In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
From Saud ibn Abdulaziz
To the pilgrims of the Sacred House of God, and to every Muslim in the East and West who receives this message.
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.
I praise before you God, through whose grace righteous deeds are completed, and by whose bounty, generosity, and favor He guides His servants to the most upright path. I invoke blessings and peace upon the best of His Prophets and the choicest of His Messengers, Muhammad—may God’s prayers and peace be upon him—who brought us the clear proof whose night is as bright as its day. I begin with what is best.
My brothers:
This is a season of abundant goodness in these sacred lands and these great rites. God has made them for us as means through which we worship Him alone and revive the Sunnah of our Prophet Abraham. It is incumbent upon us in these holy places to purify our worship for God alone, to remember His name with humility and devotion, to hold ourselves accountable for what we have done, and to resolve for our future days upon repentance and turning back to Him—so that our pilgrimage may be accepted, and its reward be Paradise by God’s grace, bounty, and mercy.
My brothers:
Muslims remain in a state of goodness so long as they counsel one another in righteousness and piety. What has befallen them of the dominance of their enemies occurred only when they forgot—or neglected—what our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, brought to them. Pure monotheism, and uniting our word upon it, is the bond that gathers us for striving in His cause. It is what unifies our ranks and elevates our standing. God has decreed honor for Himself, His Messenger, and the believers. If we resolve in our hearts upon faith in God, worship Him as He deserves, and advise one another in brotherhood, we will be able to attain the goals we seek—happiness in this world and the next.
My brothers:
Islam has never been afflicted by its own people except when their word became divided and their inclinations and desires diverged. There is no path for Muslims to protect themselves except by uniting their ranks. We have exerted—and continue to exert—our efforts in this path until God grants what our Islamic nation aspires to: dignity, honor, and the attainment of happiness in both abodes.
My brothers:
The principles to which we pledged ourselves before God—sincerity to His religion, and defending the sanctuaries of Muslims and Arabs in every land—are principles we shall hold firmly with our very teeth. We shall act for their sake with all that we can until God grants victory from Himself. We do not seek aggression against anyone; but we repel every aggression that befalls us or any Muslim or Arab to the extent of our ability. We have not forgotten Palestine, nor shall we forget it. It stands before our eyes until the usurper is expelled and its children return to it. And this struggling Algeria is facing the most brutal forms of tyranny and aggression. We pray to God in these great moments to grant victory to our brothers in Algeria and to support them with help from Him. He is capable of all things.
My brothers:
In these blessed moments, we cannot enumerate our praise of God for what He has enabled and facilitated for us in preserving security in these sacred lands and ensuring stability within them. This was not by our power nor by our strength, but by God’s power and strength. Muslims in these great rites enjoy safety and peace. We have exerted every effort we could to ease the pilgrimage for the pilgrims—from expanding roads to safeguarding health. We are unable to fully thank God for enabling us to carry out what you have witnessed of the expansion of the Sacred Mosque. We ask God, who made it easy for us to fulfill these duties, to bestow upon us His manifest and hidden blessings, and to grant us success in all that serves the Two Holy Mosques and the pilgrims of His Sacred House. We ask God Almighty to accept your pilgrimage and return you to your homelands safe and rewarded by His mercy and pleasure.
Peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.
(Published in Umm al‑Qura, Issue 1723, 10 Dhul‑Hijjah 1377 AH / 27 June 1958)