Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
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Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (4 March 1910 25 November 1988) ( ar, محمد بن عبدالعزيز أل سعود ''Muḥammad bin ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Saʿūd'') was the
crown prince of Saudi Arabia The crown prince of Saudi Arabia is the second-most important position in Saudi Arabia, second to the King, and is his designated successor. Currently, the Crown Prince assumes power with the approval of the Allegiance Council after he is nomi ...
from 1964 to 1965 and the nominal governor of
Al Madinah Province The Medina Province ( ar, مِنْطَقَة ٱلْمَدِيْنَة ٱلْمُنَوَّرَة, Minṭaqat Al-Madīnah Al-Munawarah) is a province ('' minṭaqah'') of Saudi Arabia, located on the country's western side, along the Red Sea coa ...
from 1925 to 1954. He resigned as crown prince in order to pave the way for his brother
Khalid bin Abdulaziz Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, خالد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Khalid ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'' ; 13 February 1913 13 June 1982) was a Saudi Arabian statesman and politician who served as King and Prime Minister of ...
to become the heir apparent. Prince Muhammad was one of the wealthiest and most powerful members of the House of Saud. His advice was sought and deferred to in all matters by his brothers. Prince Muhammad was a son of
King Abdulaziz Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted ...
and
Al Jawhara bint Musaed Al Jiluwi Al Jawhara bint Musaed bin Jiluwi Al Saud ( ar, الجوهرة بنت مساعد بن جلوي آل سعود ''Al Jawhara bint Musāʿid bin Jiluwī Āl Suʿūd''; 1891–1919) was one of the spouses of King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia. She was th ...
. He often played a role in his father's campaigns which resulted in the formation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He opposed the appointment of his elder half-brother Saud as the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Prince Muhammad was acting viceroy of
Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
in 1932 during the absence of the viceroy
Faisal bin Abdulaziz Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فيصل بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''Fayṣal ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 14 April 1906 – 25 March 1975) was a Saudi Arabian statesman and diplomat who was ...
(later king), another of his half-brothers, from the country. The royal family council, under the leadership of Prince Muhammad, deposed King Saud and placed Faisal on the throne in 1964. After taking the throne, King Faisal nominated Prince Muhammad as crown prince, but he stepped away from the succession. His younger full brother, Prince Khalid, then became crown prince. Following the assassination of King Faisal in 1975, the members of the royal family council including Prince Muhammad proclaimed Khalid as king. Prince Muhammad was an important advisor to King Khalid. He was a traditionalist who opposed efforts at modernising Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s, believing the reforms would harm the country's traditional Islamic values. He ordered the controversial execution of his granddaughter
Misha'al bint Fahd Mishaal bint Fahd Al Saud (1958 – 15 July 1977; ar, الأميرة مشاعل بنت فهد بن محمد بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود) was a member of the House of Saud who was executed by shooting for committing adultery in 19 ...
on charges of adultery in 1977. He led the family council in swearing allegiance to his younger half-brother Fahd as king upon the death of King Khalid in 1982. Six years later, Prince Muhammad died aged 78.


Early life

Prince Muhammad was the fourth son of King Abdulaziz and was born in Qasr Al Hukm, Riyadh, in 1910. His mother was Al Jawhara bint Musaed of the important Al Jiluwi family, which is a cadet branch of the Al Saud family itself. She and her husband were second cousins. Their respective fathers, Musaed bin Jiluwi and Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, were first cousins while their grandfathers,
Jiluwi bin Turki Jiluwi bin Turki Al Saud (1819–1875) was one of the children of Turki bin Abdullah who ruled the Emirate of Najd between 1819 and 1834 with an interruption from 1820 to 1824. Biography Jiluwi was born in 1819. He was the younger brother of K ...
and Faisal bin Turki, were brothers. This was in keeping with long-standing traditions in Arabia of marriage within the same lineage, and the members of Al Jiluwi frequently intermarried with the members of Al Saud. Prince Muhammad was one of three children born to Al Jawhara bint Musaed and King Abdulaziz. His full brother Prince Khalid would later serve as king, and his full sister Princess Al Anoud married successively to two sons of their uncle
Saad bin Abdul Rahman Sa'ad bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (1890–1915) was the brother of Abdulaziz, Emir of Nejd (who later founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). He was one of Abdulaziz's most devoted supporters and a key lieutenant in his early military campaigns. Ear ...
. First Al Anoud married Saud bin Saad. Later Saud and Al Anoud divorced, and she married his brother Fahd bin Saad.


