Yasir ibn Rashid al-Dawsari (Arabic: ياسر بن راشد الدوسري, romanized: Yāsir ibn Rāshid al-Dawsarī; born 6 August 1980) is a Saudi Islamic scholar who has served as one of the imams of Masjid al-Haram since 2019.[1][2] A khatib, and qāriʾ, he previously led Taraweeh and Tahajjud prayers at Masjid al-Haram starting in the year 2015[3][4] and also served as the imam of several mosques in Riyadh since 1995.[5]
Al-Dawsari was born in the Saudi governorate of al-Kharj, southeast of the capital Riyadh. Al-Dawsari was a student of a group of 'ulama and sheikhs, including Abd al-Aziz Al al-Shaykh, Salih al-Fawzan, and Ibn Jibrin. He also learned qira'at with several shuyukh and qaris, including Bakri Al-Tarabisyi and Ibrahim Al-Akhdar.[6] Near the end of 2023, his four-year contract as imam expired, and he did not lead prayers at Masjid al-Haram for about five and a half months. He has since been reappointed as an imam of Masjid al-Haram in Mecca (Makkah).
Career
Imam of Masjid Al-Haram
On 29 Sha'ban 1436 H (15 June 2015), King Salman bin Abdulaziz issued an order for Al-Dawsari to become one of the Imams of Taraweeh and Tahajjud at Masjid Al-Haram during Ramadan.[7] He carried out that order for five years.[3][8][9] On 13 Safar 1441 H (12 October 2019), King Salman appointed Sheikh Yasser as a permanent imam at Masjid Al-Haram.[1][2] Believed to be the youngest Imam appointed at the Grand Mosque in Makkah,[10] he led his first prayer in Masjid Al-Haram during the Maghrib and Isha Prayers on Saturday, 13 October 2019.[11][12]
Apart from being an imam, Al-Dawsari has also been an adviser to General Presidency of Haramain since 2020. He was appointed for that position after Abdul-Rahman Al-Sudais, Head of the General Presidency of Haramain, decided to reorganize the ranks of the advisory body of that government agency.[13][14]
Khatib of Masjid Al-Haram
About three years after Al-Dawsari had been appointed as an imam of Masjid Al-Haram, Sheikh Al-Sudais announced that Al-Dawsari had also been appointed as a khatib of Masjid Al-Haram with King Salman's approval in December 2022.[15][16]
End of First Contract
After the completion of his four-year contract as imam, Sheikh Yasser was excused from the post in October 2023.[17] Many called for his return, with an online survey showing that 94% of respondents wished to see him reinstated as imam.[18]
Second Contract
Nearly six months after the contract's expiration, on Shaʻban 26, 1445 (03/07/2024), Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais announced the re-appointment of Sheikh Yasir al-Dawsari as an imam of Masjid al-Haram. Al-Dawsari led the tarawih prayers during Ramadan 1445 (2024).[19]
