Flag of Saudi Arabia - Colours, Meaning, History 🇸🇦

Another name for Saudi Arabia is the ‘Land of the two Holy Mosque’s’. These two sacred mosques include the Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. The country’s population is predominantly Muslim and follows Islamic laws and principles. Saudi Arabia is situated in the Arabian Peninsula and mostly occupied by deserts. It is home to the second largest oil reserves.

The Saudi Arabian flag is green with white Arabic text and a sword below it. The sword lies in a horizontal position with the tip facing the hoist side. The Arabic text لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله (lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muhammadun rasūlu-llāh) is the Islamic declaration of faith, “There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”.

Table of Contents

• History of the Flag of Saudi Arabia
• What is the meaning behind the colours of the Saudi Arabian Flag
• Interesting Facts about the Flag of Saudi Arabia

History of the Flag of Saudi Arabia

The use of the Shahada (Islamic Creed) on flags dates back to the 18th century among Arab countries. Before the sovereign nation of Saudi Arabia came to be, it had four separate and distinct regions. These were Najd, Hejaz, Al-Ahsa, and Asir. They used several variations of the flags before the unification of the areas and the official declaration of the flag. These include the first Saudi Arabian flag used by the early caliphate, the Umayyad Caliphate. It was plain white. The Abbasid caliphate flag followed after and was plain black. The Abbasid Caliphate flew their flag between the year 750 and 1517. In 1836, the Emirate of Al -Rashid partly controlled Saudi Arabia in 1836. They had a flag like that of the Ottoman Empire featuring a plain red background with an eight-pointed star and yellow crescent moon.

The solid green color on the flag has its roots with the Wahhabi, a reformist movement of the 18th Century. They were the religious drive that helped the Al Saud family rise to power. The Emirate of Riyadh created a third Saudi state in 1902 and adopted a green flag with white vertical stripes and white Arabic texts. Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud added the sword in 1902 when he established himself as Nejd’s sultan. Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud was the first monarch in Saudi Arabia. He founded Saudi Arabia by uniting the four regions that make up the Kingdom. Al Saud started this by first conquering his ancestral home in Riyadh in 1902. After this, he continued three decades of conquests to become the ruler of almost the whole of Central Arabia. He moved from Najd in 1922 to Hejaz in 1925, then extended his dominions to what is now Saudi Arabia.

Hejaz considered itself separate from Saudi before Al Saud conquered it. Their provisional flag was a plain red field adopted in 1916. In 1917, they started using the Arab Revolt which featured the color black, green and white horizontally placed, plus a red triangle on the right. The Emirate of Ha’il flag changed where the white color on the horizontal tricolor was replaced with yellow. The Hejazi changed the tricolor order to black-white-green. In 1921, Nejd adapted a flag like the current one used in Saudi Arabia. It had the green field and sword. They removed the dagger in 1926 and replaced this with a white border. The Hejaz flag also became an elongated version of the Ha’il flag.

In 1932, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud extended his dominion to Hejaz and Nejd and combined them to become Saudi Arabia. After unification, they proclaimed the Saudi Arabia Kingdom, and the flag was officially instituted. They adopted a green flag which featured a white vertical stripe, a sheathed scimitar sword, and an Arabic script inscribed on the green banner. They reduced the thickness of the white stripe in 1934, and by 1938, completely removed it.

The adoption of the current flag took place in 1973 and featured a green field, a straight sword, and the Arabic Shahada motto. The sword points left since the wordings read from right to left. Historically, religious inscriptions were popular with Arab governments. The Muslim faith forbade the use of representation art. Calligraphy was then a better option for the Shahada motto since it was a highly developed form of art at the time. The Saudi Flag is currently the only one with writing as the central symbolic design.

What is the meaning behind the colours of the Saudi Arabian Flag?

The Saudi Arabia flag has a length to width ratio of 3:2. It has two colors- white and green. The green color is a representation of Islam and is also believed to be the favorite color of Prophet Muhammad. The color was, however, initially chosen by the Wahhābī sect. The green color has its links to the prophet’s daughter, Fatimah, of the Wahhabi sect.

The sword represents justice and the strength and power of Saudi Arabia.

During the manufacturing of the flag, the Shahada must be read correctly when viewed from either side. However, the sword always points left in the script’s direction and the flag is hoisted to the left of the flagpole. Pantone 330 C is estimated to be the exact shade of green on the official flag.

Interesting Facts about the Flag of Saudi Arabia

• According to national flag laws, citizens should not use the flag as a piece of apparel or use it on other items.
• The Saudi Arabian flag never flies at half-mast, even in times of mourning. Lowering it is considered a blasphemous act. This rule also applies to flags in Somaliland, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
• The Saudi legislation states that citizens cannot hoist the flag vertically. There are some special flags where the creed and emblem are rotated, but this is on rare occasions since Arab countries don’t raise flags vertically.

Do you know any other interesting facts about the flag of Saudi Arabia? Share your thoughts below.