Royal duties

From an early age Prince Muhammad participated in fights during the formation years of the Kingdom with his older brothers and cousins. He and Prince Faisal were given the responsibility for the Ikhwan in mid-1920s. In December 1925 Prince Muhammad was named governor of Madinah following the conquest of the city in which he was involved. His tenure lasted until 1954. In early 1932 Prince Muhammad was made acting viceroy of Hejaz due to the long visits of the viceroy Prince Faisal to other countries. However, he was soon replaced by Prince Khalid due to his careless administration of the region. In 1934 King Abdulaziz ordered his forces to attack
Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
's forward defences. The King sent his nephew Faisal bin Saad to Baqem and another of his nephews, Khalid bin Muhammad, to Najran and Saada. The King's son Prince Faisal assumed command of the forces on the coast of
Tihama Tihamah or Tihama ( ar, تِهَامَةُ ') refers to the Red Sea coastal plain of the Arabian Peninsula from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Bab el Mandeb. Etymology Tihāmat is the Proto-Semitic language's term for 'sea'. Tiamat (or Tehom, in m ...
and Prince Muhammad had advanced from Najd at the head of a reserve force to support Prince Saud. Prince Muhammad and Crown Prince Saud represented King Abdulaziz at the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in London in 1937. Prince Muhammad and Prince Mansour accompanied their father in his meeting with US President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
on 14 February 1945. The King's two sons Muhammad and Mansour along with their uncle Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman attended the meeting between King Abdulaziz and British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
in Egypt in February 1945. Prince Muhammad accompanied King Saud during his visit to the US in January 1962. Prince Muhammad was known as a king-maker. He was a key prince in the coalition against King Saud. He was head of the royal family council and acted as a mediator during the dispute between King Saud and Crown Prince Faisal. He was sent to King Saud's Al Naṣariah Palace in Fall 1964 to demand his and his sons' loyalty to the chosen king, Faisal. On 28 November 1964 Radio Mecca announced the allegiance of eleven of Saud's sons to King Faisal.


Royal advisor

Muhammad bin Abdulaziz was Crown Prince during the first few months (November 1964 – March 1965) of the reign of King Faisal. He then voluntarily stepped aside from the succession to allow his younger and only full brother, Prince Khalid, to become heir apparent to the Saudi throne. However, it is argued by Ayman Al Yassini that it was not a voluntarily move and that Prince Muhammad was forced to step aside from the succession by the senior members of the Al Saud family and the ulema due to his personal characteristics which were considered not to be proper for
Wahhabism Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, and ...
. Prince Muhammad's nickname was Abu Sharayn or "the father of two evils" referring to his bad temper and his habit of drinking. In fact, his original nickname was "the father of evil" due to his aggressive and violent character during his youth which was first said by King Abdulaziz. In addition, Prince Muhammad was a frequent visitor to the parties in
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
which he himself did not consider a proper act for a royal. All such traits were the reasons for not being selected as the king by his brothers. It is also argued that Prince Muhammad, the oldest surviving son of King Abdulaziz after Faisal, either declined the role of crown prince or was passed over because of his close association with King Saud during the latter's reign. During the reign of King Khalid, Prince Muhammad was one of the members of the inner family council headed by the King and included his half-brothers Crown Prince Fahd, Prince Abdullah,
Prince Sultan Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (c. 5 January 1928 – 22 October 2011) (Arabic: سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''Sulṭān ibn ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Suʿūd''), called ''Sultan the Good'' (Arabic: سلطان الخير ''Sulṭa ...
, and Prince Abdul Muhsin as well as two of his surviving uncles, Prince Ahmed and Prince Musaid. Prince Muhammad was very influential in reducing the power of the
Sudairi Seven The Sudairi Seven ( ar, السديريون السبعة, ''As Sudayriyyūn as Sabʿah''), also spelled ''Sudairy'' or ''Sudayri'', is the commonly used name for a powerful alliance of seven full brothers within the Saudi royal family. They are al ...
, who attempted to put to end Prince Abdullah's potential position of future crown prince. After the death of King Khalid on 13 June 1982, the royal family council led by Prince Muhammad expressed its allegiance to the new king, Fahd. Prince Muhammad died on 25 November 1988 at approximately 78 years of age and was buried in Riyadh.


