The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta (Al-Lajnah ad-Da'imah lil-Buhuth al-Ilmiyyah wal-Ifta)

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta (Al-Lajnah ad-Da'imah lil-Buhuth al-Ilmiyyah wal-Ifta) was established by Royal Decree No. A/137 on 8/20/1391 AH (1971 CE) under the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta in Saudi Arabia. The committee was created to serve as the Kingdom's authoritative collective body for issuing Islamic legal rulings (fatwas) on matters of creed, worship, transactions, social issues, and all areas of concern to Muslims. Its establishment reflected the Saudi government's recognition that complex contemporary issues required the collective expertise of multiple senior scholars, rather than relying on individual opinions alone.

The committee's structure was designed to ensure the highest level of scholarly rigor and collective deliberation. It consists of senior scholars appointed by royal decree, each of whom has demonstrated mastery in one or more branches of Islamic sciences. When a question is received, the relevant members research the issue independently, consulting the Quran, the Sunnah, the consensus of scholars (ijma'), and analogical reasoning (qiyas), as well as the positions of the four established madhahib. They then convene to discuss their findings, debate the evidence, and arrive at a collective ruling. This process of collective ijtihad (scholarly reasoning) produces fatwas that carry far greater authority than individual opinions, as they represent the consensus or majority view of the Kingdom's most learned scholars.

The committee's first chairman was Sheikh Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Al al-Sheikh, who was succeeded by Sheikh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz — arguably its most influential leader — who headed the committee from 1975 until his death in 1999. Under Ibn Baz's leadership, the committee's output expanded dramatically, and its fatwas gained international recognition and respect. Notable members over the years have included Sheikh Abdul Razzaq Afifi (vice-chairman for many years), Sheikh Abdullah ibn Ghudayyan, Sheikh Abdullah ibn Qa'ud, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, Sheikh Saleh al-Fawzan, Sheikh Bakr Abu Zayd, and Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al al-Sheikh (the current Grand Mufti). The committee's Hajj-related work is particularly voluminous and significant. Every year, as millions of pilgrims prepare for and perform Hajj, thousands of questions arise about specific circumstances, modern conveniences, medical situations, and logistical challenges that classical texts may not directly address. The committee has addressed everything from the validity of performing Tawaf on motorized carts, to the permissibility of using electronic counters for Tawaf circuits, to the complex fiqhi questions surrounding pilgrims who become ill or lose consciousness during critical rites. Their rulings on delegation (niyabah) — when a pilgrim may appoint someone to perform rites on their behalf due to illness or incapacity — have been particularly important for elderly and disabled pilgrims. The committee's fatwas have been compiled and published in a collection exceeding 30 volumes, organized by topic, which serves as an indispensable reference for scholars, judges, preachers, and laypeople throughout the Muslim world. These volumes are available in Arabic and have been partially translated into several other languages, extending the committee's influence far beyond the Arabic-speaking world.