Former Grand Mufti of Egypt and Member of the Council of Senior Scholars
Tomorrow morning (Saturday), the radiant presence of the King of the Arabian Peninsula—His Majesty Saud, son of the just King Abdulaziz, son of the striving Imam Faisal Al‑Saud—will rise over the sky of Egypt. He arrives from the holiest of lands, the dearest places to the hearts of Muslims, to visit a country whose people return his love with love, and his sincerity with sincerity. All of Egypt—government and people—will welcome him with joyful hearts and smiling faces.
No matter how warmly Egypt receives King Saud during the blessed week of his visit—coming at the most fitting time—it will not fully repay him for the affection and loyalty he has always shown toward Egypt: his deep love for her, his support in times of ease and hardship, his standing beside her in trials and tribulations. It has become evident to all that the two peoples have blended, the two nations united, standing together as one in the face of events and challenges.
If honoring every noble guest is a duty, then honoring this great monarch is even more obligatory. His Majesty is the greatest of Muslim kings in this age, the most devoted to establishing governance in his kingdom upon the principles of pure Islam, the most eager to strengthen the bonds of Islamic brotherhood among Muslims, and the most diligent in spreading security over lives and property throughout the Peninsula and the sacred lands to which hearts yearn and people come from every direction. For this, every Muslim owes him gratitude and praise.
On this happy occasion, I am pleased to speak to readers about His Majesty King Saud. I have been blessed to visit him many times and have come to know, up close, some of his noble qualities and great deeds.
I found in him a great man—his heart filled with certainty in God, trust in Him, and reliance upon Him in all matters. He loves the good of the Arabs and Muslims, is devoted to the glory of Islam and the establishment of God’s laws, and holds vast hopes for the welfare of his people and the happiness of his nation. He strives to ease the lives of workers, craftsmen, and merchants, and exerts all effort in building and renewing every aspect of life in his country.
His Majesty undertakes many journeys to the far reaches and capitals of the Kingdom, traveling through its lands, personally inspecting the affairs of his subjects, granting them good, and ordering what they need with determination, insight, and experience.
I also found in him profound humility—especially toward scholars—great compassion for the poor, and generous care for those whom time has afflicted among the noble families of Muslims, as well as for those who migrated fleeing the oppression of colonizers. He is deeply committed to building and restoring mosques in every village and city.
Among these is the magnificent mosque he rebuilt in Riyadh while he was Crown Prince, spending vast sums on its construction. It is now the largest mosque in Riyadh, accommodating nearly thirty‑five thousand worshippers, with annexes for those observing spiritual retreat during the last ten nights of Ramadan, reviving the Prophetic tradition.
Alongside this, His Majesty is keen on spreading education and culture—especially religious education—throughout the land. He established many schools for memorizing the Qur’an, providing generous stipends to their teachers. He sent delegations of students to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and other foreign countries to acquire the knowledge needed for the nation’s modern renaissance. He brought scholars and teachers from Al‑Azhar, the Egyptian Ministry of Education, and elsewhere to teach in the institutes and schools established in the major cities.
His Majesty founded in Riyadh a model school built to the highest standards, beautifully designed and fully equipped, where princes and non‑princes alike study. He gives it special attention and noble care.
I heard from the school’s headmaster that one of His Majesty’s sons once missed the dawn prayer with his father. The King ordered the headmaster to punish him by preventing him from going out during recess for a day—and the punishment was carried out immediately.
His Majesty also established, while still Crown Prince, the Riyadh Public Library, built in modern style with two reinforced‑concrete floors, each containing rooms for book collections, reading, and administration. He filled it with precious works in various fields and entrusted scholars from India with organizing, cataloging, and indexing them, giving the library much of his personal attention.
In Riyadh there is also a great religious institute supervised by the esteemed Sheikh Abdul‑Latif ibn Ibrahim Al‑Sheikh, brother of the eminent Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim—both descendants of Imam Muhammad ibn Abdul‑Wahhab, the jurist of the Hanbali school and champion of the creed of the early generations. Many distinguished scholars from Al‑Azhar and the Islamic world teach at the institute, and the government provides generous stipends to its students. The institute’s scholars attend His Majesty’s council once a week, where they listen to the religious lesson in hadith and tafsir delivered daily after Asr and Isha in the presence of the King.
Last year, His Majesty ordered the paving of the road in Madinah leading to Quba Mosque and to Mount Uhud, the resting place of the Master of Martyrs. He also ordered the construction of two large reservoirs beside the Blue Spring and the piping of its water to homes in Madinah through cast‑iron pipes to protect it from contamination and seepage. He further ordered the completion of the paved road from the airport into the city.
Greater than all this is His Majesty’s completion of what his late father—may God sanctify his soul—began: the expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque, the renewal of its western and eastern sides, and the construction of a tall minaret and new gates. This is undoubtedly among the greatest enduring deeds in the history of the Sacred Mosque.
There are many other projects and great works—some completed during King Saud’s time as Crown Prince, others during his blessed reign.
May God preserve Saud, the great King, and his noble Crown Prince, and grant them success in all that brings goodness and righteousness.
— Minbar Al‑Sharq Newspaper