Biography of Shaykh ‘Abdullah bin Hasan bin Qu’ood

Shaykh ‘Abdullah bin Hasan bin Qu’ood – may Allah have mercy upon him- was born on the 17^th of Ramadan in the year 1343 A.H., in the municipality of al-Hariq, south of Riyadh. Since a young age, he was raised in an observant and affluent home, cherished by his parents. His father placed him in a Quran school where he learned the basics of writing and reading the Quran under Shaykh Muhammad bin Sa’d Aali Sulaymaan. After this, he memorized the Quran and some of the abridged works of Shaykh-ul-Islam, Ibn Tayymiyyah, and al-Imaam Muhammad bin ‘Abdil-Wahhaab, under the judge of the land at that time, Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Aziz bin Ibraaheem Aali ‘Abdil-Lateef – may Allah, Most High, have mercy upon them all. 

Upon completion of his studies and reaching adolescence, he traveled to seek more advanced knowledge in ad-Dilam, the territory of al-Kharj, the main place of knowledge in that region in those days. There he studied under the tutelage of his eminence, Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Azeez bin ‘Abdillah bin Baaz – may Allah have mercy upon him-for four years from the date of his travels in the year 1367 A.H. He memorized several prominent Islamic texts such as al-‘Aqeedah al-Waasitiyyah, Kitaab-ut-Tawheed, Buloogh-ul-Maraam, al-Aajuroomiyyah, Alfiyyah Ibn Maalik, and Nukhbat-ul-Fikr, in addition to other texts that were being taught. During his studies with Shaykh Bin Baaz, the Shaykh compiled a hand written copy of Buloogh-ul-Maraam that comprised all of the useful points of relevance Shaykh Bin Baaz covered during his lessons. Shaykh Qu’ood made several copies of it for the students to share and gain insight from their studies by utilizing it.  

When the Ma’ahad ‘Ilmee (literally: the Institute of Knowledge) opened in the year 1371 A.H., he studied until he graduated from the College of Islamic Law in the year of 1377 A.H. From the scholars that he studied under in the institute:

Shaykh ‘Abdur-Razzaaq ‘Afeefee – may Allah have mercy upon him , Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shinqitee and Shaykh ‘Abdur-Rahman al-Afriqee both of them professors at the institute. And in the science of Tajweed (Quranic recitation), he was the pupil of Shaykh Sa’d Waqqaas al-Bukhaaree in Makkah after the Hajj of 1370 A.H. 

The Shaykh held a number of work positions, such as:

In 1375 A.H., he was appointed as a teacher in the Institutes of Islamic Knowledge. 

In 1380 A.H., he transferred to the Criminal Courts as a judge. 

In 1397 A.H., he transferred to the presidency of the Administration for Islamic Research and Rulings where he worked as a member as well as the Permanent Committee and Organization of Major Scholars. 

In 1406 A.H., he retired. 

In addition to this, the Shaykh also spent time in the field of preaching during his lessons and lectures. He assisted the University of King Saud by giving lectures to the students in the advanced studies program of the Department of Islamic Studies in the College of Education. Due to his notable efforts and expertise in the field of sermons, the Shaykh was appointed as the Imam and Preacher of Masjid al-Masheeqeeq in Riyadh, in 1378 A.H. In 1391 A.H., he was appointed as the Preacher of Jaami’-ul-Murabba’ until Masjid al-Masheeqeq was restored in 1418 A.H. 

The Shaykh was known for possessing the best of manners in everything he did. He smiled a lot and always exhibited generosity, spending his wealth to help the poor and benefit the students of knowledge. He tenaciously followed the Quran and Sunnah without blind following, and whenever he was sought for a legal ruling, whether by one approaching him in the mosque or over the phone, the Shaykh answered to the best of his ability. The Shaykh always spoke the truth, and most of his talks centered on knowledge and seeking it. 

