The anthem we used to recite during the morning assembly at this school contained verses such as:
“Saud, Saud — may the Most High God bless you
With a mighty victory for all eternity.
A king, strong, before whom tyrants tremble;
You have led the Arabs — a lion’s cub.”
And there was another anthem about Algeria, beginning in the local dialect:
“O Abu Fahd, Algeria has come to you in complaint.”
The melody of the first anthem was later adapted into the well‑known national song whose opening lines are:
“My homeland, my homeland, beacon of guidance,
To you — and from you — peace begins.”
From the fabric of memory, a beloved title for King Saud continues to echo in gatherings and on people’s tongues:
“Abu Khayrayn” (Father of Two Blessings) and “Beloved of the People.”
I also recall — may God have mercy on him — his tour of the neighborhoods of al‑Murabbaʿ, al‑Fawṭa, and the surrounding areas after his return from medical treatment in the year 1381 or 1382 AH. Simple popular celebrations were held there, and he was keen to visit them, to share with the citizens their joy in the ʿarḍah dance, or to send one of the princes on his behalf, and to offer assistance to compensate them for what they had spent in preparing those local festivities.
And I cannot forget the echoes of that celebration marking the opening of King Saud Hospital in al‑Shumaysi — which later became Riyadh Central Hospital — and in that transformation it lost something of the brilliance and loyalty associated with the dear king, Saud, may God have mercy on him.
Written by: Abdullah Al‑Humaid