Controversy

Prince Muhammad's granddaughter,
Misha'al bint Fahd Mishaal bint Fahd Al Saud (1958 – 15 July 1977; ar, الأميرة مشاعل بنت فهد بن محمد بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود) was a member of the House of Saud who was executed by shooting for committing adultery in 19 ...
, was convicted of adultery in Saudi Arabia; she and her lover were sentenced to death on the explicit instructions of her grandfather, Prince Muhammad, who was a senior member of the royal family, for the alleged dishonour she brought on her clan and defying a royal order calling for her to marry a man selected by the family, and were subject to public execution. Western media criticized the event as a violation of
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
. A British TV channel presented a dramatized documentary,
Death of a Princess ''Death of a Princess'' is a British 1980 drama-documentary produced by ATV in cooperation with WGBH in the United States. The drama is based on the true story of Princess Mishaal, a young Saudi Arabian princess and her lover who had been pu ...
, which was based on this incident. The broadcast hurt Saudi–UK relations significantly. Following the execution, segregation of women became more severe, and the religious police also began patrolling bazaars, shopping malls and any other place where men and women might happen to meet. When Prince Muhammad was later asked if the two deaths were necessary, he said, "It was enough for me that they were in the same room together".


Wealth

Prince Muhammad owned various business interests. He had considerable wealth which was based on his share of the sales of
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
. In the early 1980s his daily share was half a million barrels of oil.


Views

Prince Muhammad objected to King Abdulaziz's appointment of his eldest son, Saud, as crown prince. He sent a letter to his father stating his negative views about Prince Saud's capacity to rule the state. Following the announcement that Prince Khalid was chosen as crown prince on 29 March 1965 Radio Mecca reported a statement by Prince Muhammad: "I would rather stay away from positions and titles." Prince Muhammad later stated that he would not be a good king if he would have been chosen as the king. Prince Muhammad led the conservative members of the royal family. They did not support the fast modernization of the society witnessed at the end of the 1970s and thought that modernization and the presence of too many foreign workers in the country would lead to the erosion of traditional Muslim values.


Personal life

Muhammad bin Abdulaziz married five times to women linked to the Al Saud family. One of them was his cousin Sara, daughter of his father's brother Saad bin Abdul Rahman. Prince Muhammad also had
concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...
. In 1945 he allegedly had an extramarital affair with an Arab-American woman in the US, and although he denied the reports, the incident caused a conflict between Prince Muhammad and the future King Faisal. Prince Muhammad had twenty-nine children, seventeen sons and twelve daughters. One of his daughters, Al Anoud, was the spouse of his nephew
Khalid bin Saud Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal", and it also appears as a surname. One of his grandsons, Muhammad bin Abdulaziz bin Muhammad, was named deputy governor of
Jizan Province Jizan Region also spelled Jazan ( ar, جيزان, Jizan) is the second smallest (after Al Bahah) region of Saudi Arabia. It stretches along the southern Red Sea coast, just north of Yemen. It covers an area of 11,671 km2 and has a populat ...
in May 2017. Prince Muhammad was fond of hunting with falcons and rifles. He had philanthropic activities and was the founder of many mosques in different places.


Legacy

Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport or Medina Airport is a regional airport in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Opened in 1950, it handles domestic flights, while it has scheduled international services to regional destinations such as C ...
in
Medina Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
named after Prince Mohammed. A hospital in Riyadh, Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hospital, is also named after him. In 2014 the Saudi Ministry of Health started a medical complex in
Sakakah Sakākā () is a city in northwestern Saudi Arabia which is the capital of Al Jawf Province. It is located just to the north of the An Nafud desert. Sakakah had a population of 242,813 at the 2010 census. History Sakakah is an oasis town on an ...
,
Al Jawf region Al-Jawf Province ( ar, ‫منطقة الجوف‬ Minṭaqat al-Jawf pronounced lˈdʒoːf, also spelled Al-Jouf, is one of the provinces of Saudi Arabia, located in the north of the country, containing its only international border with Jo ...
, called Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Medical City.


Ancestry


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Muhammad Abdulaziz
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
1910 births 1988 deaths
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
Heirs apparent who never acceded
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...