(Umm al‑Qurā, Issue No. 1575, 9 Dhu al‑Ḥijjah 1374 AH / 29 July 1955 CE)
In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Praise be to God—our Lord, our Creator, and our Sustainer. Praise be to God alone, our God and our object of worship. Praise be to God, to Whom belong the Most Beautiful Names and the Most Exalted Attributes; nothing is like unto Him, and He is the All‑Hearing, the All‑Seeing. I send prayers and peace upon the best of His prophets, who came to us from God with guidance and the religion of truth, the Seal of the Messengers, whom God sent with what rectifies the condition of all peoples until the Hour is established. 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 those who follow them in righteousness. Peace be upon those who strive in the path of God and in exalting 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 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 in the way of our forefather Abraham, the way of the prophets after him, and the way of our Prophet Muhammad—peace and blessings 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 religion and this sacred land.
God sent His messengers to call humanity to worship their Lord and to devote worship to Him alone. Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad—peace be upon them all—called to this truth.
The Arabs in their pre‑Islamic ignorance acknowledged that none creates, provides, gives life, or causes 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. The distinction between Islam and disbelief, between those who responded to the call of the Messenger 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 moment, in this greatest 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 worship sincerely to God alone. I also renew, in this moment and in every moment, the call to act according to the Book of God and the purified Sharia that came to us from God—Sharia 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 ways that the philosophies and sciences of the world have failed, and will continue to fail, to match.
What principles can 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‑Bayhaqi relate from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh that the Messenger of God 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; nor a black over a red, nor a red over a black—except by piety. The most honorable of you in the sight of God is the most righteous. Have I conveyed the message?” They replied, “Yes, O Messenger of God.” He said, “Let those who are present convey it to those who are 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 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 cannot bear to see a group of Muslims committed to this path—calling to God and acting upon His Book. When they found no means to turn them away, they resorted to various forms of deceit, schemes, and methods: sometimes by working to corrupt the Arab League, 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 help and power, we shall be as God described: “We shall surely test you until We know those who strive among you and those who are patient.”
It pains us that at a time when we stand at a crossroads—when we are most in need of unity—we face such difficulties. Yet these hardships will not weaken our resolve nor diminish our strength; rather, they have always strengthened our will and our patience in the face of trials and plots. We have agreed with our brothers in Egypt and Syria to establish a tripartite pact, forming a single military, political, and economic force, so that we may stand united in repelling aggression against us and against the Arabs.
I am certain that as long as we work sincerely for the good of the Arabs and Muslims, every Arab who lags behind will eventually join us, for the Arab people everywhere share the same principles and seek 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 good of the Arabs and Muslims. The door of the tripartite pact we are working to complete is open to every Arab who shares our faith and accepts the principles we have declared, and who strives for the Arab interest we seek. The calamities before us compel us all to stand firm and united, so that we may save our ship and bring it safely to the shores of honor and dignity.
The Jews are in our midst, and we all know their condition. Our brothers in the Maghreb of North Africa struggle against colonial forces. Aggressive forces in South Yemen, and in the south and east of our Kingdom, carry 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, repenting from our sins, devoting worship to God alone, abandoning the invocation of others besides Him or seeking intercession through others: “You alone we worship, and You alone we seek for help.” Let us resolve thereafter to abandon the innovated doctrines in religion and society, and 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 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 and successful, blessed with His pleasure and mercy.
Peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.