The national anthem of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, , "Chant of the Saudi Nation" was first officially adopted in 1950 without lyrics. The piece was gifted by the then Egyptian King Farouq when

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 ...

made a visit to Egypt. It was then adopted again in 1984 with lyrics written by Ibrāhīm Khafājī. The original composition was by Abdul-Raḥman al-Khaṭīb in 1947, and the brass instrumental version was later arranged by Sirāj Umar.

Overview

In 1947, because

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

did not have a national anthem like other neighbouring countries,

visited

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

and asked Egyptian composer Abdul-Raḥman al-Khaṭīb to create a national anthem, and thus "Āsh al-Malīk" was created. The melody is based on an Arab fanfare style, and is similar to the national anthems of other Arab states in the area at the time. In 1958, Mohammed Talat wrote the first set of lyrics, which were not often heard, so

King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...

asked poet Ibrāhīm Khafājī in 1984 to come up with a new set of lyrics, which were completed within six months on 29 June 1984. Khafājī's lyrics are the ones that are used officially today. Saudis listened to their anthem for the first time during the celebrations of Eid ul-Fitr in 1984. "Āsh al-Malīk" is referred to by Saudi Arabians as "The National Anthem" (, ), although it is commonly known by its

incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it b ...

, "Hasten" (, ). The lyrics call upon the country to hasten to greatness and raise the flag, glorify

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, and asks Him to grant the

King of Saudi Arabia The king of Saudi Arabia is the monarchial head of state and ruler of Saudi Arabia who holds absolute power. He is the head of the Saudi Arabian royal family, the House of Saud. The king is called the "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" (), a ...

long life. The instrumental version is called "The Royal Salute" (, ), which is also the name of the ceremony in which it is played to salute senior members of the royal family as well as diplomatic figures.

Lyrics

Official lyrics

Saud lyrics (1958)

Ibn Saud lyrics (1947)

Notes

References

External links

Saudi Arabia: ''an-Nasheed al-Waṭaniy'' – Audio of the national anthem of Saudi Arabia, with information and lyricsarchive link
*Th
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC
has an Audio page that includes the National Anthem in both vocal and instrumental versions. *https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/a-history-of-the-saudi-national-anthem-1.2281470 {{DEFAULTSORT:National Anthem Of Saudi Arabia

Royal anthems Saudi Arabian music National symbols of Saudi Arabia National anthem compositions in F major 1947 songs