Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh. Photo Collage : BSS

New York, Sept 23, 2025 (BSS) - Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus who is on a visit to USA has expressed profound sorrow at the passing 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 on Tuesday (local time), the Chief Adviser said with the demise of Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh, 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,” Prof Yunus said. 

Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Sheikh, who served as the head of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta as well as the Supreme Council of the Muslim World League, was recognised globally for his erudition and leadership.

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