This was something that was only done for him. He passed away in 1971 and his funeral was the biggest funeral seen in Mecca in a 100 years! For the next three days after his death, the local Saudi radio stations played the holy Qur'an only. The late King Faisal would not make any decision regarding Mecca without consulting al-Sayyid ‘Alawi. Hundreds of students from all over the Islamic world benefited from his lessons in the Haram and many hold key religious positions in their lands today. Al-Sayyid ‘Alawi al-Maliki taught the various traditional Islamic sciences in the Haram of Mecca for nearly 40 years! His late father, al-Sayyid ‘Alawi al-Maliki was one of the greatest ‘Ulama of Mecca in the previous century. The late King ‘Abdul Aziz bin Sa’ud had great respect for him. He held this position during the Ottoman, then Hashemite times, and continued to hold it after the Saudi Kingdom was established.
His grandfather, al-Sayyid Abbas al-Maliki was the Mufti and Qadi of Mecca and the Imam and Khatib of the Haram. In fact, five of the Sayyid's ancestors have been the Maliki Imams of the Haram of Mecca. The Maliki family is one of the most respected families in Mecca and has produced great scholars who taught in the Haram of Mecca for centuries.