Abdullah Omar Nasseef

Abd Allah ibn Umar Nasif (1358–1447 AH / 1939–2025) was a Saudi geologist who led King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, then the Muslim World League as its secretary-general, then served as deputy chairman of the Shura Council. ^{1 2}

He was born in Jeddah on Wednesday 18 Jumada I 1358 / 5 July 1939 and schooled there, took a BSc in chemistry and geology with distinction at King Saud University (1384 AH), and a PhD in geology at the University of Leeds (1391 AH / 1971). ^{1 3}

He taught geology at Riyadh University, then moved to King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, where he headed the geology department and became its secretary-general (1393–1396 AH), vice-president (1396–1400 AH) and president (1400–1403 AH), with a full professorship in 1403 AH. ¹

He was secretary-general of the Muslim World League from 1403 to 1414 AH; the prize's page says the League under him ran large relief operations and campaigns against poverty, disease and illiteracy, and gave priority to Muslim minorities. He was then deputy chairman of the Shura Council (1413–1422 AH), president of the World Muslim Congress and of the International Islamic Relief Organization (2000), and founded the Abdullah bin Omar Nasif charitable foundation. ^{1 3}

He chaired or sat on the boards of many bodies, among them the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science in Frankfurt and the International Islamic University in Islamabad; he led the World Federation of Muslim Scouts and was a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. In 1422 AH he began a weekly cultural salon at his home in Jeddah, known as his 'Ahadiyya'. ¹

He received the King Faisal Prize for Service to Islam in 1411 AH / 1991 and the King Abdulaziz Order, first class, in 2004. ^{3 1} He died on Sunday 20 Rabi' II 1447 / 12 October 2025. ^{1 3}

Wikidata listed articles on him in five Wikipedia editions on 7 November 2026. ²

• Arabic Wikipedia article, revision of 3 November 2026. ¹

• Wikidata item Q4666048. ²

• The laureate's page on the King Faisal Prize's official site, read on 7 November 2026. ³