One of Saudi's richest billionaires does not want mourning on his demise

A well-known Saudi billionaire aged around 95 years has asked his relatives not to mourn him when he dies, saying this is not favoured in religion.

Abdul Aziz Al Rajhi, one of the richest men in the Arab world and a well-known philanthropist, wrote a will for his family and relatives asking them to carry out four commandments for him after his death.

The first one is that they should not hold mourning for him at home and avoid publishing condolences in the media, according to local newspapers.

Rajhi also wants those who cannot come to the cemetery for his burial to pray for him and for the newspapers to publish that will after his death.

“Rajhi said in his will that those who wanted to offer condolences on his death to donate money to charity groups instead,” a statement by his charity firm said.

Born in 1920, Al Rajhi is the owner of the Saudi Rajhi Bank, one of the world’s largest Islamic banks. The man began from scratch, working as a porter, a cook and waiter before starting his small business in the Gulf Kingdom.

He is one of the best known philanthropists in the Arab world, donating two-thirds of his wealth to charity. The rest is to be distributed to his family after his death.