On the 18th of Muharram, 1352 AH, King Abdulaziz — may God have mercy on him — sent a private telegram to his heir, his son King Saud, advising him:
“You must look after the affairs of Muslims in general, and your family in particular. Treat the elder among them as a father, the middle as a brother, and the younger as a son. Humble yourself to please them, erase their mistakes, overlook their slips, advise them sincerely, and fulfill their needs to the best of your ability. If you understand this counsel and remain committed to honesty and sincerity in your work, then rejoice in the good that awaits you.”
More than twenty years later, King Saud ascended the throne, still carrying his father’s counsel in his heart. In his first address to the nation in 1373 AH, he declared:
“I shall keep before my eyes the example of our late father… adhering to the clear rulings of our religion… and I shall continue striving to strengthen the bonds of Islamic and Arab brotherhood.”
A year after assuming power, he pledged to support peoples suffering under colonialism and oppression. He also called for addressing the plight of Muslim minorities in India and Java, and he specifically mentioned the tragedy of the Muslims of Burma, saying:
“They must avoid what happened in Indochina (Burma) and elsewhere — events that broke hearts and destroyed wealth.”
This statement came in response to renewed ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya Muslims at the hands of the extremist Buddhist general Ne Win in 1381 AH, following his coup against the democratic leader U Nu. One of Ne Win’s first actions was stripping the Rohingya of all civil and national rights to force their displacement. He also shut down the Islamic radio program broadcast in their language on the BBS station — a program that began with Qur’anic recitation — and blocked all efforts aimed at securing their rights.
In 1381 AH, delegates at the First Islamic Conference decided to establish the Muslim World League, a global Islamic organization dedicated to Muslim causes. It later played a major role in advocating for both the Palestinian and Arakan (Rohingya) issues.
King Saud continued his father’s legacy of supporting the Burmese Muslim community. Beginning in 1374 AH, he ordered that all Burmese individuals holding passports from neighboring countries be issued Saudi identity booklets (Hafīẓat Nufūs) similar to those given to citizens. Among those who received them were:
- Sheikh Hafiz Zaheer, father of the former Director of the Labor Office in Makkah,
- Sheikh Muhammad Yusuf, father of the renowned Imam of the Prophet’s Mosque, Dr. Muhammad Ayyub,
- Sheikh Kabir, father of Dr. Abdulghani, head of the Hematology Department at Jeddah’s Specialist Hospital,
and many others.
Saudi nationality was also made available to children born within the Kingdom’s borders, in accordance with the Saudi Nationality Law issued by Royal Decree No. 5604/20/8 on 22/2/1374 AH. This enabled many from the new generation to obtain Saudi citizenship and serve the country in both civilian and military sectors.
As for the majority who lacked passports from any country, their status was regularized by a royal decree in 1380 AH granting them renewable residency permits under simple in‑person sponsorship, without requiring a passport, and for a symbolic fee of four qirsh. They were also issued special work permits titled “Work Card for Saudi Workers”, a copy of which the author retains.
During this regularization process, all previous undocumented years of residence were recognized as valid, since their entry into the Kingdom had originally been authorized by high‑level orders. As Ambassador Muhammad Ahmad Al‑Tayyib, Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs branch in Makkah, stated:
“They were not people who slipped into the country secretly or unlawfully, but entered with the knowledge of the ruler.”
Under King Saud, all privileges granted by the Founder continued: permission to work, access to education for their children, healthcare for their families, and the establishment of Qur’an memorization circles in their mosques under the supervision of the Makkah Qur’an Memorization Society, which began its activities in Ramadan 1382 AH. This had a profound impact on the community’s dedication to memorizing and teaching the Qur’an — a legacy still visible today in the large number of memorizers among them.
The Burmese community also continued its longstanding contributions to the cleaning and maintenance of the Holy Mosque in Makkah, especially during floods that used to inundate the Kaaba’s courtyard and surrounding areas. They lived under the care and protection of the blessed Saudi state, surrounded by its generosity. This generation — and those before them — became known for their loyalty, belonging, and integration into Makkah’s social fabric, earning the name “the old Burmese”.
May God have mercy on King Saud, grant him peace in his resting place, and admit him into the vastness of Paradise. And may God preserve the security, prosperity, and stability of this nation until the Day He inherits the earth and all who dwell upon it.