As for the Shaykh’s works, then his most acclaimed is a compilation of his Friday sermons printed in four volumes. He also worked for the Ministry of Education verifying and adding commentary to some of the Middle and High School religious textbooks in the fields of Hadeeth and Fiqh. He has a number of short treatises in various Islamic subjects and hundreds of legal verdicts that he gave while a member of the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Islamic Rulings. 

The Shaykh had many students who benefited from him in his sermons, daily lessons, lectures, and from his Islamic rulings. The Shaykh used to arrange knowledge-based lessons for three days out of the week from Saturday to Monday after the Sunset Prayer. After the Friday Prayer he gave lessons from the following books: Tayseer-ul-‘Azeez al-Hameed which is an explanation of Kitaab-ut-Tawheed, ad-Deen al-Khaalis, an abridged version of as-Sawaa’iq al-Murasalah, Buloogh-ul-Maraam along with its explanation Subul-as-Salaam, Saheeh-ul-Bukhaari, Iqtidhaa-us-Siraat-il-Mustaqeem, in conjunction with the students reading many texts in different disciplines like: Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Zaad-ul-Ma’aad, and Saheeh-ul-Bukhaari. 

From the most well-known students of the Shaykh: Badr bin ‘Abdullah al-Fallaah, Husayn bin Muhammad al-Majrashee, Hamad bin ‘Abdul-‘Azeez al-‘Aasim, Khaalid bin Muhammad al-Ghaamdee, Khalid bin Ma’oodh al-Mutayree, Dr. Ahmad bin Saalih al-‘Abd as-Salaam, Dr. Badr bin Naasir al-Badr, Dr. Habeeb Zayn-ul-‘Aabideen, the Deputy for the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, Dr. Hamad bin ‘Abdul-Muhsin at-Tuwayjiree, Dr. Sa’d bin Turkee al-Kathlaan, Dr. Sa’d bin ‘Abdullah al-Hameed, Dr. Sa’d bin Fallaah al-Areefee, Dr. Sa’d bin Matr al-‘Utaybee, Dr. ‘Abdul-Azeez bin ‘Abdul-Muhsin at-Turkee, his Eminence Shaykh Saalih bin ‘Abdil-‘Azeez Aali ash-Shaykh, the Minister of Islamic Affairs, and many others too many to name. 

The Shaykh was afflicted with an injury due to an excessive amount of head surgeries. This caused him to be bed ridden for nearly six years and eventually he went blind. He passed away at nine o’clock in the morning on Wednesday the 8^th of Ramadan 1426 A.H. Funeral services were held after the Afternoon Prayer in the al-Imam Turki bin ‘Abdullah Community Mosque in the city of Riyadh. The prayer was led by the Mufti, Shaykh ‘Abdul-‘Azeez bin ‘Abdillah Aali ash-Shaykh. The prayer was attended by Prince Salmaan bin ‘Abdil-‘Azeez, a group of Major Scholars, and a significant amount of worshippers that filled the mosque. The Shaykh was buried in al-‘Uood Cemetery – may Allah have mercy upon him - and place him in the spacious gardens of Paradise. 

Compiled and Translated from various Arabic sources by  Thomas Maldonado

References (some links may not work): 

http://www.aldrs.com/scholar/19/

The Arabic source for this biography was based off of Majmoo’ Rasaail wa Maqaalaat ash-Shaykh ‘Abdillah bin Hasan Aali Qu’ood, supervised by Shaykh ‘Abdullah bin Sulaymaan bin ‘Abdillah Aali Manhaa. 

Another Arabic biography of the Shaykh at Daar-ul-Ifta’s official site:

http://www.alifta.net/Fatawa/MoftyDetails.aspx?Type=Mofty&section=tafseer&ID=3

And another, from the Shaykh’s official site:

http://alqaoud.net/about.php?t=0

An excellent biography of the Shaykh in English:

http://www.fatwa-online.com/abdullaah-ibn-quood/