Adil al-Kalbani () is a Saudi Arabian

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

cleric who served as an Imam of the

Great Mosque of Mecca Masjid al-Haram (), also known as the Sacred Mosque or the Great Mosque of Mecca, is considered to be the most significant mosque in Islam. It encloses the vicinity of the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia. It is among the ...

Biography

Early years and studies

Adil al-Kalbani was born in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

on April 4, 1958 to poor emigrants from

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (; ), often referred to its initials RAK, is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the U.A.E. The city had a population of 191,753 in 2025, and is the sixth-most populous city in UAE after Dubai, Abu ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

who came to Saudi Arabia in the 1950s. His father used to work as a government clerk. Due to his family's financial situation, al-Kalbani took a job with

Saudi Arabian Airlines Saudia (), formerly known as Saudi Arabian Airlines (), is the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia based in Jeddah. The airline's main hubs are the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, th ...

after finishing high school, whilst attending evening classes at

King Saud University King Saud University (KSU, ) is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Established in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulalziz to address the country's skilled worker shortage, it is the first university in Saudi Arabia. It was known as Riyadh U ...

. Al-Kalbani's first teacher in his further Islamic studies was Hasan ibn Gaanim al-Gaanim. He studied

Sahih al-Bukhari () is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an. Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...

Jami` at-Tirmidhi ''Sunan al-Tirmidhi'' () is the fourth hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. It was compiled by Islamic scholar al-Tirmidhi in (250–270 AH). Title The full title of the compilation is (). It is shortened to , , , or . The te ...

and the ''

tafsir Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a ''tafsir'' is a ' (; plural: ). A Quranic ''tafsir'' attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding ...

'' of

Ibn Kathir Abu al-Fida Isma'il ibn Umar ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi (; ), known simply as Ibn Kathir, was an Arab Islamic Exegesis, exegete, historian and scholar. An expert on (Quranic exegesis), (history) and (Islamic jurisprudence), he is considered a lea ...

with him. He also studied with Mustafa Muslim who taught the ''tafsir'' of

al-Baydawi Qadi Baydawi (also known as Naṣir ad-Din al-Bayḍawi, also spelled Baidawi, Bayzawi and Beyzavi; d. June 1319, Tabriz) was a jurist, theologian, and Quran commentator. He lived during the post-Seljuk Empire, Seljuk and early Mongol Empire, Mon ...

Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) (), commonly known as Al-Imam University (IMAMU) (Arabic: إمامو), is a public university in the sub-municipality of Shemal in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1950 as an Islamic semin ...

. He also studied ''Akhir Tadmariyah'' with

Abdullah Ibn Jibreen Abd Allah ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Jibrin (; 193313 July 2009), known simply as Ibn Jibrin, was a Saudi Islamic scholar who was a member of the Council of Senior Scholars and Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas in Saudi Arab ...

and the Quran with Ahmad Mustafa. In 1994, he passed the government exam to become an

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Career as Imam

After a brief stint working at the mosque in

Riyadh Airport King Khalid International Airport (; ) is an international airport located about north of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This airport consists of five Airport terminal, passenger terminals with eight aero-bridges each, a mosque, and parking facilities ...

, he moved on to working as an Imam at the more prominent King Khalid Mosque. He once dreamed that he had become the imam at the Great Mosque of Mecca; two years later, in 2008, he was selected by King Abdullah to lead the ''

tarawih Tarawih (), also spelled Taraweeh, refers to special Sunnah prayers performed exclusively during the Islamic month of Ramadan. The prayers involve the recitation of long portions of the Quran, consist of any number of even rak'a (cycles of p ...

'' prayers at the mosque. In

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's city of Bandu, a center of

Minhaj-ul-Quran Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) () is a global non-governmental organization (NGO) founded by Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri in 1980 in Lahore, Pakistan. With its headquarters located in Lahore, MQI has expanded its operations to over 100 countries ...

was visited by Al-Kalbani on June 30, 2013. Al-Kalbani has said he is not a Shaykh (an authority in religious matters) but a Qari.

Personal life

He has two wives and twelve children.

Views

Church bells

In a tweet, al-Kalbani stated that the non-existence of church bells in Saudi Arabia pleased him.

Mecca crane collapse

Al-Kalbani criticised a tweet from a Saudi poet that said that the cranes that collapsed in Mecca "fell to the ground in prayer". Al-Kalbani said that this was the "stupidest kind of nonsense". He sarcastically suggested that the other cranes did not collapse because they were "liberal".

Segregation of men and women

He criticised the current situation of gender segregation in mosques, where women are "completely isolated" from men and only connected via a microphone. He called this a "phobia of women".

Shias

In an interview with the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, al-Kalbani declared

Twelver Shia Twelver Shi'ism (), also known as Imamism () or Ithna Ashari, is the largest branch of Shi'a Islam, comprising about 90% of all Shi'a Muslims. The term ''Twelver'' refers to its adherents' belief in twelve divinely ordained leaders, known as th ...

s as apostates, which triggered a backlash from followers of the sect in Saudi Arabia. In 2019, however, he retracted his position after reading a book by fellow scholar Hatim al-Awni, stating that he no longer considers as apostates those who "believe in one God, eat our

halal ''Halal'' (; ) is an Arabic word that translates to in English. Although the term ''halal'' is often associated with Islamic dietary laws, particularly meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines, it also governs ethical practices ...

meat, and prostrate toward our

Qibla The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...

direction of Mecca".

Stance on musical instruments

In a fatwa, al-Kalbani considered singing to be permissible under Islamic law, but retracted it in 2010. In 2019, he backtracked on his retraction and again considered it permissible. A religious singing event was attended by al-Kalbani. A flute was purportedly used.

Filmography

In November 2021 he appeared in a

promotional video In video production, a promotional video is marketing or advertising: Arts, media and entertainment * Promotional recording, an audio or video recording distributed to publicize a recording * Trailer (promotion), a commercial advertisement for a ...

for Combat Field - Riyadh Season 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalbani, Adil Living people 1959 births Saudi Arabian Quran reciters Muslim scholars of Islamic jurisprudence King Saud University alumni Critics of Shia Islam People from Riyadh Saudi Arabian Islamic religious leaders Sunni imams Saudi Arabian Sunni Muslim scholars of Islam Saudi Arabian people of African descent Saudi Arabian Salafis Saudi Arabian imams 20th-century imams 21st-century imams Saudi Arabian people of Emirati descent Imams of Masjid al-Haram Imams of two holy Mosques