Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus, who is currently visiting the United States, has expressed deep sorrow over the death of Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti and Head of the Council of Senior Scholars, Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh.

The Grand Mufti passed away in Riyadh on Tuesday morning at the age of 82.

In a condolence message issued on Tuesday (local time), Prof Yunus said the Muslim Ummah has lost “a towering scholar and a guiding voice of Islamic thought.”

“His lifelong dedication to the service of Islam and his invaluable scholarly contributions will be remembered with deep respect and gratitude. The Islamic world will feel his absence profoundly,” Yunus added.

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh served as the head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta and chaired the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League. He was globally respected for his Islamic scholarship and leadership.

Born in Riyadh, he began his higher education in 1961 at the College of Shariah, Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University, where he graduated in 1965 with a specialisation in Arabic and Islamic Shariah.

MN/