Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Latif Al ash-Sheikh
{{Short description|Saudi religious scholar}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abd al-Laṭīf Āl ash-Shaykh
| native_name = عبد الله ابن عبد اللطيف آل الشيخ
| native_name_lang = ar
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1848}}
| death_date = {{Death year and age|1921|1848}}
| occupation = Islamic scholar
| era = 19th Century - 20th Century
| children = Tarfa bint Abd Allah
| relatives = {{plainlist|
- Faisal of Saudi Arabia {{small|(maternal grandson)}}
- Ibn Saud {{small|(son in law)}}
}}
| family = Al ash-Sheikh
}}
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Āl ash-Shaykh ({{Langx|ar|عبد الله بن عبد اللطيف آل الشيخ}}; 1848–1921) was a scholar from Nejd in Arabia and was the grandfather of King Faisal. He was a descendant of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al Wahhāb.
Background
Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Latif Al ash-Sheikh was born in 1848 into the noted family of Nejdi religious scholars, the Al ash-Sheikh, descendants of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab.{{cite book|title=The Wahhabi mission and Saudi Arabia|url=https://archive.org/details/wahhabimissionsa0000comm|url-access=registration|author=David Dean Commins|year=2006|isbn=1-84511-080-3}}{{rp|210}} His father was {{Interlanguage link|Abd al Latif ibn Abd al Rahman Al Sheikh|ru|Абдуль-Латиф ибн Абдуррахман Аль аш-Шейх}}. One of Abd Allah's brothers, Muhammad, was also a religious figure.
Career
Abd Allah was the leader of the Saudi ulema at the end of the 19th century. He was the teacher of Ibn Saud, later King Abdulaziz, concerning the principles of the Islamic jurisprudence and monotheism.{{cite journal|title=Riyadh. The capital of monotheism|journal=Business and Finance Group |url=http://www.bfg-global.com/pdfnw/pdf/eng/1-ensalman.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014223725/http://www.bfg-global.com/pdfnw/pdf/eng/1-ensalman.pdf |url-status = dead|archive-date=14 October 2009}} In 1892, the Saudi state was destroyed by their rivals, the Al Rashid of Ha'il, and the Saudi leadership went into exile. Rather than going into exile as well, Abd Allah sided with the Al Rashid and moved to Ha'il.{{cite book|author1=Paul Aarts|author2=Gerd Nonneman|title=Saudi Arabia in the Balance: Political Economy, Society, Foreign Affairs|date=September 2007|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=9780814707180|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0n4UCgAAQBAJ}}{{rp|20}}{{cite journal|author=Alexander Bligh|year=1985|title=The Saudi religious elite (Ulama) as participant in the political system of the kingdom|journal=International Journal of Middle East Studies|volume=17|pages=37–50 |doi=10.1017/S0020743800028750|s2cid=154565116 }} The Al Saud returned from exile in 1902 under the leadership of Abdulaziz Al Saud (later Saudi Arabia's first king) and re-established the Saudi state around Riyadh.{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/525348/Saudi-Arabia|title=Saudi Arabia|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|access-date=7 June 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629095756/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/525348/Saudi-Arabia|archive-date= 29 June 2011 |url-status=live}} Abd Allah bin Abd al-Latif then changed sides again and re-joined the Al Saud, a change of heart which was accepted by Abdulaziz.
Abd Allah was one of the ulemas who guided the early leaders of the Ikhwan when the group was formed by Abdulaziz in 1912.{{cite thesis|author=Talal Sha'yfan Muslat Al-Azma'|title=The Role of the Ikhwan under 'Abdul-Aziz Al Sa'ud 1916-1934|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1472/1/1472.pdf|access-date=24 March 2021|location=University of Durham|degree=PhD|date=July 1999|page=78}} He remained as leader of the Saudi religious establishment until his death in 1921.{{rp|210}}{{cite book|author=Nabil Mouline|title=The Clerics of Islam. Religious Authority and Political Power in Saudi Arabia|date=2014|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=9780300178906|page=88|url=https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300206616-004|doi=10.12987/yale/9780300178906.001.0001|location=New Haven, Conn.}}
Personal life
In 1902, his and Haya bint Abdul Rahman Al Muqbel's daughter, Tarfa bint Abdullah, married Ibn Saud.{{cite news|title=في ذكري ميلاده.. تعرف على أهم أسرار حياة الملك فيصل آل سعود|url=https://www.elzmannews.com/290554|access-date=12 September 2020|work=Elzman News|date=14 April 2020|language=ar}} Their son, Faisal, later became King of Saudi Arabia. Abdullah's two other daughters also married the members of the Al Saud family. His daughter Sara married Saad bin Abdul Rahman, full brother of King Abdulaziz. The other daughter, Munira, married to Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman, half-brother of King Abdulaziz.{{cite book|author=Alexei Vassiliev|title=King Faisal: Personality, Faith and Times|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j0AhBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT12|date=1 March 2013|publisher=Saqi|isbn=978-0-86356-761-2|page=12}}{{cite book|title=Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Faisal Al Saud|work=Prince Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman and Family Charitable Organization|page=55|url=http://www.pmba-alfaisal.com/new.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917105724/http://pmba-alfaisal.com/new.pdf|archive-date=17 September 2012}} These marriages were strategic moves to strengthen the links between two families, namely the Al Sauds and the Al Sheikhs.{{cite thesis|author=Alejandra Galindo Marines|title=The relationship between the ulama and the government in the contemporary Saudi Arabian Kingdom: an interdependent relationship?|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3989/1/3989_1506.pdf?UkUDh:CyT|location=Durham University|degree=PhD|date=2001}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheikh, Abd Allah Abd al-Latif}}