Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Abdul Latif Al ash-Sheikh

Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim was born in Riyadh in 1893 CE (1311 AH) into the Al ash-Sheikh family, the scholarly family descended from Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab. He grew up in an environment steeped in Islamic scholarship and began his religious education under the leading scholars of Riyadh, including his own father and other members of the Al ash-Sheikh family. He lost his eyesight at the age of sixteen due to smallpox, but like Ibn Baz after him, this disability only intensified his commitment to scholarship and his reliance on auditory learning and remarkable memory.

King Abdulaziz ibn Saud appointed him as the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, making him the highest religious authority in the Kingdom. In this role, he was responsible for issuing authoritative religious rulings, overseeing the judicial system, and guiding the religious education framework of the nation. His influence extended to virtually every aspect of religious life in the Kingdom, from Hajj regulations to family law to educational curricula.

Perhaps his most enduring legacy is the scholars he trained. Both Sheikh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz (who would succeed the office of Grand Mufti after Sheikh Bin Baz's appointment) and Sheikh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen studied extensively under him. Through these two towering figures and their own students, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim's scholarly approach and methodological framework continue to influence Islamic scholarship worldwide. He passed away in 1969 CE (1389 AH), and the position of Grand Mufti was subsequently filled by Sheikh Ibn Baz after a period of vacancy.