King Saud bin Abdulaziz visited Sheikh Muhammad Al‑Tuwail at his home in Jeddah when he learned of his illness. He sat with great humility beside his bed, speaking with him and reassuring himself about his health. When Sheikh Muhammad Al‑Tuwail, despite his weakness, insisted on accompanying the King to the outer door of the house upon his departure, King Saud immediately supported him with his own hands as he walked, assisted by his son Yusuf Al‑Tuwail (the prominent president of Al‑Ittihad Club).”
King Saud bin Abdulaziz paid a visit to Sheikh Muhammad Al‑Tuwail at his residence in Jeddah upon learning of his illness. He seated himself with marked humility beside the Sheikh’s bedside, conversing with him and inquiring about his condition. When Sheikh Muhammad Al‑Tuwail—despite his physical weakness—insisted on accompanying the King to the outer entrance of the house upon his departure, King Saud immediately supported him with his own hands as he walked, assisted by his son, Yusuf Al‑Tuwail (the distinguished president of Al‑Ittihad Club).
This raises an important question: Who was Muhammad Al‑Tuwail, the man whom the sovereign of the country visited in his home during illness and personally supported as he walked?
Muhammad Al‑Tuwail was among the prominent statesmen of the Hashemite era and one of its influential political figures. He served as the head of the Hijazi National Party and as Director of Public Revenues (a position equivalent to Minister of Finance) in the Hijaz.
His loyalty to the Hashemites remained steadfast. Thus, when King Abdulaziz entered Jeddah, Al‑Tuwail—along with several others—chose to leave the country. He moved between various states and participated in the establishment of the Hijazi Liberal Party in Cairo, a party opposed to the nascent Saudi state and intent on undermining its security. The party carried out two hostile operations: one from northern Hijaz, known as the Ibn Rifada Revolt, and another from the south, known as the Idrisi Movement. In both cases, God granted King Abdulaziz complete victory.
After King Abdulaziz concluded his long struggle to unify the Kingdom with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1351 AH (1932 CE), he issued, on 7 Shawwal 1353 AH, a royal decree (No. 19/1/23) granting a general amnesty to those outside the country, “out of a desire that all the sons of our nation stand united and mutually supportive in the service of their homeland and their ummah.”
Those who had been abroad began returning individually. King Abdulaziz received them in his court, honoring them generously, granting them private audiences in his “inner council,” and appointing them to pivotal administrative posts. He placed considerable trust in them. He addressed Muhammad Tahir Al‑Dabbagh (head of the Hijazi Liberal Party) with the words: “There is no doubt that education is the foundation of a nation’s renaissance and the beating heart of the state. Therefore, I have ordered that the Directorate of Public Education in the Kingdom be entrusted to you, so that people may know that we have placed you in our hearts.”
He appointed Abdulraouf Al‑Sabban as Mayor of the Holy City; Abdulhamid Al‑Khateeb (father of our colleague, Professor Yasser Al‑Khateeb) as a member of the Shura Council and later as Ambassador of the Kingdom to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Indonesia; Muhammad Al‑Tuwail to the General Customs Administration; and Muhammad Abdullah Sadiq to the Directorate of Civil Statistics.
All of these men reciprocated King Abdulaziz’s confidence with pledges of loyalty. They returned his trust with fidelity and his affection with devotion. They dedicated themselves to constructing the foundational pillars of the Kingdom’s early development during the period preceding the establishment of the Council of Ministers in 1373 AH. The history of Saudi development preserves for this distinguished group their pioneering and foundational contributions in the fields they were entrusted with.
May God have mercy upon the builder of the state and the maker of men, King Abdulaziz, and upon his righteous sons. May God have mercy upon that blessed and virtuous cohort whose achievements, recorded in letters of light, enriched every domain of national construction and development.
May God have mercy upon them all.