Abdullah al-Faisal

His Royal Highness Prince Abdullah Bin Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, known as Abdullah al-Faisal (1922–2007), was a member of the Saudi royal family, politician, poet, and the eldest son of ‏King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud‏. He served as the Deputy Viceroy of Hejaz and chaired the Council of Deputies on his behalf. Under the reign of the founding King, ‏Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud‏, he was concurrently the Minister of ‏Health‏ and ‏Interior‏ in 1950. He later dedicated himself to the Ministry of Interior. He played a pivotal role in developing the sports sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah al-Faisal was born in Riyadh and spent the first five years of his life in the household of his grandfather, King Abdulaziz. He then joined his father, King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz, who was the Viceroy of Hejaz at that time.

Al-Faisal studied in Makkah al-Mukarramah and finished his education by earning a primary school degree from al-Faisaliyah School. At that time, this was the highest academic achievement a student could attain in the Kingdom. He frequently accompanied his father to international conferences and gatherings, such as the Founding of the United Nations Conference in 1945.

Saudi sports have undergone significant changes by Prince Abdullah al-Faisal. In 1952, he established the first official, organized football league in the Kingdom. Later, he founded the Supreme Committee for the Football Federation to oversee and regulate matches. He adopted three official Saudi football tournaments for Saudi football, most notably the King's Cup and the Crown Prince Cup.

Abdullah al-Faisal is also considered the true founder of al-Ahli Saudi FC in Jeddah City, and contributed to the development of its activities. He had a significant role in the club's journey by attracting world-class coaches and players to the club during that time.

In 1955, he established a fund for players. As a result of his efforts, the Kingdom was officially accepted as a member of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) in the same year, with the official announcement in 1956. In recognition of his contributions to sports, a sports city in Jeddah was named after him.

In addition to his political roles and positions, Abdullah al-Faisal was a dedicated poet whose works were characterized by romanticism and subjectivity. Most of his poems were composed in Classical Arabic, with a lyrical quality. His works were sung by many Arab artists, including Umm Kulthum, Abdulhalim Hafez, Najat al-Saghira, Talal Maddah, Mohammed Abdu, Faiza Ahmed, Azizah Jalal, Abadi al-Johar, Abdel Karim Abdel Qader, and many others.

Abdullah al-Faisal wrote several poetry collections, including 'Wahy al-Hirman' (Revelation of Deprivation) published in 1954, 'Hadith Qalb' (Heart's Discourse) published in 1983, 'Masha'iri' (My Feelings) (Nabati poetry) published in 1985, as well as 'Wahy al-Huroof' (Revelation of Letters) and 'Kharif al-Umr' (Autumn of Life). His literary works have been translated into English, French, and Russian.

Numerous researchers and critics have written about Abdullah al-Faisal's poetry in newspapers, periodicals, and specialized studies of academic theses, including Taha Hussein, Ahmad Kamal Zaki, Saleh Jawdat, Hassan al-Huwaimel, Saad Dhlam, Sabir Abdeldaim, Abdullah al-Maatani, and Mohammed Bin Muraysi al-Harithi. Moreover, Dar Saad al-Sabah published a critical book on Abdullah al-Faisal, with contributions from several critics.

Academic theses addressing Abdullah al-Faisal's poetry include a PhD thesis by Izzat Mahmoud Ali al-Din, titled 'The Phenomenon of Alienation in the Poetry of Ibrahim Naji and Abdullah al-Faisal: A Presentation, Interpretation, and Comparison,' at the Faculty of Arabic Language, al-Azhar University in Cairo, in 1993; a master's thesis by Munira al-Ajlan, titled 'Abdullah al-Faisal: His Life and Poetry,' at Sorbonne University in 2007; and a master's thesis by Houriya al-Otaibi, at the Women College of Arts in Dammam, in 2003.

In 1985, Abdullah al-Faisal was awarded the State Appreciation Award in the Kingdom. In the same year, he also received the Medal of the City of Paris. He was granted an honorary doctorate by the Board of Trustees of the Academy of Sciences and Culture, affiliated with the World Poets' Conference held in San Francisco, USA, in 1981. Additionally, he received an honorary doctorate in literature, science, and humanities from the King Faisal Charitable Foundation in 1989.

King Hassan II of Morocco appointed Abdullah al-Faisal as a member of the Royal Moroccan Academy in 1986, recognizing him as one of the leading Arab poets. In the same year, he headed the Saudi delegation to the Society of Writers and Poets in al-Mardab, Iraq, and participated in the literary forum in Jerash, Jordan. He was awarded a scholarship from the University of Shaw in North Carolina, USA, and the prestigious French cultural award 'Soulatraz', which is the grand international prize for foreign poetry awarded annually to one of the world's leading non-French poets. He also received an honorary doctorate from Chad University, USA, in 1989.

Prince Abdullah al-Faisal International Prize for Arabic Poetry is a Saudi literary award with both Arab and international scope. Established in 2018, it aims to honor creative and distinguished individuals in Classical Arabic poetry fields to preserve the Arabic language and to promote Arabic poetry on both Arab and international levels. The prize supports the poetry renewal movement, honors creators, appreciates poetic creativity, and contributes to human civilization by encouraging serious and innovative treatments of contemporary poetry. It also aims to elevate the level of Classical Arabic lyric poetry and enrich the artistic scene by reviving the art of poetic theater.

Furthermore, in 2020, the Ministry of Education launched the Prince Abdullah al-Faisal Arabic Poetry Competition for male and female students at both the secondary and university levels in Classical Arabic poetry. The prize money for the competition is SAR500,000, and the Academy of Arabic Poetry oversees it.