Muhammad ibn Ibrahim

Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Abdul-Latif Al ash-Sheikh (1893-1969 CE / 1311-1389 AH) was the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1953 until his death, and one of the most influential religious figures in the kingdom's history. He was a direct descendant of Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab and studied under the leading scholars of Riyadh, becoming the foremost religious authority in the country.

As Grand Mufti, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim played a central role in shaping the religious and legal framework of the Saudi state during a period of rapid modernization. He oversaw the establishment of religious institutions, the judiciary, and educational systems across the kingdom. He supervised the founding of the Islamic University of Madinah in 1961 and the establishment of numerous religious institutes. His collected fatawa, published in multiple volumes as Fatawa wa-Rasa'il Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, cover a wide range of juristic questions and reflect his deep grounding in the Hanbali legal tradition.

Muhammad ibn Ibrahim was also the teacher of Abdul-Aziz ibn Baz, who would succeed him in influence as the next Grand Mufti. His period of service coincided with the transformation of Saudi Arabia from a traditional society to a modern state, and his religious guidance helped navigate the complex questions that arose during this transition. He passed away in Riyadh and is remembered as one of the architects of Saudi Arabia's religious institutional framework.