- Saudi Arabia has been thinking profoundly about its king this past week, sad both about your absence from the country and for the operation you have had to endure.
- The entire Arab world and Islamic nations have felt this as well, for they share in the admiration and respect the Saudi people have for you.
You have done so much to better the lives of Saudis, Arabs and Muslims and indeed the whole world, be it in ensuring future prosperity, Arab and Muslim unity or interfaith dialogue. You stand tall in the history of our country, as a man who through wisdom, compassion, freshness and innovation carried Saudi Arabia toward a hopeful and prosperous future.
As we pray for your speedy recovery and return to your country, we recognize that you have given our country a new life, a renaissance of sorts that will ensure that our Kingdom lives and prospers far into the future. You have overcome great challenges and confronted with reason and understanding forces that were opposed to you.
Rather than wielding a club you met them with wisdom and authority. You have transformed a nation that was once restricted in its thinking to a nation prepared for the numerous challenges of tomorrow.
What you have done is to weave a new fabric of Saudi Arabia with great care and great strength, punctuating it both with fresh ideas and with the observation of traditions and religious requirements. To Saudi Arabia and Saudis you have been like a father, guiding us with love even at times when we did not understand where we were going. Your words and deeds are those of a father, of a leader, of a ruler, of a guide. They will resonate in us and in our country for many decades to come.
We are grateful to you, and we are grateful to Allah for making you our leader and giving you long life. You have guided the country as you have guided the Al Saud, the family upon which the stability and prosperity of our country depends.
In the unity of the family and in each of its members' sense of responsibility lies the vitality of the Kingdom. You have steered the family on the same path of clarity and steady leadership as your brothers and as your great father King Abdul Aziz. You have made the chatter of those who worry about succession all but irrelevant.
We are relieved to hear that your operation has gone well and we give thanks to Allah for your speedy recovery and return to the country that loves you. We shall never lose sight of all that you have accomplished and all you have done for each of us, for our grandchildren, and for their grandchildren.
