His Majesty the King Addresses His Beloved People with a Noble Royal Message on the Occasion of Eid al‑Fitr”
“God has made it easy for us to spend these blessed ten days in the Sacred House of God, enjoying its nearness and circumambulating it, asking Him to grant us and you forgiveness and acceptance.
On this occasion, I share with you the joy of this blessed Eid, which we pray God will make a feast of goodness and happiness for this land in particular and for Muslims in general.
My beloved people:
The bond that unites ruler and ruled is a firm tie whose foundation is religion, holding fast to the rope of God, and governing by His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet Muhammad—peace be upon him. Its essence is that the strong among us shall be deemed weak until the right is taken from him, and the weak shall be deemed strong until the right is restored to him. This is what God has commanded, and by His help we shall continue upon it.
My beloved people:
You know the extent of my concern for your welfare, your advancement, and the honor of your country. I exert all my effort toward that end. I share in your hopes and your pains; I regard your elders as fathers, your middle-aged as brothers, and your young as sons. I strive with all my ability for what benefits you in your religion and your worldly life. I stay awake so that you may sleep, and I labor so that you may find rest. Three matters drive me to this:
First: It is my duty toward you as your shepherd.
Second: What I have witnessed of your overflowing sentiments, sincere affection, and loyal devotion on all occasions.
Third: My highest aim in governance is to lead you to the summit of glory and honor, so that our nation may stand alongside advanced nations in the dignity of our homeland and the standard of our living—within the bounds of our noble Sharia, whose foundations we all strive to strengthen, acting upon His saying, exalted be He:
‘Say: Who has forbidden the adornment of God which He has brought forth for His servants, and the good things of provision?’
Rejecting superficialities and trivial matters that noble character and Islamic dignity do not accept.
“Nations are but their morals; if their morals go, they go.”
Let us not forget that this land is the focus of the world’s attention; from it the Islamic call emerged, and within it stand the Sacred Kaaba and the birthplace of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him.
My beloved people:
I praise and thank God for what He has granted this sacred land and the entire Kingdom—unity among its people, ease in their affairs, and the tranquility and serenity that prevail within it. This is only by God’s grace and kindness, then by our adherence to His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, and by our applying them in both minor and major matters. It is also by the sincerity of intention that God knows from us in private and in public:
‘Actions are but by intentions, and each person shall have only what he intended.’
I ask the Almighty God to show me in you what brings me joy, to make us all rightly guided guides for others, and to bring about through us the welfare of the land and its people.
You have from us the warmest greetings and peace.”
Saudi Broadcasting Magazine