By His Royal Highness Prince Khalid bin Saud bin Abdulaziz
Forgive me, my father, for choosing this title for you in these reflections. It is a title dear to the heart, for you are my father, and none shares this fatherhood with me except my dear brothers, your sons.
And forgive me if I do not address you as His Majesty the Exalted King—that is the title of formal occasions. But here, I wish to speak to my father in the language of the soul, to whisper to my father the murmurs of the heart.
I want to acknowledge my father’s grace. I want to speak of Saud the father, not Saud the king. A powerful filial emotion drives me—an emotion that reveals itself on every occasion that brings together the father‑king and his sons, the princes. In those moments, all considerations fade away, and only one truth remains: you are the father, and we are your children gathered around you.
My father… Saud
I thank you for those family gatherings you arrange for us from time to time—gatherings in which we, your sons, feel the overflowing tenderness of fatherhood in your great heart. We delight in sitting with you, we appreciate this noble act of yours, and the sacred bond between us grows stronger. In those moments, you and we are like a blessed tree—its roots firm, its branches reaching into the sky.
My father… Saud
I cherish your golden advice—the counsel you gave us, your sons, in our family meeting. You urged us to hold fast to our religion, the religion of Islam, the religion of God, the One and Only. You taught us that adherence to religion is the foundation of every success, indeed the foundation of happiness in this world and the next.
Perhaps you feared for us the vanity of worldly life and the temptations of authority, so you wished to fortify our youth with faith—the strongest fortress.
Then you turned our attention to the homeland. You commanded us to care for it, encouraged us to elevate it, and your words were wise when you said:
“Religion calls for the protection of the homeland, and calls its people to be strong and honorable.”
Your advice worked like magic in our hearts. We pledge to you—an unbreakable pledge—that we will keep it before our eyes and act upon it to the best of our ability. May God grant us success.
My father… Saud
You must have seen that education is the surest path to the advancement of the nation and the elevation of the homeland—that religion calls for it, and that the world has taken it as a weapon and a tool for the future. You did not want us to fall behind the caravan, so you prepared schools for us, guided us toward learning, and urged us to take from it an ample share—as if you wished through our education to complete a deficiency that had appeared in the past.
By God’s grace, we believe in what you believe, and we strive to gain from knowledge a portion whose light will guide us, with which we may prepare for our nation a dignified life, and with which we may lead our homeland forward in the caravan of civilization.
Perhaps you wished us to feel the extent of your care for our education, so you blessed us with your beloved visits to our schools. I would see joy upon your face, and feel that your eyes were pleased with us as we devoted ourselves to study and learning.
My father… Saud
What comes from the heart settles in the heart. Your love for us came from your heart and reached ours. We feel its warmth when you honor our ceremonies and attend our matches. I welcome you with my heart, and you grant me confidence in myself, breathe into me some of your determination, and I feel a tremendous strength and a soaring resolve. I play and excel, as if my purpose were to make you happy and bring joy to your heart—as if this were a duty I owe you.
And you—O wise father—never cease to gift us, beyond your affection and love, cups and prizes. We receive them as children receive the gifts of their fathers. How great our joy in them, how beautiful our delight.
My father… Saud
We do not forget the opportunities you created for us when you took us with you on your visits to many countries of the world. You had no purpose in doing so except to enable us to connect with the world, to witness different forms of social life, and to meet the leaders and presidents of those nations—so that our horizons might widen, our personalities grow stronger, and our knowledge expand. Thus you prepared us well for the future and shared with our schools the task of raising us.
This is how a son sees the journeys his father grants him.
My father… Saud
You took us to the desert, accompanied us to the open plains, leaving behind the city with all its comforts. You took us hunting. People may think this is a display of royal luxury, but the truth is far from what they imagine. What is the desert, with its harsh life and rugged nature, compared to the splendor of kingship? What are tents compared to palaces?
Your purpose was nothing but to raise us—to accustom us to toughness, to teach us austerity, to distance us from indulgence and luxury, so our backs would grow strong and our spirits resilient.
And our Arab heritage—we shall never forget it. It calls us to learn hunting and marksmanship. How happy we were roaming the desert, chasing game, releasing our falcons, firing our rifles, and finally capturing the prey—then rushing to you, our father and beloved, presenting it before you, hoping you would accept it from us and bless it while your heart was content and your eyes at peace.
My father… Saud
Just recently, the institute held a literary seminar in which many students participated. The topic was “Historical Figures.” I chose to speak about you, for I see you as a historical figure worthy of being discussed. I spoke about Saud the King, Saud the Crown Prince in the life of his father, and Saud who flies from East to West, enduring the hardships of travel for the welfare of his people and the happiness of his nation.
I spoke—and the whole world was speaking of you with me—for at that very time you were on your historic visit to America and the Western countries.
My father… Saud
These are my words—an expression of my reflections, an echo of my inner voice. I offer them as a greeting from Khalid the son to Saud the father, and as an acknowledgment of the father’s grace upon his son.
In conclusion, I sincerely pray that the father remains for his children, that his eyes find joy in them, that God preserve the King for his people, and that He grant them happiness through him.
Khalid bin Saud
Second Year, Secondary School
Source: Al‑Nasiriyyah: Newspaper of the Institute of the Sons of His Majesty King Saud the Magnificent, 1376 AH