I invoke God’s blessings and peace upon the best of His prophets, the one sent with guidance and the religion of truth, the Seal of the Messengers, whom God dispatched with what rectifies the affairs of all mankind until the Day of Judgment. May God’s blessings be upon him, upon his family, upon all the prophets and messengers, and may God be pleased with the Companions of the Messenger of God and with those who follow them in righteousness. Peace be upon all who strive in the path of God and in the exaltation of His word.
My brothers, among the greatest blessings God has bestowed upon us is that He sent His noble Messenger in this secure land, and that He made us Muslims. I recall God’s favor upon me and upon you in making me a descendant of those who call to God, following the way of our forefather Abraham, the way of the prophets after him, and the way of our Prophet Muhammad—peace be upon him—and his rightly guided successors in calling to God, especially in this great season. Such was also the way of my forefathers, whom God honored with serving the faith and this sacred land.
God sent His messengers to summon humanity to worship their Lord and to devote all worship to Him alone. Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad—peace be upon them all—called to this truth.
Even the Arabs in their pre‑Islamic ignorance acknowledged that there is no Creator, Provider, Giver of life, or Bringer of death except God alone: “If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely say: God.” Yet they associated others with Him in worship. Thus the distinction between Islam and disbelief, between those who responded to the call of Muhammad—peace be upon him—and those who turned away from his law, lies in devoting worship to God alone or associating others with Him. “Do not call upon another god besides God, lest you be among the punished.”
“Do not set up another god with God, lest you sit disgraced and forsaken.”
The Qur’anic verses commanding exclusive devotion to God are too numerous to count.
My Muslim brothers, in this station, during this greater pilgrimage, I renew the call to worship God alone. I call upon you—and upon all Muslims—to return to the religion of God, to purify our creed from all forms of association, and to devote our worship sincerely to God alone. I also renew, here and in every place, the call to act according to the Book of God and the purified Sharia that came to us from Him—a law that guarantees for us the good of this world and the next, and that has outlined for us our religious, economic, and social order in a manner beyond the capacity of the world’s philosophers and scholars, now or in the future.
What principles could be higher or nobler than the justice proclaimed by the Messenger of God—peace be upon him—during the Farewell Pilgrimage? Ibn Mardawayh and al‑Bayhaqī relate from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh that the Prophet addressed us in the middle of the Days of Tashrīq, saying:
“No Arab has superiority over a non‑Arab, nor a non‑Arab over an Arab; no black over a red, nor a red over a black—except through piety. The most honored of you in the sight of God is the most pious. Have I conveyed the message?”
They replied, “Yes, O Messenger of God!”
He said, “Let those present convey it to those absent.”
Among the principal aims we sought when considering the establishment of the Islamic Conference was to organize the call to God and to spread the religious teachings and the moral, social, and economic principles of Islam. We ask God to grant us and you success in spreading His call and acting upon His Book.
It is no secret that the enemies of the Arabs and Muslims do not look favorably upon a group of Muslims adhering to this path—calling to God and acting upon His Book. Finding no means to deter them, they resort to various forms of deceit, intrigue, and diverse methods: sometimes by working to undermine Arab unity, sometimes by attacking our religion, sometimes by spreading lies and propaganda, and sometimes by sowing division among Arabs and Muslims. “They scheme, and God schemes, and God is the best of schemers.”
By God’s power and strength, we shall be as God has said: “We shall surely test you until We know those who strive among you and those who are patient.”
It pains us deeply that at a time when we stand at a crossroads and are most in need of unity, we face such obstacles. Yet these difficulties will never weaken our resolve nor diminish our strength. Rather, they have strengthened our determination and our patience in the face of adversity and the schemes plotted against us. We have agreed with our brothers in Egypt and Syria to establish a tripartite pact, forming a unified military, political, and economic force, so that we may stand together against aggression directed at us and at the Arabs.
We are certain that as long as we work sincerely for the welfare of the Arabs and Muslims, every Arab who lags behind will eventually join us, for the Arab people everywhere share the same principles and pursue the same goal: the safety and independence of the Arabs. As long as this is our path, we shall meet every brother who works for the welfare of the Arabs and Muslims. The door of the tripartite pact we are working to complete remains open to every Arab who shares our faith and agrees with the principles we have declared, striving for the Arab interest we seek. The calamities before us compel us all to unite and stand firm, so that we may steer our ship safely to the shores of dignity and peace.
Here are the Jews at our borders—well known to all of us. And here are our brothers in Morocco and North Africa, struggling and resisting colonial forces. And here are the aggressor forces in South Yemen and in the south and east of our Kingdom, carrying out concentrated attacks to extend their control over our Arab lands. Yet we remain steadfast and patient until God grants relief and brings victory from Him, preserving for Muslims and Arabs their independence, sovereignty, and dignity.
My brothers, you have come from distant lands and endured the hardship of travel to this Ancient House. I call upon you—and upon myself—to turn to God with sincere hearts, repentant of our sins, devoting our worship to Him alone, abandoning the invocation of others besides Him or seeking intercession through any but Him: “You alone we worship, and You alone we seek for help.”
Let us resolve thereafter to avoid the innovated doctrines that have appeared in religion and society, and to return to the doctrine revealed by the Lord of the heavens—who knows the treachery of the eyes and what the hearts conceal—to our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. In this lies all good.
I implore God, together with you, to guide us to His straight path, to show us the way by which we may be saved from the evil within ourselves and from the consequences of our deeds, to unite our word upon what pleases Him, to accept our pilgrimage and yours, and to return you to your homelands safe, successful, and enveloped in God’s mercy and pleasure.
Mecca — 6 Dhū al‑Ḥijjah 1374 AH / 26 July 1955
From “King Saud: His Speeches and Addresses,” by Fu’ād Shākir