Abdul Aziz Al-Tarefe

Abdulaziz bin Marzooq al-Tarifi is a Saudi hadith scholar and jurist, born in Kuwait on 29 November 1976, corresponding to 7 Dhu al-Hijja 1396 AH. He is recognised for his knowledge of hadith and fiqh, and particularly for his ability to recall a hadith from the major hadith collections from memory. ¹

According to the reports carried in the sources, Al-Tarifi was arrested in April 2016, the reason for his arrest is still not fully known, and as of August 2026 he is still detained. ¹

Al-Tarifi was born in Kuwait, where his father was working, moved as a child between Kuwait and Mosul, and his family settled in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, before he reached puberty. ¹

He began memorising Islamic texts at the age of thirteen, and completed his university studies at the College of Sharia at Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. ¹

According to his published biography, as the Al-Siyar encyclopedia carries it, he studied under a group of scholars including Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz — whose lessons he attended for about four years — Muhammad Abdullah al-Somali, Safi al-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, Abdullah ibn Aqeel, Abd al-Rahman al-Barrak, Abd al-Karim al-Khudayr and Saleh Al al-Sheikh. ²

Al-Tarifi was a researcher for the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, then director of Studies and Research in the Center for Research and Studies, and then an Islamic researcher in the same center. ¹

He became widely known among students of knowledge and young audiences through his lessons in Riyadh and his extensive memorisation of hadith with its chains, until the rights organisation Together For Justice described him as one of the most influential religious figures in Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab world. ³

His principal works, as the Al-Siyar encyclopedia of contemporary figures lists them, include Al-Tahjil fi Takhrij ma lam Yukhraj min al-Ahadith wa'l-Athar fi Irwa' al-Ghalil; Zawa'id Sunan Abi Dawud 'ala al-Sahihayn; Al-Tafsir wa'l-Bayan li-Ahkam al-Qur'an; Al-Fasl bayn al-Nafs wa'l-'Aql; Al-'Aqliyya al-Libraliyya fi Rasf al-'Aql wa Wasf al-Naql; and Ta'zim al-Nabi wa Hukm al-Ta'arrud. ²

BBC News Arabic reported on 24 April 2016 reports of the Saudi authorities' detention of Al-Tarifi; the English article states that the reason for his arrest is still not fully known and that, as of August 2026, he is still detained. ¹

The human-rights organisation Together For Justice reports that his arrest was on 23 April 2016, after ten days of house arrest; that he has never been brought before a court; that the Saudi authorities have not disclosed the nature of any charges against him; and that his books and lectures had been banned from distribution before his arrest without a judicial order. The Saudi authorities have not publicly confirmed or denied these reports, and the museum presents them as reports attributed to their sources. ³

This section sets out positions as reported in the sources. It is not a verdict by the museum.

Rights reporting describes Al-Tarifi's discourse as moderate and calm in language, and describes him as also a human-rights advocate: he repeatedly tweeted his opposition to arbitrary arrests and to the detention of individuals without a valid legal reason, and wrote in 2013 that the tragedy of arbitrary detention in prisons without cause is among the greatest injustices. ³

His kunyas are Abu Omar and Abu Yusuf, and his lineage is given as al-Aslami al-Shammari, as the Al-Siyar encyclopedia records; the museum publishes no family detail beyond this. ²

Al-Tarifi is counted among the most followed young scholars in Saudi Arabia and the Arab world according to the reports carried in the sources, and his lessons and books circulated widely before they were banned from distribution, according to the rights organisation. ³

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