(Umm al‑Qurā, Issue No. 1526, 7 Dhu al‑Ḥijjah 1373 AH / 6 August 1954 CE)
In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Praise be to God—we praise Him, we thank Him, and we seek refuge in Him from the evils within ourselves and from the consequences of our deeds. Whomever God guides, none can mislead; and whomever He leaves astray, none can guide. We send prayers and peace upon the best of His prophets, and we begin with that which is best.
Welcome, our brothers and fellow believers. Welcome to the bond that unites us: the pure word of monotheism—bearing witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. Welcome to the honor and dignity of this Ancient House, which we visit from all our lands, toward which we turn, and in whose sanctuary we seek refuge. Here we implore our Lord, seeking forgiveness and praying that He lift from us our burdens.
From this blessed spot, Islam spread forth; indeed, the call to God began here when our Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, raised the foundations of this Ancient House. Toward this House we turn in our prayers; toward it we walk in glorification and praise; around it we circumambulate; and between Ṣafā and Marwah we strive—remembering the name of God, renewing our repentance, renouncing sins and transgressions, and resolving to obey our Lord and hold fast to our religion.
Every adornment of this worldly life is fleeting. We have no refuge except in God’s mercy and forgiveness, attained through sincere worship of Him alone, adherence to His Book, and following the Sunnah of His Prophet and the rightly guided caliphs after him. Islam came as a pure and gentle monotheism—without excess and without neglect—completing the earlier revelations: “He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah, and what We revealed to you, and what We enjoined upon Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: that you uphold the religion and do not be divided therein.”
Our Prophet Muhammad—may God’s peace and blessings be upon him—brought Islam and left no path of goodness without guiding us to it, and no path of evil without warning us against it: “This is My straight path, so follow it, and do not follow other ways lest they separate you from His way.”
My Muslim brothers, in this moment, surrounded as we are by dangers and trials in our religion and worldly affairs, we have no refuge after God except by holding fast to His Book and the guidance of His Messenger—through sincere worship of God alone, calling upon none besides Him, neither prophet nor angel: “Say: I have been commanded to worship God, devoting my religion sincerely to Him…” “So do not call upon anyone besides God.”
These are days of hastening to God with sincerity, repentance, and turning back to Him. I counsel you—and myself—to flee from our sins toward God, that He may accept our repentance, rectify our affairs, change our condition, and move us from the humiliation of division to the honor of unity.
Islam raised us from degradation to the highest ranks. We were once the strongest of peoples, the leaders, the guides calling to God. What changed us from what we were to what we have become except division, and our haste in preferring the immediate over the eternal? “Indeed, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.” We exchanged what was better for what was lesser, and enemies descended upon Islam and the Muslims from every direction—seeking to extinguish the light of God with their words, their hearts, their hands, their schemes, and their deceit. But God refuses except to perfect His light.
Gathered here are brothers from every land. Each of us knows the hardships he endures in his religion and worldly life—under oppression and tyranny at the hands of enemies who lie in wait for Islam, the Muslims, and the Arabs. In such moments, we have no choice but steadfastness and patience, fulfilling the meaning of God’s words: “Those to whom people said: ‘Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them,’ but it only increased them in faith, and they said: ‘God is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.’”
Through steadfastness, patience, reliance upon God, continuous effort, wisdom, and resolve—without weakness or hesitation—we advance toward our goals, seeking honor and dignity, that we may live secure in our lands, our faith, our homes, and our children.
Treachery and injustice have created this Zionist cancer in the body of the Arabs and the body of Islam—an affliction added to the many aggressions faced by Muslims and Arabs across the world. These trials are tests from God, to distinguish the sincere from the hypocritical. By God’s help, we can strengthen our faith, unite our word, endure hardships, and resist the temptations our enemies use to divide us—lest we become tools in their hands, fighting one another while they watch from behind the curtain, laughing in mockery.
What I call Muslims and Arabs to—and what I call myself to—is cooperation among all Muslims and Arabs, uniting our aims. We seek nothing but the safety of our peoples, loyalty to those who are loyal to us, and protection from those who seek to harm us. We must regard any aggression against any part of our world as aggression against us all. This is the basis of our Arab League, and the foundation of our collective security pact. I strive to unite the Arab states upon this principle—and beyond that, to unite the Islamic states upon it. We seek no aggression against anyone; we only seek to live in our lands in peace and security.
The hardships I have endured in my travels since ascending the throne have been for this purpose: to unite the word of Arabs and Muslims, to cooperate with all who wish to cooperate with us in preserving peace and security in our lands, and in preventing aggression against any of us. We are enemies to none—except those who seek to harm us.
I am your brother, honored to serve the Two Holy Mosques. It is an honor and a source of pride for me to be your sincere brother, opening my heart to you, working with you for all that strengthens our religion and exalts the word of God. I fear no blame in the cause of God, nor do I hesitate in what may befall me so long as I work sincerely to uphold God’s word and support my people, whom I cherish. I strive for what benefits me and them, and I ask only that God grant us success in uniting our word, gathering our ranks, and managing our affairs with sincerity and resolve, that we may reach our goal.
This is my path, and this is what I call Muslims and Arabs to. In this gathering, we have no recourse but to implore God—sincerely devoting our religion to Him—to unite our hearts upon what pleases Him, and upon what brings honor and dignity to us all; to accept our pilgrimage; and to return our travelers to their homelands safe, successful, and blessed with His acceptance.
Peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.