Prominent Egyptian scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the world’s most influential Sunni Muslim scholars, has passed away at the age of 96.

A post on his official Twitter account on Monday morning read: “He passed to the mercy of God, His Eminence, Imam Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who gave his life explaining the rulings of Islam and defending his nation.”

“We ask God to raise his ranks in the highest ranks, and to join him with the prophets, the truthful ones, the martyrs and the righteous.. And those are good companions. And to make the sickness and harm that befallen him raise his ranks.. Oh God, Amen.”

Qaradawi founded the International Union of Muslim Scholars, which he stepped down from as president in 2018.

“Move to the mercy of God, His Eminence, Imam Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the founding president of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, who dedicated his life to explaining the rulings of Islam,” said a tweet from the organisation.

“The Islamic nation has lost one of its most sincere and virtuous scholars. We ask God the Most High, the Almighty, to forgive him, have mercy on him, and pardon him.”

Tributes and duas have started coming through on social media.

Born in 1926, Saft Turab in Egypt, Qaradawi studied at al-Azhar University. He published 100s of books about Islam, including ‘The Lawful and the Prohibited’ in 1960.

Qaradawi was known for his popular Al Jazeera programme “Sharia and Life” and helped establish the prominent website IslamOnline in 1997.