Al-Otaybi was from one of the foremost families of Najd. His grandfather had ridden with Ibn Saud in the early decades of the century and other of his family members were among foremost of the Ikhwan. He was a preacher, a former corporal in the Saudi National Guard and a former student of Sheikh Abdel Aziz bin Baz who went on to become the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia.