His Excellency Sheikh Muhammad bin Nasser Al‑‘Aboudi, Assistant Secretary‑General of the Muslim World League and former Secretary‑General of the Islamic University in Madinah, stated that he was the first person appointed to the Islamic University. He remained there for six months with no other employee working alongside him, at a time when the university was still an idea during the reign of King Saud—may God have mercy on him—in the year 1380 AH.
In a well‑attended lecture delivered at the Islamic University titled “My Memories in the Islamic University and My Journeys” on Sunday evening, 27/1/1432 AH, His Excellency recounted the story of the university’s establishment and his appointment to work there. He said:
“In Rabi‘ al‑Thani 1380 AH, I was the director of the Scientific Institute in Buraydah. We were conducting the second‑term examinations for the institute’s students. I was listening to the main news bulletin on Saudi Radio after Maghrib when I heard the announcement: His Majesty King Saud met with His Eminence the Grand Mufti and Chief Judge, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, and discussed with him the establishment of the Islamic University in Madinah.”
The next day, at the time of the Dhuhr call to prayer, the telegraph messenger arrived with a telegram addressed to me from the Grand Mufti—who was then the head of colleges and scientific institutes—stating: “By order of His Majesty the King, hand over the institute to your assistant and proceed to Riyadh.” The telegram did not specify the reason, but I suspected it was related to the establishment of the Islamic University. I traveled to Riyadh and met with the Mufti, who informed me that he had discussed the project with the King, and that King Saud wished Sheikh Abdullah Khayyat—then Imam of the Grand Mosque—to be appointed as the university’s director, with me as his assistant.
Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi added that the Royal Protocol hosted him at the Al‑Yamamah Hotel—one of only two hotels in Riyadh at the time, the other being Zahret Al‑Sharq—and instructed him to wait for Sheikh Khayyat. However, Sheikh Khayyat did not come to Riyadh, apologizing because of his duties as Imam of the Grand Mosque and his teaching commitments, which he did not wish to abandon. The matter of choosing a replacement remained under discussion between the King and the Mufti while I waited in the hotel.
They eventually agreed on appointing Sheikh Muhammad Al‑Harkan, Chief Judge of the Grand Court in Jeddah, known for his integrity and firmness in judgment. He came to Riyadh and stayed at the hotel with me. When the people of Jeddah learned of his departure, they sent numerous telegrams to the King requesting that he remain in Jeddah. Sheikh Al‑Harkan himself asked to be relieved of the assignment, and the King accepted his request. Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi said: “I remained alone, with no other employee, staying in the hotel for nearly two months.”
He continued his account, explaining that as the academic year approached, a committee was formed consisting of:
- Sheikh Yusuf Yasin, head of the Royal Court, a Syrian scholar and advisor to King Abdulaziz,
- Minister of State Abdulaziz bin Mu‘ammar,
- the Egyptian legal expert Abdulmun‘im Mustafa,
- Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi,
- and another Royal Court employee.
They met at the Royal Court to draft the university’s bylaws.
One of the main points of disagreement was whether all university seats should be allocated to non‑Saudis or whether a portion should be reserved for Saudis. They concluded that Saudis already had two Sharia colleges in Riyadh and Makkah, unlike Muslims abroad who lacked such opportunities. The final decision was to allocate no more than 20% of seats to Saudi students.
Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi proposed including in the bylaws the creation of a Supreme Advisory Council consisting of twenty leading scholars and preachers from across the Muslim world. Among those he mentioned were:
Abul Hasan Al‑Nadwi,
Abul A‘la Al‑Mawdudi,
Tahir ibn ‘Ashur (Mufti of Tunisia),
Ali Al‑Tantawi,
Mustafa Al‑Zarqa,
and two scholars named Muhammad Bahjat—one from Iraq and the other Muhammad Bahjat Al‑Bitar from Syria.
He recalled that during the first meeting, Al‑Tantawi humorously remarked: “We have Bahjat of Syria and Bahjat of Iraq.”
He noted that King Saud and the Mufti agreed that the university’s president would be Sheikh Ibn Ibrahim, in an unpaid position, and that Sheikh Ibn Baz would be appointed Vice President with a salary of 5,000 riyals. Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi himself was appointed Secretary‑General with a salary of 3,000 riyals. He added: “At that time, the salaries of judges in Madinah did not exceed 1,800 riyals.”
The university officially began operations in Rabi‘ al‑Awwal 1381 AH. The University Council met every Thursday night, and Sheikh Ibn Baz—may God have mercy on him—would host dinner for the members from his own pocket, often a simple meal of dried foods.
Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi noted that many people were pessimistic and expected the university to fail, arguing that its administrators lacked experience in higher education. He affirmed that this was not the case, as he had served as director of the Buraydah Scientific Institute, and most of the others had taught in earlier colleges.
Regarding the selection of the university’s current site, he explained that when King Saud ordered its establishment, the location contained around twenty houses belonging to the large royal palace in Sultanah. He informed the King of the need to modify them to suit the university’s requirements. The King sent with him Mr. Suleiman bin Hamad Al‑Shuwaili, head of the Royal Palaces Administration, to inspect the site.
Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi concluded his lecture with anecdotes from his extensive travels, which took him to nearly every country in the world. He explained that his journeys began when the university faced a lack of information about the conditions of Muslims in the countries from which students were recruited, especially in Africa. He proposed to Sheikh Ibn Baz sending a university delegation to Africa. After the King approved, Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi led a mission that visited eleven African countries over three months and seventeen days. They encountered no significant difficulties, which he attributed to the absence of espionage targeting Islamic activities at the time, as missionaries and colonial authorities did not consider them important.
The mission revealed a severe lack of knowledge about the conditions of Muslims in Africa. Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi proposed to King Faisal—may God have mercy on him—the appointment of fifty preachers in Africa, and the King approved.
He affirmed that his travels and engagement with Muslim communities continued even after he moved from the university to the General Secretariat for Islamic Da‘wah. He said: “My work for fifty years has been in one field: connecting with Muslims around the world.”
Regarding his global journeys, he said: “I never traveled for leisure—not once. All my trips were work‑related. Whenever I visited a country, I would explore nearby regions as well. That is why I wrote twelve books about India and eight about Brazil. My travels even took me to extraordinary places such as the Arctic and near the Antarctic.”
He described witnessing many wonders, including a region in the Arctic where the sun never sets and there is no night. He prayed Maghrib and ‘Isha with the people there while the sun still filled the horizon. He noted that residents of such regions may either estimate prayer times or follow the Hanafi opinion of adopting the timings of the nearest city with actual sunrise and sunset.
The farthest southern point he reached was a city called Christchurch, where he met Muslims who requested a mosque. King Fahd—may God have mercy on him—ordered its construction. The Muslims there would say: “We are the closest people to the South Pole who say ‘Allahu Akbar.’” Sheikh Al‑‘Aboudi compared them to the people of the Fiji Islands, who say: “We are the closest to the West who say ‘Allahu Akbar.’”
The Islamic University in Madinah