Flag of Saudi Arabia

The **flag of Saudi Arabia** (Arabic: علم المملكة العربية السعودية‎‎) is the flag used by the government of Saudi Arabia since March 15, 1973. It is a green flag featuring in white an Arabic inscription and a sword. The inscription is the Islamic creed, or *shahada*.

## Design

The Arabic inscription on the flag, written in the calligraphic Thuluth script, is the *shahada* or Islamic declaration of faith:

لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله
*lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muhammadun rasūlu-llāh*
*There is no god but Allah: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."*
The green of the flag represents Islam and the sword stands for the strictness in applying justice.

The flag is manufactured with identical obverse and reverse sides, to ensure the *shahada* reads correctly, from right to left, from either side. The sword points to the left on both sides, in the direction of the script. The flag is sinister hoisted, meaning that it is hoisted to the left of the flagpole, as viewed from the obverse (front) side. (Flagpole is to the right of the flag). The flag's green is Pantone 349 C (C90, M12, Y95, K40).

## Use

 File:Flags at half-staff outside Central Plaza.jpg
Because the *shahada* is considered holy, the flag is not normally used on T-shirts or other items. Saudi Arabia protested against its inclusion on a planned football to be issued by FIFA, bearing all the flags of the participants of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Saudi officials said that kicking the creed with the foot was completely unacceptable. Similarly, an attempt by the U.S. military to win favour with children of the Khost Province of Afghanistan by distributing footballs adorned with flags, including that of Saudi Arabia, ended in demonstrations.

The flag is never lowered to half-mast as a sign of mourning, because lowering it would be considered blasphemous. Similarly, the flags of Afghanistan, Somaliland, and Iraq are also never at half-mast.

The normal flag cannot be hoisted vertically according to Saudi legislation. Special vertical flags are manufactured where both the inscription (the creed) and the emblem (the sword) are rotated, although this is rare, as most Arab countries traditionally do not hoist flags vertically.

## History

 File:Flag of Saudi Arabia (Hanging).svg
The Al Saud, the ruling family of Saudi Arabia, has long been closely associated with the Wahhabi religious movement. The Wahhabis, since the 18th century, had used the *shahada* on their flags. In 1902 Abdulaziz Abdulrahman Al-Saud, leader of the Al Saud and the future founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, added a sword to this flag. The design of the flag was not standardized prior to March 15, 1973, and variants with two swords and/or a white vertical stripe at the hoist were frequently used. By 1938, the flag had basically assumed its present form, except the sword had a different design (with a more curved blade) and it, along with the *shahada* above, took up more of the flag's space.

## Past flags

The precursor states to Saudi Arabia were Nejd and Hejaz. The state flag of Nejd followed today's Saudi flag pattern very closely. The state of Hijaz followed the patterns seen in countries like Palestine and Sudan. From 1744 a crescent was present.[*Citation needed*] From 1902 until 1921 a different Arabic inscription was used. One of the primary opponents to the Saudis was the Al Rashid family in the north of the peninsula, until their defeat in 1921.

Umayyad Flag.svgFlag of the Umayyad Caliphate, from 661 to 750.Abbassid banner.svgFlag of the Abbasid Caliphate, from 750 to 1517.Flag of the Emirate of Ha'il.svgFlag of the Emirate of Ha'il, from 1835 to 1920.Flag of Ha'il 1920.svgFlag of the Emirate of Ha'il, from 1920 to 1921.Flag of the First Saudi State.svgFlag of the First Saudi State, from 1744 to 1818.Flag of the Second Saudi State.svgFlag of the Second Saudi State from 1824 to 1891 and the Flag of the Emirate of Nejd and Hasa from 1902 to 1921.Flag of Nejd (1921).svgFlag of Nejd from 1921 to 1926, closely resembling the modern Saudi flag.Flag of Nejd (1926).svgFlag of Nejd from 1926 to 1932, with a white border and no sword.Red flag.svgProvisional Flag of Hejaz, 1916 to 1917.Flag of Hejaz 1917.svgFlag of Hejaz from 1917 to 1920, based on the Flag of the Arab Revolt.Flag of Hejaz 1920.svgFlag of Hejaz from 1920 to 1926.Flag of Hejaz 1926.svgFlag of Hejaz from 1926 to 1932.Flag of Asir.svgFlag of Idrisid Emirate of Asir from 1906 to 1934.Flag of Upper Asir.svgFlag of Upper Asir from 1918 to 1923.
## Other flags

The civil ensign, for use by merchant vessels at sea, is a green flag with the state flag in the canton with a white border. The royal standard is the state flag with the palm tree and swords in the canton.

Royal Standard of Saudi Arabia.svgObverse side meant to be hoisted with pole to the observer's rightRoyal Standard of the King of Saudi Arabia. (Ratio: 2:3)Royal Standard of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.svgObverse side meant to be hoisted with pole to the observer's right Royal Standard of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. (Ratio: 2:3)Civil Ensign of Saudi Arabia (obverse).svgObverse side meant to be hoisted with pole to the observer's rightCivil ensign. (Ratio: 2:3)Naval Bases Flag of the Royal Saudi Navy.svgObverse side meant to be hoisted with pole to the observer's rightFlag of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (Ratio: 2:3)Naval Ensign of Saudi Arabia.svgObverse side meant to be hoisted with pole to the observer's rightNaval Ensign of Saudi Arabia. (Ratio: 12:25)Flag of the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces.svgObverse side meant to be hoisted with pole to the observer's rightFlag of the Royal Saudi Air Defense Force (Ratio: 2:3)Flag of Ikhwan.svgThe Ikhwan
## References

1. ↑ About Saudi Arabia: Facts and figures. The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington D.C.
2. ↑ Eriksen, Thomas; Jenkins, Richard (2007). *Flag, Nation and Symbolism in Europe and America*. p. 171. ISBN 9780415444040. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
3. ↑ UN Map Library
4. ↑ Leithead, Alastair. "'Blasphemous' balls anger Afghans", *BBC News Online*, 2007-08-26. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
5. ↑ "Saudi King Fahd is laid to rest", *BBC News*, 2 August 2005.
6. ↑ Saudi Arabia, FOTW Flags Of The World, 19 January 2008. Accessed 13 May 2009.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 *Firefly Guide to Flags of the World*. 2003. p. 165. ISBN 978-1552978139. Retrieved 12 September 2012.

## External links

* Saudi Arabia at Flags of the World
* World Flags Information, Saudi Arabian page
* Saudi Arabian flag and associated information