Saud Al-Shouraim is one of the imams and khateeb at the Grand Mosque in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. He was born on Jan. 19, 1966, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Al-Shouraim is a well-renowned Qari — a person who recites the Holy Qur’an — and Hafiz — a person who has memorized the Holy Qur’an. His recitations of the Holy Qur’an have been recorded and distributed internationally. He is well-known as a researcher of Fiqh, Islamic law, and a prominent Islamic scholar in Saudi Arabia. In addition, he currently serves as a judge, and has written many books on Aqidah, Fiqh, as well as Arabic poetry. Al-Shouraim obtained a bachelor’s degree from Imam Mohammed ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh in 1988, a master’s degree from the Supreme Jurisdiction Institute of the same university in 1992, and a Ph.D. in Shariah from Umm Al-Qura University of Makkah in 1995. He was appointed as the imam and khateeb of the Grand Mosque by decree of the late King Fahd in 1991. Since 1991 he has led the Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan in Makkah. He began work as a professor at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah in 1995, becoming the dean of the faculty of Shariah and Islamic Studies and a specialist professor in Fiqh recently. Umm Al-Qura University is a large public Islamic university that was the only college of Shariah when it was first established in 1949, but has since been joined by other new colleges. It was renamed Umm Al-Qura University in 1981 by royal decree. At first it was primarily offering studies in Islamic law and the Arabic language, but has since diversified and now also offers options such as marketing, technology and management. During his Friday sermon, Al-Shouraim discussed the benefits of Hajj and the wisdom behind it.