Muhammad bin Saud Al Muqrin Al Saud (; 1687–1765), also known as Ibn Saud, was the emir of

Diriyah Diriyah (; formerly romanization of Arabic, romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya) is a towns in Saudi Arabia, town and governorate in Saudi Arabia. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Diriyah was the original home of t ...

and is considered the founder of the

First Saudi State The first Saudi state (), officially the Emirate of Diriyah (), was established in 1744, when the emir of a Najdi town called Diriyah, Muhammad I, and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab signed a pact to found a socio-religious r ...

and the Saud dynasty, named after his father,

Saud bin Muhammad Al Muqrin Saud bin Muhammad Al Muqrin ( ''Suʿūd ibn Muḥammad Āl Muqrin''; 1640–1726) was the eponymous ancestor of the House of Saud, otherwise known as the al-Saud. Ancestry Saud was descended from the Al Muqrin family, whose earliest recorded an ...

. His reign lasted between 1727 and 1765.

Origins

Ibn Saud's family (then known as the Al Muqrin) traced its descent to the

Banu Hanifa Banu Hanifa () is an ancient Arab tribe inhabiting the area of al-Yamama in the central region of modern-day Saudi Arabia. The tribe belongs to the great Rabi'ah branch of North Arabian tribes, which also included Abdul Qays, Taghlib, al-N ...

tribes but, despite popular misconceptions, Muhammad bin Saud was neither a

nomadic Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

nor a tribal leader. Rather, he was the ruler (''emir'') of the town of Diriyah near modern-day

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

. He had lands there and was involved in financing the commercial journeys of merchants. Furthermore, he was competent and ambitious.

Early life

Muhammad bin Saud was born in Diriyah in 1687. Among his siblings were Mishari, Thunayan and Farhan. The family resided in the citadel of Turaif in Diriyah.

Reign

Muhammad bin Saud became local emir of Diriyah in 1727. The initial power base was the town of Diriyah where he met Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, who asked for protection. They formed an alliance in 1744 or 1745. Muhammad bin Saud asked Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab to accept the two conditions: (1) Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab should settle and stay in Diriyah and (2) he would not oppose the collection of tax by the ruler, Muhammad bin Saud. Although he accepted the first condition, he did not accept the second one arguing that he would acquire more through the battles and persuaded him not to collect tax. Muhammad bin Saud endorsed his proposal and declared their alliance. Their cooperation was further formalized by the wedding of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab's daughter to Abdulaziz bin Muhammad, son and successor of Muhammad bin Saud. Thereafter, the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud and the descendants of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, the Al ash-Sheikh, have remained closely linked. However, the alliance was not totally supported by his family, and one of his brothers, Thunayyan bin Saud, objected to such a cooperation. Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab provided Muhammad bin Saud with the military backing for the House of Saud and helped establish the dynasty among other forces in the

Arabian peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. In addition, following their alliance Muhammad bin Saud began to collect taxes from his subjects, and the first members of the Najdi-Wahhabi elites emerged. Therefore, the significant elements of the Saudi rule which have existed until now in Saudi Arabia were shaped: the royal family, Wahhabi clerics and tribal subjects. Following their cooperation, the emirs of Diriyah began to be called Imam. Abdul Wahhab remained as an adviser to Muhammad bin Saud until the end of the latter's reign. Muhammad bin Saud initiated attacks against the ruler of Riyadh, Dahham bin Dawwas, in 1747. However, these attacks would last for 28 years, and not Muhammad but his son and successor Abdulaziz would manage to seize Riyadh in 1773. Muhammad sent one of his slaves, Salim bin Belal Al Harik, to

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, who was accompanied with an armed group of seventy men, to make the tribes loyal to the Saudis. The tribes, namely

Bani Yas The Bani Yas () is a tribe, tribal confederation of Najdi origin in the United Arab Emirates. The tribal coalition, consisting of tribes from Dubai to Khor Al Adaid in southeast Qatar, was called the Bani Yas Coalition (). The House of Nahyan, Al ...

, al Shamis and al Nuaimi, initially resisted, but then, obeyed the demand and became followers of Wahhabism together with the Qawasim tribe of

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

and

Ras Al Khaimah Ras Al Khaimah (; ), often referred to its initials RAK, is the largest city and capital of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the U.A.E. The city had a population of 191,753 in 2025, and is the sixth-most populous city in UAE after Dubai, Abu ...

. When Muhammad bin Saud himself would attack anywhere, he invited the people three times to adopt his religion,

Wahhabism Wahhabism is an exonym for a Salafi revivalist movement within Sunni Islam named after the 18th-century Hanbali scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab. It was initially established in the central Arabian region of Najd and later spread to oth ...

. If his invitation was not accepted, his forces initiated the attack and killed them. The way he set up his government has served as the model for rulers of the House of Saud to the present day. The government was based on Islamic principles and made use of

shura Shura () is the term for collective decision-making in Islam. It can, for example, take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praise ...

. He ruled the emirate until his death in 1765. By the time of his death the majority of the Najdi people and all of those living in the southern Najd were Wahhabi adherents.

Personal life and death

Ibn Saud's wife was Moudi bint Abi Wahtan Al Kathir who was instrumental in his meeting with Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab. He had five sons: Saud, Faisal, Abdulaziz, Abdullah and Ali. Of them, both Saud and Faisal died in his lifetime in a battle in 1747. Muhammad bin Saud dressed in a plain way and, unlike those of the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

and Ottoman rulers, his armaments were not decorated. He died in Diriyah in 1765 and was succeeded by his eldest son Abdulaziz.

Legacy

As the head of a forerunner of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the

Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU) (), commonly known as Al-Imam University (IMAMU) (Arabic: إمامو), is a public university in the sub-municipality of Shemal in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1950 as an Islamic semin ...

is named after him.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muqrin, Muhammad Saud 17th-century monarchs in the Middle East 18th-century monarchs in the Middle East 1687 births 1765 deaths

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...