Renowned Head of Jerusalem Waqf Council Passes Away

Sheikh Abdul Azim Salhab, head of the Jerusalem Waqf Council, passed away November 13, leaving Jerusalem saddened by the loss of a renowned lifelong religious figure in the city.

“He was not too proud to ask questions and seek information, and he understood how things really work, he avoided conflict and sought solutions through consensus, and rejected confrontation,”1 said Muhammad Sarandah, judge, Waqf Council member, and preacher at al-Aqsa Mosque.

“He was present, guided by inspiration, and accepted advice; he performed his duties despite physical weakness, and he was courageous in his stances,” he added.

Sheikh Abdul Azim, 79, was recognized around the world, even though he avoided the media.

He was born in Hebron, Palestine, in 1946. He completed his primary education at the Ibrahimiyya School and then studied at al-Hussein Bin Ali Secondary School. In 1968, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in sharia law from the College of Sharia at the University of Jordan in Amman. Sheikh Abdul Azim went on to become an employee in sharia courts, became head of the clerks of the sharia court in Jerusalem, and a sharia judge in the cities of Jericho, Nablus, Hebron, and Jerusalem. He then became a member of the Sharia Court of Appeal.

In 1989, Sheikh Abdul Azim became assistant secretary-general for the Council of Endowments, Islamic Affairs, and Holy Sites in Jordan, and then assistant secretary-general for Jerusalem affairs, in addition to working as acting chief justice of Jerusalem. He was appointed as a member of the Waqf Council in Jerusalem for many years, and became its chairman in 1994.

Additionally, he was a member of the board of trustees and the chairman of the College of Da‘wa and Fundamentals of Religion at Al-Quds University. He was also a member of the board of trustees of the College of Science and Technology at Al-Quds University, and a member of the board of trustees of the Arab Institute School and Al-Quds University. Sheikh Abdul Azim contributed to the establishment of the Islamic Science and Culture Committee Association, which oversees the al-Iman Schools in Jerusalem, becoming its president in 1993 and the chairman of the board of trustees at al-Iman Schools.

In addition to his significant contributions to the educational field in Jerusalem, Sheikh Abdul Azim was deeply involved in the management of various reconstruction projects at al-Aqsa Mosque in cooperation with the Jerusalem Waqf Department over decades. For example, he helped oversee the restoration of many domes in the courtyards of al-Aqsa Mosque and the establishment of public facilities for al-Aqsa. He dedicated his life to protecting the status and integrity of al-Aqsa Mosque and spent more than 50 years serving the mosque, the education sector, and the city of Jerusalem.

In a statement mourning his loss, the Waqf Council described Salhab as “one of Jerusalem’s foremost scholars and one of its most loyal figures,” highlighting his pivotal role in safeguarding and restoring Islamic holy sites.2

The Council said his passing represents “a loss for Jerusalem, Palestine, and Jordan,” stressing that he played a crucial part in defending the religious and legal status of al-Aqsa Mosque in an increasingly challenging and hostile political context.3

Thousands of Jerusalemites participated in his funeral procession, which began at al-Aqsa Mosque. He was buried in the Bab al-Rahma cemetery; in 2019, Sheikh Abdul Azim obtained the key to the Bab al-Rahma prayer area and opened it despite Israeli opposition. Today, his burial place is adjacent to Bab al-Rahma, and he lies near Islamic leaders, among them the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad, ‘Ubada ibn al-Samit, the first judge in Jerusalem, and Shaddad ibn Aws.

Sheikh Abdul Azim’s death marked the end of an important chapter in the history of the first generation of Jerusalemites who defended the city, such as Governor Anwar al-Khatib, Sheikh Saad al-Din al-Alami, Sheikh Abdul Hamid al-Sayeh, and Sheikh Hilmi al-Muhtasi. They helped preserve Islamic endowments and al-Aqsa Mosque in particular, and paid the price for their support with constant arrests and expulsions from Jerusalem.

In the introduction of his recently published book, Prayer despite the Spears, Sheikh Abdul Azim wrote the following:

Dr. Wasfi Kilani, executive director of the Hashemite Fund and member of the Waqf Council, told Jerusalem Story that “one feels humbled to speak of such a prominent, religious man as Sheikh Abdul Azim, who was a national figure and filled with immense knowledge.”5

“I remember one day, Sheikh Abdul Azim decided to go up to the roof of the Dome of the Rock to supervise the restoration work and inspect the mosaics and plaster decorations; it was a difficult job, especially since you need to climb stairs and other things to reach the Dome of the Rock,” Dr. Wasfi related. “So, he took off his robe and turban and climbed the stairs as if he were a young man; he had a keen eye for detail in the restoration work at al-Aqsa, because he knew the history and details of every landmark in the holy place.”

Dr. Wasfi concluded his remarks by revealing that Sheikh Abdul Azim holds a special place in Jordan. Since the mid-1980s, Sheikh Abdul Azim had been a part of every Jerusalem delegation that has visited Amman, and this relationship increased after he assumed the presidency of the Waqf Council in 1993. In Jordan, there is a Hashemite royal tradition to invite the Waqf Council to the capital throughout the year for consultation, information sharing, exchanging of views, and coordination of positions, especially since the Waqf Council embodies the Hashemite custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Dr. Wasfi explained.

Thus, it is not surprising that Jordan’s King Abdullah II offered condolences on the death of Sheikh Abdul Azim. King Abdullah shared his condolences in a telegram sent to the deputy head of the council, Sheikh Muhammad Azzam al-Khatib al-Tamimi. In the telegram, His Majesty expressed his deepest condolences and sympathies for this painful loss, praising the deceased’s efforts throughout his distinguished career in service to al-Aqsa Mosque, the Jerusalem Waqf, the sharia judiciary, and the education sector in Jerusalem.6

In 2011 and 2022, King Abdullah II bestowed upon Sheikh Abdul Azim two high-ranking royal medals: the Order of Independence, first class, followed by the Order of the First Centenary of the Founding of the Jordanian State.

Moreover, Sheikh Abdul Azim had a clear stance in opposing the normalization of relations between Israel and some Arab countries, which he expressed in a 2020 interview with the Palestinian Information Center. “All attempts at normalization will fail; some will go to the occupation and some will conspire with it, but the people of Jerusalem are holding fast to the land of Jerusalem and Palestine, and they are steadfast in their positions no matter the cost,” Sheikh Abdul Azim said.7

He added that “al-Aqsa Mosque is the apple of our eye, and the Jerusalem Waqf Council is the one that runs it. It is an integral part of the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, and the Hashemite custodianship has been in place for decades.”8

Anyone who met the late sheikh was amazed by his intellectual depth and knowledge. One day after an Islamic Waqf Council meeting, I asked Sheikh Abdul Azim about a very old book on Islamic rulings. Without hesitation, he shared insightful details about the book that amazed me. He even took my hand, and we headed to the place where this book was located among the thousands of books in al-Aqsa Mosque.