Who is Sheikh Yousef bin Mohammad, the Arafat sermon preacher?

The Day of Arafah takes place on the second day of Hajj and is the most important rite in the annual pilgrimage

Sheikh Dr. Yusuf Muhammad bin Saeed. SPA

Sheikh Yousef bin Mohammad has been appointed preacher at this year's Hajj on the Day of Arafah.

Mount Arafat is a granite hill about 20 kilometres from the Kaaba. Ascending it is the most important rite in the annual pilgrimage of Hajj for millions of Muslims.

The Day of Arafah takes place on the second day of Hajj, when pilgrims make their way to the mountain where the Prophet Mohammed gave his last sermon.

The Hajj season started on June 26.

Mount Arafat is where the Prophet Mohammed gave his last sermon.

This year's sermon will be translated into 20 languages and can be heard live on the Haramain Sharifain website.

Last year's sermon was broadcast with live translation from Arabic into 13 languages — Urdu, Tamil, English, French, Turkish, Malay, Persian, Russian, Mandarin, Bengali, Hausa, Spanish and Swahili.

Additional languages have been added to this year's live broadcast: Chinese, Swedish, Amharic, Italian, Portuguese, Bosnian, Malayalam, Filipino. A Pashto translation will be shared after the sermon is transmitted.

For the rest of the practising Muslim world, the Day of Arafah is observed through fasting.

Pilgrims will make their way to the Masjid Nimrah on the grounds of Arafat, where Sheikh Yousef will deliver the sermon.

Who is Sheikh Yousef, the man set to give this year's sermon on the Day of Arafah?

Sheikh Yousef has held several of the highest religious positions in Saudi Arabia, including being a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, and has served as a teacher at the Grand Mosque of Makkah and the Prophet Mohammad's mosque in Madinah among others.

He has also served as a preacher during Eid sermons for 20 years. Most recently, Sheikh Yousef was Deputy Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance for four years.

Growing up, Sheikh Yousef memorised the Quran since childhood, and was taught by the former Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah.

Sheikh Yousef served as a professor and lecturer at the Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University and was chair of the Cyber Security Committee at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

He has also overseen competitions for the memorisation of the Quran and headed the Quran Translation Committee at the King Fahd Quran Printing Complex.

Sheikh Yousef is a prolific author, with over 30 publications in his name.