al-Lajna al-Dāʾima lil-Buḥūth al-ʿIlmiyya wa-l-Iftāʾ

Al-Lajna al-Dāʾima lil-Buḥūth al-ʿIlmiyya wa-l-Iftāʾ (“The Permanent Committee for Scientific Research and Legal Opinions,” CRLO) was created in 1971 by King Fayṣal b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Suʿūd (r. 1964–75). Administratively it is part of a larger government agency called al-Riʾāsa al-ʿĀmma li-Idārat al-Buḥūth al-ʿIlmiyya wa-l-Iftāʾ wa-l-Daʿwa wa-l-Irshād (“The General Presidency of the Directorate of Scientific Studies, Issuance of Fatwās, Dissemination of Islam, and [Religious] Guidance”), which is responsible not only for iftāʾ (the issuance of fatwās) but also for daʿwa (the dissemination of Islam), irshād (religious guidance), and logistical assistance to the Hayʾat Kibār al-ʿUlamāʾ (Board of Senior ʿUlamāʾ, BSU). Initially, the CRLO had only four members, including the chairman, as well as several research assistants. Its members were selected by the king from amongst the most prominent members of the Hayʾat Kibār al-ʿUlamāʾ. Eventually, this number was increased to six by adding two other religious scholars, who were also members of the iftāʾ directorate.