In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
Labbayka Allahumma labbayk.
We praise You, O God, for the blessing of Islam, and we thank You for guiding us to gather in this great place—where each of us comes to know his fellow, and each comes to know the truth of his own soul. Thus we come before You stripped of all pretension, seeking refuge in Your presence, repentant and pleading. O God, we stand before You humbled, penitent, and submissive. We are Your servants whom You have guided to Your Noble Book, and whom You have distinguished with the message of Your servant and Messenger, our master Muhammad—may God’s blessings and peace be upon him.
There is no god but God, alone without partner. To Him belongs sovereignty and praise, and He is powerful over all things. We have magnified His sacred rites, and He has granted us the piety of hearts. We have set out for His inviolable House, and He has bestowed upon us His bounty and His great pleasure.
My Muslim brothers,
God has favored us with Islam and made us one nation—feeling as one, striving toward a single purpose. He unified our deeds and our way of life, guided our hearts to faith and conviction, and led us through our actions to the path of those upon whom He has bestowed His grace: the prophets and the truthful. Praise be to Him in all circumstances.
My beloved people,
God Almighty has granted us success in working for the comfort of this nation and in striving for its well‑being. We have fulfilled—and continue to fulfill—our duty toward you: protecting your interests, safeguarding your security, and seeking your welfare to the utmost of our ability. We expend all that is precious and dear in defending your sanctuaries and in caring for your affairs and conditions. We spend our nights contemplating your needs, and devote our time to considering your circumstances. We spend wealth freely in the pursuit of your happiness—wealth that God has blessed us with and guided us to use for your benefit. All of this is by God’s grace, and by our adherence to the radiant law of Islam.
My beloved people,
We live in a time when nerves are strained, evil stands poised to leap, and hearts tremble at the calamities wrought by human hands. We ask God to guide all humanity to what benefits them, and to spare them error in their deeds and folly in what they may undertake—lest the overwhelming disaster strike. They have already witnessed a small example of this, and what they now possess is many times greater than what once was. Whoever commits such deeds does so against himself. God does not wrong them, but people wrong their own souls.
O Muslims,
By God’s grace, you witness each year broad strides in the progress and flourishing of this land. We exert every effort to make this country—the qiblah of Muslims—a marvel of beauty and excellence. God has granted us success in improving and expanding the Two Holy Mosques. Roads now span vast distances. We have expanded and organized the ports. Urban and civic development continues, spreading across cities and into the desert. Then God has blessed us with comprehensive security and complete stability. Let us therefore supplicate to God Almighty to preserve this blessing for us, and let us implore Him to unite the Muslims, to make the reform of their condition the highest aim of all, and to guide them to follow the steps of reform taken by the greatest Messenger, our master Muhammad—peace be upon him—so that they may attain what his earliest companions attained of honor, distinction, and perfection. God is the One who grants success, and may He make us among those who follow His Book and His Messenger.
Peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.
(Published in Umm al‑Qura, Issue 1822, 16 Dhul‑Hijjah 1379 AH / 10 June 1960)