), he worked as a primary school teacher for a short period.

• Salih al-Fawzan then studied at Ma’had Al-‘Ilmi (The Institute of Knowledge) in Buraydah and Kulliyat Ash-Shari’ah (The College of Shari’ah) in Riyadh.

• Salih al-Fawzan studied under Sheikh Abdulaziz ibn Baz, who was then the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia.

• During his time at the College of Shari’ah in Riyadh, al-Fawzan learned Ilm al-Mawarith (the Islamic Law of Inheritance) from Ibn Baz and regularly attended his lessons, lectures, and scholarly gatherings.

• Salih was also an avid listener of Ibn Baz’s radio programs, through which he continued to benefit from his teacher’s knowledge and fatwas.

• Salih once served at Dar al-Ifta (the Fatwa Office), where Ibn Baz was his head and direct supervisor.

• Under Ibn Baz’s guidance, al-Fawzan learned to issue fatwas with accuracy and evidence from the Qur’an and Sunnah. He also developed patience and sincerity in his work, ensuring his responses were balanced and responsible before Allah.

• After graduating from Kulliyat Ash-Shari’ah in 1962 (1381 AH), he earned a master’s degree in Fiqh, specialising in inheritance law, with a thesis on the Islamic rulings of obligatory shares in inheritance.

• His thesis was titled ‘Al-Tahqiqat Al-Mardiyyah fi Al-Mabahith Al-Fardiyyah’ (A Satisfactory Investigation into the Issues of Obligatory Shares in Inheritance).

• Salih later earned a Doctorate in Fiqh from Kulliyat Ash-Shari’ah and presented a dissertation titled ‘Ahkam Al-At‘imah fi Al-Shari‘ah Al-Islamiyyah’ (The Rulings of Foods in Islamic Law).

• After earning his doctorate, Salih al-Fawzan started teaching at Ma’had al-‘Ilmi (Institute of Knowledge) under Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh.

• He was later transferred to teach at the Kulliyat ash-Shari’ah (The College of Shari’ah).

• Over time, he also taught postgraduate students at Kulliyat Usul ad-Din (the College of Fundamentals of Religion) and later at Ma’had al-‘Ali lil-Qada (the Higher Institute of Judiciary).

• His expertise and leadership led to his appointment as the Director of the Higher Institute of Judiciary, where he played a major role in training judges and legal scholars.

• Following this, he served as the Head of Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court of Justice, one of the most senior judicial positions in the Kingdom.

• After completing his tenure as head of the Supreme Court, he returned to teaching and continued educating students and scholars in Islamic studies.

• By 2013, he was appointed as a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious authority, which advises the King on major religious matters.
  

  Salih al-Fawzan, member of the Council of Senior Scholars, delivering a speech on the importance of security in national life at an event

• Along with that, he has also served as a member of the Fiqh Council in Makkah al-Mukarramah (Mecca), an institution under the Muslim World League that contributes to global discussions on Islamic jurisprudence.

• He is also part of the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Fatwa, a division of the Council of Senior Scholars that prepares research papers and issues religious rulings (fatwas).

• Sheikh al-Fawzan is a member of the Supervisory Committee for Preachers during Hajj, overseeing religious guidance provided to pilgrims during the annual pilgrimage.

• He serves as an imam, khatib (preacher), and teacher at the Prince Mutaib bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Mosque in Riyadh, where he regularly leads prayers and delivers sermons.

• He is also among the leading scholars featured on the ‘Nur Ala al-Darb’ radio program, one of the oldest and most well-known religious broadcasts in Saudi Arabia, where scholars answer public questions and issue fatwas.

• Apart from his teaching and religious responsibilities, Sheikh al-Fawzan has also written research papers, studies, letters, and fatwas for several scholarly journals.

• Salih also supervises numerous master’s and doctoral theses, mentoring many students who attend his lessons and study under his guidance in different academic and religious programs.

• In October 2025, the King of Saudi Arabia appointed Sheikh Salih al-Fawzan as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, succeeding Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh.

• His nomination for the position of the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia sparked debate due to his conservative views, which many saw as contrasting with the kingdom’s social reforms.