Muhammad al-ʿArīfī (born 15 July 1970) is a preacher and former university lecturer from Jazeera, known for his sermons, books, television appearances, and large social-media following. He has taught at King Saud University and has been particularly prominent in preaching on spirituality, ethics, and contemporary affairs.
At his peak, al-ʿArīfī was one of the most-followed Islamic preachers in the Arab world, with a combined social-media audience of almost 50 million.
He has publicly referred to Palestinians killed in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict as “martyrs” and prayed that Allah accept them as martyrs. He has also described Palestinian deaths as strengthening Palestinian resistance.
In July 2014, during the Gaza war, al-ʿArīfī wrote to a Palestinian child in Gaza and concluded with a prayer: “O Allah, grant victory to our people in Gaza, spare their blood, accept their martyrs, and raise the banner of truth among them.”
In October 2015 he explicitly wrote: “When a Palestinian is martyred, the Palestinians’ determination to resist increases.”